By John Johnson
Managing Editor

The first tour-level event of 2012 gets under way 3 weeks from today when the FLW Tour visits Florida's famed Lake Okeechobee. The Big "O" should be primed to put on another great show.

Brandon McMillan set the Tour 4-day weight record there last year with a little more than 106 1/2 pounds. Scott Martin, the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion who's spent much of his life at the lake, said that mark could easily fall.



"When the FLW left last year, the fishing actually got better and it hasn't stopped," he said. "Historically things like that have happened for a month or two at a time, but this freak show has gone on for almost 2 years now, non-stop.''

The warm-up act for the Tour event, the Okeechobee Southeastern EverStart, begins today and runs through Saturday. Martin said the winning 3-day weight for that derby could be in excess of 80 pounds.

A 30-06 stringer topped the BFL that was staged there last Saturday and the 2nd- through 5th-place bags were all in excess of 25 pounds. Martin said he had a 4-day stretch just before Christmas when his aggregate would've been 116, and he and fellow Tour pro Randall Tharp combined for a pair of stringers that averaged 30 on a recent filming day.

"There are just so many places to fish right now," he said. "The lake is full of grass and the water's at a level where you can fish (away from the banks), fish shallow or do just about whatever you want to do."

Wilma Paved the Way

Martin said the foundation for the great fishing that Okeechobee's experiencing right now was laid by powerful Hurricane Wilma, which struck Florida in the fall of 2005. That was followed by an extended period of less-than-average rainfall, which was also a boon for the lake.

"The hurricane wiped the bottom clean of sediment – the storm surge pushed out all that decayed stuff," he said. "The lake went down to 8 feet after that (normal level is 13 1/2) and all that dry ground became just like a clean slate.

"The wind and the air re-energized the ground, and when the lake finally filled back up, the vegetation had real good soil to grow in. Now that it doesn't have all that decayed plant material on the bottom, it doesn't get real muddy like it did before."

He said the water is at its standard level for the first time in about 3 years. It was about a foot lower for last year's Tour stop.

"The eel grass and all the other submerged vegetation is very healthy and the water stays pretty clean all the time – I can't remember the last time it got really muddy. Even when it's super-windy, the lake is still fishable.

"The fish have plenty to eat and this year they can spawn anywhere they want. This place has the longest spawn in the country – it starts in October and ends in June."

Lots of Possibilities

Martin said the spawn will continue toward its peak throughout this month, and sight-fishing will undoubtedly play a big role in the Tour event. However, there will be plenty of other ways to catch fish.

"Last year the water was low, so it was harder to win flipping (although McMillan indeed won with the big stick)," he said. "This year's got everything and you'll be able to pick your poison. There are some fish spawning, and that should get progressively better and guys will catch them that way, and the swimbait bite should be going 100 percent.

"Last year almost everything was out on the edges, but this year there's a lot more breathing room."

Also, a good percentage of the fish are quite large. But, like always at the Big "O", an angler will likely have to work through several smaller specimens for every hefty one.

"There are so many 6- to 8-pounders right now, whereas last year those fish were 5 to 6 pounds. We're seeing that year-class continue to grow.

"Next year they'll be 7, 8 and 9, and then where does it go from there?"

Notable

> Martin is confident that he'll fare well in the Open, but he's not picking himself to win. "There's this old-timer around here who knows a thing or two about this pond, and I'm picking him," he said. "Of course, I'm talking about my pops (the legendary Roland Martin, whose competing in the six Tour Majors and the Okeechobee Open this year)."