The leaderboard appears to be in lockdown with little movement. Lake Okeechobee, also known as the Big O, is being stingy to the anglers.
As I reported earlier there was a brief flurry of activity from 8 to 8:30 a.m. In 30 minutes five anglers caught six keepers weighing between 5 and 8 pounds.
Since then it’s been a steady stream of uncharacteristically small fish being caught.
Local guides report the lake to be in all three stages of the spawn. Even so, the lack of water clarity is preventing the sight fishermen from head-hunting the big females.
Things could change as this tournament progresses. The reason why are the rising temperatures in the forecast.
Today’s high should reach 77 degrees. On Days 2 and 3 the predicted high jumps to 81. A few degrees rise in temperature doesn’t matter that much anywhere else but Florida. It matters big time here. That subtle rise is all it takes to trigger the big females to move up and spawn.