Elite Pro Scott Martin DQ for Okeechobee Lake!

Information Violation Sidelines Local Favourite. 

BASS Press Release

Birmingham, Ala. – B.A.S.S. officials received a call on the morning of Feb. 26 from Elite Series pro Scott Martin, self-reporting a violation of Rule C3. 3 PRACTICE AND COMPETITION (ii) a. and j., concerning the receipt of information to gain a competitive advantage from a non-competitor. Martin admitted to having a conversation with a local angler about conditions at certain locations on Lake Okeechobee after the no information period was in effect. Due to the infraction, Martin has been disqualified from the 2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite on Lake Okeechobee and has been assessed a fine.

Jessie Mizell Wins 2024 MLF Toyota Series events on Okeechobee

 

Jessie Mizell has now won back-to-back Toyota Series events on Okeechobee. Photo by Rob Matsuura. Angler: Jessie Mizell.

By Jody White

Toyota Series

CLEWISTON, Fla. – This week, Jessie Mizell was absolutely untouchable on his home pond. 

Weighing 24 pounds each of the first two days and finishing with 23 pounds, 13 ounces, Mizell totaled 72-9 to beat out Brody Campbell by nearly 3 pounds for the win in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division opener. Now with six MLF wins to his credit on Lake Okeechobee, Mizell has won over $90,000 in less than 12 months, as he also won last year’s Toyota Series event on the Big O. For this one, Mizell takes home another trophy for a rapidly growing collection, plus $44,000 and qualification to the Toyota Series Championship. 

Mizell started each tournament morning on the north side of Okeechobee, easing into a staging bay and going to work. His bite shut down before noon each day of the event, though, as anglers coming and going muddied up the water. When Mizell arrived Saturday, he had a small audience of Bassmaster Open pros starting practice, and he put on a show. 

“I got there first thing – it was a good thing I was boat No. 1 – and there were already a couple boats, BASS guys, in there,” he said. “But they just sat there and watched. I got my first, second, third, my biggest one. After that, there were boats going in and out, and they stirred it up. I didn’t get a bite after 11 o’clock; it got muddy and (the fish) shut down. But I was lucky enough to get my limit, and get those couple key fish. They were eating a frog like crazy – just absolutely destroying it.”

Top 10 Below 

Nick Thliveros Wins 2019 Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division on Lake Okeechobee with 46-01lbs!

Thliveros 2.0 first FLW win!

Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Thliveros  Big O win a family affair.
(Photo: FLW)

Nick Thliveros earned the first win of his FLW career. He was a co-angler at the time, though getting that first trophy and check helped reinforce his desires to move to the front of the boat. In 2016, he committed to that dream, and now in his fourth year as a pro fishing the Costa FLW Series, Thliveros has a second win under his belt – this one from the front of the boat at the 2019 season opener for the Southeastern Division on Lake Okeechobee.

Heading into the final day of the tournament, which was presented by Power-Pole, Thliveros clung to what would normally be considered a small lead on Okeechobee – just 4 pounds, 7 ounces – and figured he needed to catch a solid bag to have a shot to win. In fact, most pros had high hopes for big weights on the final day. However, the fishing didn’t quite live up to the hype, and Thliveros’ 10-15 catch was more than enough to lock up the W and earn a check worth $54,000.

The key for Thliveros was to take advantage of the conditions the lake presented: cool, dirty and low water. He took his search outside the main body of the lake and settled on a canal area between Henry Creek and J&S.

“I wanted to find consistent water, and that area I caught them is where I caught them last year when the lake wasn’t normal [high and dirty from a hurricane],” Thliveros says. “I was catching prespawn fish that were waiting to pull up, and they were feeding. I was cranking rock, and all of my fish were within 5 feet of the bank.”

The canal system produced some good fish, but it was a key bite on day two that really gave him confidence to keep doing it.

“I was getting a reaction bite from a lot of fish,” continues the 25-year-old pro. “I’d feel them bump the bait or they’d be hooked on the back hook, and I didn’t feel like it was right. On day two, my co-angler caught a few on a Senko, and I missed a few early. I was thinking maybe I needed to change. I flipped for a bit, but went back to the crankbait, and a few casts in I caught my first keeper. It was a 6-pounder. That fish told me I didn’t need to put the crankbait down, so I kept it in my hand.”

Top 10 Below

2018 FLW Tour Starts Today!

Lake Okeechobee the site of the start of the 2018 FLW Tour season.
Get all the tournament info and results right here! 

2018 Pan American Black Bass Championship: Team Canada Set!

Look out Okeechobee the Canadians are coming!
By Luigi De Rose 

The 8 team roster is set. Team Canada will be competing for glory and gold in Florida on February 4- 9, 2018 on Lake Okeechobee. 

Team Canada 1 Bob Izumi -Team Captain / Darren Izumi

Team Canada 2 Dave Chong / Rob Lee

Team Canada 3 Dave Bairstow / Matt Hubble

Team Canada 4 Brian Hughes / Anais Chaves

Team Canada 5 Cole Bailey / Bruce Leeson

Team Canada 6 Phil Hegarty / Stephen Hegarty

Team Canada 7 Joey Ford / Shawn McCaul

Team Canada 8 Spiro Agouros / Fern Campeau

2018 Pan American Black Bass Championship: Canada Sending Bass Anglers to International Tournament!

Lake Okeechobee site inaugural event

By Luigi De Rose 

Canadian team captain none other than legendary Bob Izumi. 

Canada is assembling a bass fishing team to compete in the up-coming Pan American Black Bass Championship. This event will be for national pride and bragging rights in this first ever event. Representing Canada will be team captain Bob Izumi fishing with his son Darren Izumi; David Chong & Rob Lee; Brian Hughes & Anais Chavez; Cole Bailey & Bruce Leeson; Matt Hubble & Dave Bairstow and Stephen & Philllip Hegarty (as of today). 

The PanAmerican Sportfishing Delegation and United States Angling Confederation (U.S. Angling) are hosting the first ever Pan American Black Bass Championship for Pairs (Duos). This championship will be held at the legendary Roland & Mary Ann Martins Marina & Resort on Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Florida. All PanAmerican countries are invited to have from one to eight pairs (teams of two) participate. This event will be the starting point for the newly formed PanAmerican Sportfishing Delegation, and will be an exciting challenge for all the anglers from the Americas.

2017 BASS Elite Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Timmy Horton Sacks Monster Bag and 8 Pound Lead!

Big bags move many up leader board. 

BASS PRESS RELEASE
After weighing the second limit of the tournament that crested 30 pounds, Tim Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., took control on Day 2 of the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee. Today's 30-pound, 4-ounce limit pushed his two-day total to an impressive 56 pounds, 3 ounces.

Horton's performance vaulted the four-time Bassmaster champion ahead of Thursday's leader Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., by almost 8 pounds.

This is what 30-04Lbs looks like.
(Photo: BASS)

Horton has a history of winning by a substantial margin: Three of his four victories carried a minimum of a 13-pound difference between first and second place.

But knowing how fickle Lake Okeechobee bass can be, he's not comfortable just yet.

2017 BASS Elite Lake Okeechobee Day 1: DeFoe Grabs Lead with 31-03lbs!

Tyler Carriere Day 1 Big Fish winer with 9-05lbs. 
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Two beast leaps Ott atop of field.
(Photo: BASS)

Florida’s famous big-bass factory showed off during the first day of the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee, as Tennessee native Ott DeFoe caught a huge five-bass limit that weighed 31 pounds, 3 ounces.
 
DeFoe’s impressive catch put him more than 4 pounds ahead of Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Ark., who is in second place with 26-13.
 
Anchoring his limit with two giant bass that weighed 8-6 each, the 31-year-old DeFoe knew he had located quality fish during practice on the lake, but he didn’t realize just how good they were.
 
“I had a lot of bites during practice, but I wasn’t catching very many fish over 2 1/2 to 3 pounds,” DeFoe said. “But, a few of those fish were in one area that seemed to have all the right ingredients to justify a return trip once the tournament began.”
 

2017 Costa FLW Series Southeastern Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Josh Weaver Grabs Lead with 32lb Limit!

Moving baits drawing biggest strikes!

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELESE
If you have ever wondered why anglers are forever infatuated with the bass fishing fairyland called Lake Okeechobee, take the case of young Joshua Weaver from Macon, Ga., as an example.

Weaver's 32-10lb limit displays Big O magic. (Photo: FLW)

On day one of the Costa FLW Series presented by Power-Pole, Weaver weighed in a five-bass limit for 17 pounds, 10 ounces. A pretty respectable catch in its own right.

On day two he nearly doubled that catch, hauling in a stunning 32 pounds, 10 ounces of Okeechobee giants to take the overall lead with a two-day total of 50 pounds even.

2017 Costa FLW Series Southeastern Lake Okeechobee Day 1: Gary Milicevic Grabs Lead with 25lbs!

Spawner is key to bigger weights
by Rob Newell 
FLW PRESS RELESE 
 
This time of year, 10- to 12-pound limits are a dime a dozen on Lake Okeechobee. If you don’t believe it, just take a look at the day one stats of the Costa FLW Series event presented by Power-Pole where 211 limits were weighed in out of 250 pros fishing.
Most of those limits were comprised of aggressive buck bass that make beds by the thousands in the shallows while the more wary – and much larger – females lurk around on the outsides of the bedding zones in deeper water or thicker cover.

Two brutes for Milicevic. (Photo: FLW) 

Essentially the difference between a par 10-pound limit and a 24-pound limit on Okeechobee right now is one is a bag full of males and the other is a bag full of females. But targeting just female bass all day is a much riskier proposition that requires being in close tune with staging areas, moon phases, wind directions, water clarities and fishing pressure to know exactly when and where a new bevy of big girls is going to roll up.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Hallman Punching Up a Huge Lead!

Chris Johnston Jumps to 4th. 

by Rob Newell
FLW PRESS RELEASE
The third day of Walmart FLW Tour events always seem to be the stingiest days. Whether it’s due to condition changes or fishing pressure or both, day three is the seam where anglers’ primary locations and patterns from the first two days begin to fray. As a result, anglers fishing in the top-20 round on day three are faced with some difficult decisions that boil down to staying committed to their primary gig or switching up their game to try something else for a new window that might be opening.

This week at the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on Lake Okeechobee, tournament leader Bradley Hallman, who has sacked up about 25 pounds per day the last two days, says his day-three decision was pretty easy: stay committed to flipping and punching matted reed heads.

This 8 pounder helps keep the pack 13 1/2 pounds behind.  (Photo: FLW)

That decision resulted in being one fish shy of a limit on day three. But one of his four bass weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, pushing Hallman’s catch to 14 pounds, 3 ounces to give him a three-day total of 64-10. His lead over second-place angler Alex Davis is now 13 1/2 pounds going into the fourth and final day in this event that is hosted by Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina and Resort and the Hendry County Tourism and Development Council.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Bradley Hallman Take Huge Lead!

Canadian Co-anglers Yonemitsu & Agouros finish 5th and 6th. 

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE
Take an extremely full Lake Okeechobee, put a 15 mph south wind on it one day, then flip the wind 180 degrees and propel it to 25 mph out of the north the next day, and what you have is something akin to a 467,000-acre washtub, spilling over at the sides and sloshing bass and bass fishermen back and forth.

Hallman winning over wind and weeds. (Photo: FLW)

This time around, the Walmart FLW Tour opener on Lake Okeechobee presented by Ranger Boats has not been about staking out a square-mile area in the Monkey Box and waiting for waves of big bass to funnel in hourly. This time around, the anglers have been tested by the biggest washing machine in the southern U.S., and the cold-water rinse cycle started today.

The angler who seems to be thriving in the sloshing is Bradley Hallman of Norman, Okla. Hallman is a former Bassmaster Elite Series pro who is off to a solid start in rekindling his pro fishing career on the Walmart FLW Tour in this event, which is presented by Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina and Resort and Hendry County Tourism and Development Council. After sacking up 25 pounds on day one, Hallman bettered that on a horribly gusty day two with 25 pounds, 7 ounces and now leads second-place pro Alex Davis by 8 1/2 pounds.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 1: Bradley Hallman Leads!

Vincent Yonemitsu of Thornhill, Ontario leads Co-anglers

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The old saying is that the third time is the charm, but for Bradley Hallman of Norman, Okla., it’s more like the first time is the charm. Hallman is fishing his first Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Okeechobee. It’s the first day of the first Tour event of 2016, and Hallman sits in first place with 25 pounds even.

Hallman's 25 pound limit grabs lead as flooded Big O remains difficult.
(Photo: FLW)

Hallman even contends that this is the first time he has ever fished Lake Okeechobee – the key word being “lake.”

“I fished an FLW Series event here in ’07 or ’08, but the lake was so low we all fished in the rim ditch – we called it the ‘rim ditch tournament,’” he recalls. “I never even got to go out on the main lake for that event.”

Randall Tharp Teaches You How To Punch Heavy Matted Grass with IBASSIN

With the 2016 FLW Tour starting this week on Florida's Lake Okeechobee and there will be a lot of heavy punching. No one is better than catching big Florida bass than FLW Cup Champ Randall Tharp. Listen how he approaches punching the matted grass.

Costa FLW Series Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Lambert Lead!

Huge Storm Rocks Lake!

by Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Jason's Big O beast made a huge difference. (Photo: FLW)

While Lake Okeechobee may lack offshore structure that Jason Lambert is used to, that hasn’t stopped him from catching good limits of Florida bass this week. By the time the scale closed on day two of the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division event – which is presented by Power-Pole – the Pickwick Dam, Tenn., pro quietly overtook the top spot thanks to a day-two bag of 15 pounds, 7 ounces.

Combined with his day-one catch of 16-9, Lambert now has an overall weight of 32 pounds even. That means he will carry a slim 1-1 lead over Florida stud Glenn Browne into the final act of the Costa Series season opener.

If you know anything about Lambert’s career, you know that summertime on the Tennessee River is his element. What you may not know is just how much he loves to fish grass, which he is out to prove this week.

“People think that all I do is fish offshore,” says Lambert, who will be entering his third season on the Walmart FLW Tour. “But really I love fishing grass. I’ve had a good practice and a lot of fun this week. It feels good to be fishing down in Florida.”

Brett Hite Wins 2014 Walmart FLW on Lake Okeechobee

Arizona pro goes wire-to-wire to claim $125,000 prize

09.Feb.2014 by Kyle Wood

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Brett Hite sealed up his second win on the Walmart FLW Tour this week in dominating fashion. Though his weights slipped every day, Hite still pulled away with 6-pound, 6-ounce margin of victory. The best part for Hite was that he did it his way. He is known to be one of the best with fishing a vibrating jig and he proved it this week after hauling in 88-14 from the Big O.

Brett went wire to wire to win.
(Photos: FLW)

Getting off on the right foot is key in any tournament and Hite had hopes of catching a decent limit to put him in the pack on day one.

“I had no idea I would catch nearly 35 pounds on the first day,” said Hite, who has been tournament fishing since he got out of high school. “I thought I could do maybe 18 or 20 when I was driving to my first spot. As I got closer I saw there were two shiner boats on where I wanted to be. I made a loop around them to start on the other side and when I pulled up it was on.”

It was on to the tune of 34-15 to take a commanding lead and grab the record for the second-largest single catch in FLW Tour history. From there he would add 23-8 to his total after day two to take over a 12-pound lead. He kept that lead coming into the final day with his catch of 15-12 and with his smallest limit yet – 14-11 – Hite would place his hands on the title and the $125,000 check.

“To win you have to have a flawless tournament. You don’t get the opportunity to win too often so when it happens you need to take advantage. I fished with a ton of confidence all week and got to fish a style that I love.”

It started for Hite when he checked the same area he usually inhabits when the FLW Tour comes to Okeechobee located around the Monkey Box and Fisheating Bay area. Most of the field rushes towards the bank , while Hite prefers the wide open water away from there.

“I checked that area on the first day of practice which is normally where I fish down here. Usually in the past there has been less grass and I’ll catch them there good one day but not the next. This year there was more hydrilla than I have seen and it got my wheels turning and I knew this tournament would play to how I like it.

Vibrating jigs and flipping on the last two days
kept Hite ahead of the pack. 

“I started out fishing in Arizona around structure. I have always considered myself good on structure and over the years consider grass a strength as well. Fishing an outside grass edge like I did is just like fishing structure. I knew that with more grass those areas would hold a ton of fish, and they did.”

Hite stayed focused on what he called “salad bowls” or places that held multiple types of vegetation. Where you found those, you would find big numbers of bass. The large flat outside the Monkey Box and Fisheating Bay area contained this sweet spots and Hite had them dialed in. He focused on the clumps of grass, hard bottom within the grass, grass points or any other change in the grass line that would concentrate bass. Most of these areas he knew from years of fishing the area.

When he fished the grass Hite used two different vibrating jigs depending on the conditions. He had a black and blue one tied on with a Yamamoto Swimming Senko for a trailer (same color) for early in the morning. When the sun would get higher in the sky he switched over to a green pumpkin vibrating jig with matching Swimming Senko. As the wind would get calm he mixed in a ¼-ounce swim jig with a Swimming Senko – also in green pumpkin. He had those tied on with 20-pound Sunline Sniper and Shooter fluorocarbon.

2014 FLW Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Hite Still On Top

Tougher day still has Arizona pro on top by 12-3

08.Feb.2014 by Kyle Wood

CLEWISTON, Fla. – The first two days of competition on Lake Okeechobee saw numerous bags of 20-plus pounds brought in to the scales. Today, however, seemed to reflect more of traditional Saturday on the Big O where the fish go into hiding from the amount of pressure the receive each weekend. Despite lower catches, Brett Hite still clings to what is now a 12-pound, 3-ounce lead heading into the final day.

“The fishing is really day to day out here,” said the Phoenix, Ariz., resident. “It’s hard to say when the fish will bite or won’t. We had about the same conditions as the first day, so I thought they would bite a lot better.”

Hite still casting on the Big O. Overall fishing was
slower but Hite still managed to catch enough
for a 12 pound lead.
(Photo: FLW) 

Hite has been mentioning all week that he has two patterns he could rely on depending on the conditions. His primary pattern has carried him so far, but today he had to fall back to plan B.

“I fished my main area all morning until about 11 o’clock and had one decent fish and three little ones,” Hite explained. “I got a feeling today that something wasn’t right and when that happens it helps to have something to fall back on, luckily I did. I had a voice in my head that told me to change. I wasn’t seeing the size or numbers from the primary patter so I made the change.”

When an angler experiences being in the “groove” everything falls into place for them. It is almost as if they can do no wrong. Hite has been to that level before back in 2008 when he won his first Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Toho by over 20 pounds. He then headed west to fish another tour-level event on the California Delta where he caught over 100 pounds of bass to claim back-to-back titles. The way Hite is fishing this week eerily resembles his performance from then.

Keith Fels Wins 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Southeast Division Event On Lake Okeechobee

by Rob Newell
FLW Press Release

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – For an entire year Keith Fels of Ocala, Fla., has had to live with the nightmare that occurred last year at the Rayovac FLW Series on Lake Okeechobee.

In that event, Fels entered the final day of the event in fifth place. Everything was going according to plan on the last day, including the 20-plus pounds that was swimming in his livewell. Then his cranking battery died. He was able to jump it off and made a fateful decision to keep the outboard running in neutral while he fished from the front deck without his kill switch attached.

Luckily, Fels day 2 bag was super heavy because
he almost let it slip away today.
(Photo: FLW)

The grievous error constituted a rules infraction that requires the kill switch to be attached to the pro anytime the motor is running. As result, Fels catch for the day was disqualified, costing him his first Rayovac Series win.

Today, Fels redeemed himself from the mistake, holding a Rayovac FLW Series trophy in his hands.

“Redemption,” sighed an exasperated Fels, who is a driver for Fed Ex in Ocala. “This helps make up for last year for sure. That’s 40 grand I can use to pay off my truck and boat.”

Fels took a healthy 12-pound lead into the final day, but his four-bass bag weighing in at only 7 pounds, 15 ounces today left the door open. Jared McMillan tried to take advantage of the opportunity to rain on Fels’ wire-to-wire parade, but Fels had built up too much of a lead overcome with his previous days’ bags of 20 pounds, 9 ounces and 26 pounds, 7 ounces, respectively. In the end, Fels held on to victory with a three-day total of 54 pounds, 15 ounces, winning by 2 pounds, 4 ounces.

And Fels might forever remember the 10-pound, 9-ounce monster he caught on day 2 – that he had to hand-line in after his line broke – which pushed him over the top.

Fels’ week centered on pitching a Gambler 1-1/4-ounce Jigzilla, trailed with a Gambler Megadaddy trailer (both black/blue), into holes in hydrilla in several feet of water. He fished the big jig on 65-pound braid with Fitzgerald’s Rods in lengths of 7-foot, 6-inches and 7-foot, 10 inches.

Fels could not confirm whether the fish were bedding in the holes saying, “the water was too dingy to see down that far.”

As to why his catch fell off so dramatically today, Fels said that the wind wreaked havoc on his boat control in the matted hydrilla.

Keith Fels Wins 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Southeast Division Event On Lake Okeechobee

More details coming...

Rayovac FLW Series Lake Okeechobee Day2: Fels Take Command

Florida pro compounds lead with 10-9 giant

    Story and Photos by Rob Newell FLW Press Release
    

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – After a rather lackluster day one of the Rayovac FLW Series event on Lake Okeechobee, anglers were certain day two was going to be better.

After all, much warmer air and intermittent sunshine drove the water temperatures up into the low 60’s. The bite did improve a tad, but overall it still was not the Okeechobee bag-buster everyone was hoping for.

One man who seems to have the Okeechobee bite wired is Keith Fels of Ocala, Fla.

The bite definitely improved for Fels today as he added 26 pounds, 7 ounces to his 20 pounds, 9 ounces from yesterday to compile a commanding lead with 47 pounds even, some 12 pounds heavier than second place.

Fels's big bass show why Florida is always a great place
for a tournament.

Fels’ limit today included the day-two big bass weighing in at 10 pounds, 9 ounces. He has been the only angler to crack the 20-pound mark each day.

“I had those by 9:30 this morning and I was done,” Fels said. “When I caught the 10-pounder, it culled my little fish and I left the area to save it for tomorrow.”

Fels did reveal he is pitching, but the way he managed to get the 10-pounder in the boat borders on miraculous.

“I made a pitch, got a bite, set the hook and missed,” he said. “I pitched right back in there, got another bite, set the hook and it was on. I fought the fish until it bogged up into a huge wad of vegetation. As I was heaving on the line pulling the wad in, my 65-pound test braid broke up in the rod. The tag end of the line laid across a mat of hydrilla. The fish was so bogged down, it didn’t move. I reached out, grabbed the tag end of line and basically hand-lined the giant wad of weeds to the boat and wrapped up inside was that 10-pounder.”

Ware second

Kent Ware of Wadmalaw Island, S.C., moved up eight spots to second place on the strength of his 19-pound catch today for a two-day total of 34 pounds, 11 ounces.

Ware was the Angler of the Year in the Southeastern Division of the Rayovac Series last season. And here’s the unique part: he did most of it with a spinning rod.

Ware uses a spinning rod most of the time, including here at Okeechobee, to punch vegetation like most do with conventional baitcasting gear.

“It’s what works for me,” Ware said. “I’m just a lot more efficient with a spinning rod. It’s faster and quieter for me and I can get away with lighter baits.”

Here at Okeechobee, Ware’s spinning rod set-up is a heavy action 7-foot G. Loomis rod spooled with 50-pound braid.