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The 2013 Okeechobee Everstart in Review

That fish inhaled the jig. Notice the sparse reed and little pool. That is where the fish will bed in the good areas, and the jig is an excellent bait on Okeechobee to pitch around the sparse stuff.
That fish inhaled the jig. Notice the sparse reed and little pool. That is where the fish will bed in the good areas, and the jig is an excellent bait on Okeechobee to pitch around the sparse stuff.

It was brought to my attention from a friend that I didn’t do a blog post about my Okeechobee Everstart tournament.  My mind has been busy dealing with all the things of starting back to work at a new job, finding an apartment, finding furniture (I arrived with a coffee mug, and a ton of fishing gear, of course), and just getting settled into a new life and lifestyle.  Okeechobee has been in a funky cycle, but don’t let that fool you.  I have a feeling the FLW Tour event coming up out of Clewiston is going to be another slug fest.  Okeechobee has had really high water, and crazy thick grass.  But with cooler nights and days, the grass is thinning out, mats are literally melting away, and things are changing, last I heard and last I fished.

Day One:

I have a huge open water area I’ve been fishing in the Bird Island/North Shore area that I was fishing last year, that I found a good school of fish holding in. I could not find the jig fish that were loaded on Observation Shoal last year, and the Monkey Box itself, was almost completely choked out, and the areas that were fishable, just didn’t seem to have fish like they normally do.  Not to say they aren’t there, I just didn’t find many areas with fish in practice.  So to Bird Island, I went. I wanted to throw the 3:16 Sunfish and throw the Magnum Speed Worm in this open water and I figured I could usually get one good bite a day doing it, and come up with 12-14 pounds. I knew I wasn’t on winning fish, so you just go with the best you got.  The Magnum Speed Worm, pegged with a 1/4 ounce weight, and a big 6/0 hook can be swam thru the eel grass and hydrilla, but it’s also got this great ‘power Texas Rig’ fishability where  you hop, drop, yo-yo and then swim the bait thru the grass.  I was killing them on the Magnum Speed Worm, and don’t be shocked if you hook a big one on that bait.   I was buzzing the outside edges of some pepper grass clumps with the 3:16 Sunfish, and sure enough, I got one almost 6 pounds to come out and choke the bait.  I fished loose, had fun and just made the most of my bites and weighed 14-8 or something, and was stoked to be in the Top 30.

The 3:16 Sunfish is not weedless, but if you'll notice the sparse reeds, there is also hydrilla on the bottom, I look for 'swim lanes' and buzz the bait thru the grass in areas like this. Not a giant, but 3-4 pounders are always good, and fun to catch, especially on braid.
The 3:16 Sunfish is not weedless, but if you’ll notice the sparse reeds, there is also hydrilla on the bottom, I look for ‘swim lanes’ and buzz the bait thru the grass in areas like this. Not a giant, but 3-4 pounders are always good, and fun to catch, especially on braid.

 

Day Two:

Back to Bird Island.  The bite started much slower. I had to grind to get something going.  I keep telling myself I need to fish looser in tournaments.  There is a great article Gary Dobyns once did about ‘Fishing Chicken’…google it, maybe it can be found.  Bottom line, don’t get so caught up in your area or gameplan you don’t bounce if things aren’t going right.  I made a good decision to head over to an area I knew had a few fish, and abandoned my best water for a while.  Good move.  We immediately got into some good keeper fish on the Magnum Speed Worm and I had some boils on the 3:16 Sunfish.  I filled up my limit and then bounced back to my good water.  The bite seemed to be much better later in the day, and on Day 2 I was a late flight, so had an extra hour to fish.  Well, I got a line jump bite on the Magnum Speed Worm as my bait was falling back to the bottom in the sweetest deepest section of some eel grass.  I swing, she aint moving, and I knew it was a biggun from the bite and from the hookset.  Well, finally after a good 2-3 second tug of war, my rig comes flinging back at me, and my hook is completely opened up and bent out, hook point rolled over and I knew I’d just lost to a beast.  Bummer.  I didn’t get my big bite on Day 2.  Well, I culled a few times and ultimately weighed 12-6 or something, and ended up 29th place for the event.

The Top 10

The Top 10 weigh in was cool to watch.  You always learn something when you hear how the guys who really got it done caught ’em.  The jig bite was on, just not in the areas of the lake they had bit for me last year, and I didn’t spend enough time (much shorter practice this year than in years past).  J&S was clearly an area where the big fish had moved into and the guys that slowed down and pitched jigs and senkos and creature baits in the right stretches, got some big bites.   I have never seen a weigh in where there was a tie.  Trevor Fitzgerald was looking like he would win, but homeboy pulled out a 9 pounder or something stupid as his last fish, and they tied…but since homeboy had the lead going into Day 3, that was the tie breaker. I can only imagine how Trevor felt. Ouch.   I wish the guys fishing the Tour a lot of luck out there. I think it could be an awesome event.  The fishing after the tournament was getting better and better, and since off limits, things got kinda cool and cold, and the way Okeechobee flows this time of year, a good cold snap is good because when it warms back up, the fish go nuts.  And the big ones moves in.

Shaye Baker had a 19 pound day 2, snatching chatterbaits and rattle traps on the outside grass edges in a good deep to shallow spot with that black water.
Shaye Baker had a 19 pound day 2, snatching chatterbaits and rattle traps on the outside grass edges in a good deep to shallow spot with that black water.

Shaye Baker

Want to see something cool, check out the below video.  This is Shaye Baker’s Day 2 fishing, getting it done snatching ChatterBaits in some outside grass.  I have gotten to know Shaye the last year or so, and I am impressed with his fishing and aptitude toward contributing meaningful content to the world of fishing.  Shaye is on his way to a fantastic career in the world of fishing and media, and he’s got a lot of good things brewing at both FLW and BASS, so expect to see his name often as part of the few guys who know how to cover bass fishing, and sharing information—and doing it with style and soul.  Shaye finished 11th in the event, and is a solid fisherman too, but is wise enough to realize the challenges of making a living with a rod and reel. You cannot just be good, you have to be exceptional.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Lsx8LuKKU]

Casey Martin:

Oh yeah, Casey Martin….Congrats to Casey, with a 6th Place finish and a solid showing on Okeechobee.  I’m telling you, this guy is going to crush it in 2013 fishing the Tour as a rookie. In fact, FLW is going to be sending a film crew to follow Casey around and document his rookie season, the life on the road and the fishing part.  Casey is exceptional.  His ability to keep things simple, focus on his strengths, and make gameday decisions is impressive. Casey went out with his flipping and punching rods and got 7 pound bites on Day 1&2 and put them in the boat, and that is the difference between good and exceptional on tournament day.   Follow Casey at: caseymartinfishing.com

 

 

 

 

The Florida Five-O

This is my 5th season on Okeechobee, and getting ready for my final tournament for a while.  Okeechobee is a good 2+ feet higher than it was the last few years we’ve been here.  The lake is choked out with grass.  The low water years caused the grass to grow big and tall along the shore/super shallows, then add the 2-3 feet of water, and you have a jungle.  It can be very difficult to get around, fish, and just get a feel for Okeechobee right now.    There is a ton of punching and flipping water, with the current conditions.  This is probably the worst swimbait bite I’ve experienced at Okeechobee in the 5 years.  It’s just really hard to find fishable water where the fish are living, where you can swim a bait around and thru.  Add to that, with vegetation that is 3-5 foot high above the water line, it can be really hard to visually see places you want to get in and fish behind the grass lines.  I have been poking into various spots a bizzillion times, only to do a u-turn and come out because the magic pool was not indeed behind the reeds….

With the high water, in some places, the 3:16 Sunfish gets down a little deeper, and is working for me. Oddly, by fishing in 4 feet (vs. 1-2 feet) I'm finding I've got to get a bait down to 'em move. They won't come up top for the other bigbaits I'm throwing. And it happens that Okeechobee fish hate bluegill/sunfish.
With the high water, in some places, the 3:16 Sunfish gets down a little deeper, and is working for me. Oddly, by fishing in 4 feet (vs. 1-2 feet) I’m finding I’ve got to get a bait down to ’em move. They won’t come up top for the other bigbaits I’m throwing. And it happens that Okeechobee fish hate bluegill/sunfish.

 

It’s not all doom and gloom. I’ve had some decent days, and once again, find that I’m having to make adjustments to get it done.  I think I can catch 5 fish both days, and hopefully am good for a big bite or two, but without a big bite, I’m talking 8-10 pounds or so….But most guys are struggling too.  It’s just an off year, thick mats of grass, that of course make for good punching at times, but so thick you cannot get your trolling motor thru or do anything but flip or throw frogs over it.   One of the keys to the swimbait bite for me has always been finding the best bedding areas.  This has been the worst year by far, for the amount of beds and being able to see beds.

This is where you want your swimbait. Right over top of a good bed. However, beds are hard to come by. Like really hard to come by, and the stuff is so thick around them, no swimbaits, not even the weedless kind can swim. The few bed fish areas are getting a ton of pressure too. Of course there are some off the radar bedding areas, but none I found, and believe me, I've looked.
This is where you want your swimbait. Right over top of a good bed. However, beds are hard to come by. Like really hard to come by, and the stuff is so thick around them, no swimbaits, not even the weedless kind can swim. The few bed fish areas are getting a ton of pressure too. Of course there are some off the radar bedding areas, but none I found, and believe me, I’ve looked.

It can be an eerie feeling, not having much going on to get excited about, going into a tournament.  I can catch some fish, but man, I’m just not on ’em and the bigbait thing has been really tough.  Okeechobee is in a tough cycle at the moment. Not to say some guys won’t be catching 30+ pounds, because they will, but I will need some super good fortune to get a 18-20 pound sack.   I just haven’t got ’em figured out, and I’ve tried to become a puncher/flipper this year, spent days doing it, only to find myself disgusted with the results.   The good news is I can fish freely and just go fishing, and usually that is when I fish best and good things happen.

The water is so black you can hardly ever see the bottom right now. The water can be red too right now, mixed up between black and brown. The fish are in both the black and red water, and guys will get 'em on the outside grass line, and inside grass lines.
The water is so black you can hardly ever see the bottom right now. The water can be red too right now, mixed up between black and brown. The fish are in both the black and red water, and guys will get ’em on the outside grass line, and inside grass lines.

 

 

 

The Florida Compromise

Hook masking in Florida
Hook masking in Florida

I would be lying to tell you I’ve been in a ‘good’ mood or state of mind the last few months.  I have been struggling with what to do with my life, where to live, having a social life, making money, and finding motivation.   So, let me share some news.  I recently landed on Lake Okeechobee, for the 5th season.  I’m signed up for the 2103 Everstart on Okeechobee, and that is my only tournament for the 2013 season it appears.  I would love to fish the 2013 FLW Tour, but it just isn’t in the cards for me.    This time, when I packed up my truck and boat in the freezing rain of the Ozarks, I was packing not just for Okeechobee, I was packing up to relocate and move my life to Florida.

Back to Work

I recently accepted a job, with Beyond Trust, the company that acquired the company (eEye Digital Security) I used to work for.   What that means is, yes, I’m going back to work—Territory Manager, South East.   I am actually quite looking forward to getting back to business.  I enjoy the stimulation of the business world, the sharp people, and the opportunity to make money.  I need to get myself financially back on track, and I need to have my own place, and have a home base and settle down where I might actually be able to line up a girlfriend!  I have been blessed with some great partnerships with guys like Scott Whitmer, Ken Huddleston, and Mickey Ellis and others, and I plan to keep the train rolling.   My new job allows me the freedom to work from wherever I choose.  After 6 months living in Cotter, Arkansas, a lovely small town in the Ozarks, I’ve realized some things, and for sure I’ve realized that I wasn’t cut out for small town living, at least not yet!  So, after the Everstart on Okeechobee, I’m going to be finding a place to live in Florida, and start ‘back to work’.

Why Florida?

I could be wrong, but Florida suits me and my style.  I like the general flow of Florida,  it’s a good mix of town and country, it’s a good mix of liberal and conservative ideas and thoughts, there is surfing in Florida, and I love fishing in Florida.  I’m definitely leaning toward S. Florida, but I’m totally up in the air about where exactly.  Orlando area has my eye too.   I will have the flexibility to travel and work from various regions and plan on continuing the search for the Southern Trout Eaters, but trout eaters are the low hanging fruit, their is no doubt about it, if you have trout, you are going to have a killer swimbait bite.  Non trout fed lakes are the next thing for me.  Cracking the code, utilizing the tools and lessons of the trout eaters, and applying the things you learn from tournament fishing—-that is where my head is at.  I have been working on finding the bigbait bite on lakes without trout for years now, and I still have a lot of learning and progressing to do.  The fish and the bite is there, it’s just going to take time and commitment to put it all together.

SSB Customs has been relocated, and will be relocated again shortly!
SSB Customs has been relocated, and will be relocated again shortly!

southernswimbait.com Going Forward

I have terabytes of film and photos I’ve never shared.  I have 3-4 projects ongoing with film that might turn into DVDs or they might be extended YouTube clips.  That is the thing with filming, you just don’t always know how things will play out, how the fish will respond, or how exactly to package it all up.   I want to assure you, you can expect ‘business as usual’ at southernswimbait.com.  I am pretty confident I could not make a single cast in 2013, and keep this blog rolling as though I fished full time with the footage and content I have on my hard drive(s) and brain.  However, I do plan on fishing in 2013, just not as much as I have the last 4 years.   That is why I’m choosing Florida to settle down.  I have been bitten by the braided line + bigbait bug, and given the amount of water and big fish in Florida, to me it’s the most sensible decision all things considered.  So, you’ll be seeing a lot more braided line (and I’d recommend braid even is super clear water, just add a 50-65# floro leader!), dark colored bass from the grass, sun, surf and some social life from me in 2013.

It takes money to make money.  I have short, mid, and long term goals for southernswimbait.com.  I have all kinds of things I need to pour money into.  My truck has 175K miles on it.  My boat has 1000s of hours on her.  My computer, my video and camera gear—–they could all use an upgrade.   SSB Customs, the Southern Trout Eaters DVD, our affiliate partnership with Tackle Warehouse, are all a work in progress, and thanks to you, are working and going in the right direction.  However, it’s  just not enough. I am not satisfied with the lifestyle and the amount of time it will take to get to where I want to go, with the status quo.   I believe taking a step back and regrouping, will in the short,  mid and long term be a much wiser and well executed plan.  For example, I would like to have $ to sponsor a few FLW Tour or BASS Elite guys, like my friend Casey Martin. I need real $ to grow southernswimbait.com to where I want it. I have ideas and models that I think will be positive/healthy and better enable anglers to monetize their fishing, be accountable to sponsors, quantify returns on investments,  be marketable, be real, and push the sport in the right directions.   It will take time and capital to pull it off.

I fell in love with Florida back in January 2009. This was home sweet home, single wide trailer at Roland Martins Resort, just getting settled into a new life. Notice, that is President Obama's inauguration on television.
I fell in love with Florida back in January 2009. This was home sweet home, single wide trailer at Roland Martins Resort, just getting settled into a new life. Notice, that is President Obama’s inauguration on television.

 

 

 

New Shipment of Triple Trouts

Scott got us a fresh box of Triple Trouts.  Some new sizes, like 10″ versions of the SSB Herring and Bubble Gum Bass.  And a new color, Baby Bass.   Visit SSB Customs, by clicking the image below:

Click Image to Visit SSB Customs

Casey Martin’s Signature Series Swim Jig

I keep finding myself talking about, fishing with, and messing with swim jigs.  They are swimbait fishing and they are tournament fishing.  They are just great.  My good friend Casey Martin just released his own Signature Series Swim Jig, and with the help of a phone call to Casey to talk about his swim jigs and what they are all about,  he offered up some good K.I.S.S style advice about colors and trailers and how he approaches swim jig fishing:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6tYCq3YGX0]

Getting Started?  Click on the below:

  1. Casey Martin’s Signature Series Swim Jig  
  2. Paca Chunk Trailer
  3. Little Dipper
  4. Advanced Jig Fishing Techniques DVD
This is modern day tournament fishing at the highest levels. 3/8 ounce swim jig, good hook, good skirt, and ability to match up with the right trailers, like the Paca Chunk or the Little Dipper (above). Casey’s Swim Jigs keep things simple, and the above video should give you more insights into how Casey approaches swim jig fishing and insights into what he and Omega have done and why.

Casey Martin’s Signature Series Swim Jig Photo Gallery:

[nggallery id=18]

Stroking Swimbaits

Ledge Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti. This 5″ Bay Smelt Big Hammer on a 1 oz head got tore up. This is the baseline, the 5″ Hammer. Go bigger from here is my advice.

 

I’ve been sitting on this footage, unsure of how or when exactly to release it, and finally just sat down and cranked it out.  I was concerned this information might hurt me, but I’m starting to think completely differently than I used to about sharing information and ideas..  I am not headed to Kentucky Lake anytime soon, and it appears to be ‘good timing’ all things considered.   Stroking baits is something you don’t learn in San Diego.  Stroking a bait, literally means jerking/ripping it 1-8 feet off the bottom and letting the bait settle back down to the bottom.  Think about snatching rattle traps in the grass, where you snatch the bait clean of the grass and the fish eat it on the fall.   Stroking football head jigs and spoons on the Tennessee River is a staple and it took me some years to clue into.   Some local tricks you pick up instantly at the gas station, other things, you somehow miss for years.  Stroking is not something I’d done ever, until I arrived at Kentucky Lake in 2011.    Stroking is now one of my presentations of all baits I fish. It just makes sense.  To really snap and snatch your bait hard off the bottom, and then let if free fall back to the bottom seems to be a truth of fishing….it just works at times.

Stroked and Choked Big Hammer Swimbait on the ledges of Kentucky Lake, but ultimately a good choice for any of the TN River, or any open water offshore bite.

 

So here goes, another meandering, long winded, ‘first chapter’ of a thing I’m calling Ledge Zeppelin I, Stroking Swimbaits.   This footage is post 2011 FLW Tour on Kentucky Lake, and my 2011 summer in Southern California, where I did some saltwater fishing.  I blended things together to share how and where I got the methods and tools that ultimately led me to start stroking my Big Hammer swimbaits, instead of just swimming and jigging them along:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITtTLdUQqNo]

 

If you are ready to stroke swimbaits off the ledges of the Tennessee River, or any other offshore lake, this stuff applies lots of places (the Ozarks, Champlain, Great Lakes, etc), here is what you need:

I was stroking my Big Hammer swimbait on a Medium Action 8 foot rod and Shimano Calcutta 300 TE reel, and 20# P-Line CXX….however, this is something you can do with standard low profile reels and I always recommend 8 footers, and braided line.  Especially adding a short leader section to your braid.  I am slowly migrating all my fishing over to braid, in case you haven’t noticed.  You have more sensitivity, more hookset, more torque, and more guts to do more with your bait with braid.

My buddy Brian Somrek was as stoked as I was on the bite. We were learning as we were going. Brian was catching them on the 5.5″ Big Hammer, which to many out West is the best Big Hammer swimbait.

 

We speak to Warbaits and the effect their swim jigs will be having.  You are seeing the future now.  When Strike King, Spro, and Berkley come out with a swim jig that is >1 ounce, it will be as a result of the Warbait Slayer Swim Jig.  These things are legit and taking the West by storm.  You have an early warning and heads up. You need to check their Slayer Swim Jigs and Weedless Swim Jig Heads out.  Just by having a weedguard, you are helping yourself out in some cases, because exposed top hook single swimbaits are really sticky around wood.  Swim jigs are just awesome and popular and catch fish, so why not fish them out at 20-30 feet, instead of 1-3 feet?   You can stroke them or just fish them on the slow grind, and look out.  Fish love baits with skirts.

I cannot say enough about the Warbaits Swim Jigs, and I’m finding the more rounded paddle tail of the Robo Ocean Swimbait Tails are a fine swimming and stroking combination.

 

Stroking Swimbaits Photo Gallery:

[nggallery id=17]