Earlier today in this blog, Steve Bowman, that jack wagon, expressed disagreement with my theory that today would offer a repeat of the previous three days at Lake Okeechobee. I understand why he might have thought that. I come by the nickname “Mr. Sunshine” honestly, as I’m always looking at the sunny side of life. (Sarcasm alert.)
What I failed to emphasize previously is the downside of Lake Okeechobee, where no matter how good the fishing is for most, it always sucks for some. For every 20-pound bag at the top of the leaderboard, there’s a 7-pound, 5-bass limit at the bottom. And it often changes from one day to the next, Jesse Tacoronte being the prime example with 10-12 on Day 1 and 28-4 on Day 2.
Gerald Swindle noted on the weigh-in stage Thursday that at some lakes, when you’re not catching ’em, you think it’s just one of those days where it’s tough all over. But at Lake Okeechobee, there is always somebody catching ’em somewhere. That’s got to be haunting Timmy Horton right now.
When a lake covers 448,000 acres, like this one, finding where they’re biting is no easy task. And it’s not just the “where,” it’s also the “when.” Both Kelly Jordon and Keith Combs fished where Timmy Horton caught his fish the first two days, but had no success there. Jordon weighed a 7-pound, 13-ounce big bass one day here in 2012. Thursday he saw the biggest bass he’s ever seen at Okeechobee – an estimated 12 pounds – but couldn’t get it to bite. The next day an area that had been sprinkled with big spawning bass, including that 12-pounder, was vacant.
“If you want to go to a place that’ll make you bang your head against the wall, this is it,” Jordon said.
So, yes, even after whittling the field down to the top 12 anglers over the past three days, it’s going to suck for someone today.