Get Out Reaction Baits For Rayovac Opener On Okeechobee Following Frigid ‘polar Vortex’

The “Polar Vortex” that swept down out of the Arctic bringing sub-freezing temperatures all the way to Florida this week probably means that anglers in the Rayovac Southeast FLW Series opener on Lake Okeechobee will have to entice the bass with reaction baits, said veteran tournament pro JT Kenney of nearby Palm Bay, Fla.

Actually, Kenney said, had the massive cold front moved across the Southeast a little sooner it probably would have helped the fishing.

“We’ve not had any cold fronts so far this year until this one. Eventually, it will make the fishing better because the cold aftermath is what triggers the schools of bass that live out in the open lake,” said Kenney, who has won two FLW Tour events and a BASS Open on Okeechobee. “The back side of a cold front is what triggers the big schools of fish to come into the grass to spawn – but I don’t think it is going to happen by this tournament.”

It usually takes four or five days after a cold front for the bass to rebound, he noted, but this front was just too close to tournament time.

The blast of frigid air was hustled along by strong winds and that will also have an effect on the fish this weekend, Kenney said.

“The wind started about 3 o’clock Monday and was still blowing 25 to 30 miles per hour 24 hours later. When you get a wind that blows that hard it moves the grass and there is a lot of sediment in the grass so it dirties the water. These bass do not like dirty water, so they literally shut down.”

Kenney said that although the hydrilla in Okeechobee is rooted to the bottom the hyacinths and other vegetation gets blown all over the lake.

“The guys who found some productive stretches of mats flipping, a lot of those fish will not be there anymore,” said Kenney, a 12-year FLW pro who has won $1.275 million in FLW and BASS tournaments.

“After a cold front these fish don’t feed. Weightless worms and soft jerkbaits usually dominate in a good weather pattern. That is a feeding bite, but they are not feeding, so the best strategy will be to try to get reaction bites with a Rat-L-trap or spinnerbait shooting by their heads or a big heavy weight falling down through the mats by them.”

Abut 300 pros an co-anglers are expected to fish the Southeast Division Rayovac FLW Series tournament this weekend, which also kicks off the national Rayovac season, which features five divisions – the Southeast Central, Northern, Texas and Western divisions. Each division consists of three tournaments where competitors vie for points to earn a ticket to the 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship Oct. 30-Nov. 1 on Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala.

Pros will fish for a $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will fish for a top prize of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

Following the Okeechobee tournament, the Southeast Division moves to Santee Cooper March 13-15 for the second tournament, then finishes division competition April 24-26 on Lake Guntersville.

 

Rayovac FLW Series – Southeast

Jan. 9-11, 2014

Lake Okeechobee

C. Scott Driver Park

www.flwoutdoors.com