Great expectations for big bags at Lake Okeechobee

They stayed so late Monday on Lake Okeechobee, David Walker and Dave Smith almost missed the last seating of the day at their restaurant of choice.

They stayed so late Monday on Lake Okeechobee, David Walker and Dave Smith almost missed the last seating of the day at their restaurant of choice.

The two Bassmaster Elite Series pros were much more excited about fishing than about eating. What they saw Monday during the first official practice day for the Power-Pole Slam was certainly food for thought.

“It’s going to be great. There are so many big ones out there, everyone will be bringing in huge bags,” said Walker, an Elite Series pro from Sevierville, Tenn., who finished 10th last week in the Elite season opener on another Florida fishery, the St. Johns River.

“And Okeechobee is fishing big, very big,” said Smith of Del City, Okla. “There’s plenty of spots for everyone.”

Both agreed that the bass are in postspawn mode.

Unlike at the St. Johns event, “Okeechobee is not going to be a sight fishing deal at all,” Walker said.