Fletcher Shryock's Pattern, Baits & Gear
Shryock spent 2 weeks pre-fishing for the event and familiarized himself with Okeechobee's most popular bass haunts. When he came back for official practice, he decided to try to find something different.
What he came up with was a very small area on the northern end that had clean water, but very little cover. Nonetheless, big fish were hanging out there.
"It had a hard reed line all the way around and some isolated pencil reeds and maybe a little point," he said. "That was about it."
He threw a swimjig and said he lost numerous big fish on days 1 and 2 before figuring out how to keep them hooked up - he needed to loosen the drag on his reel until it slipped a little when he set the hook.
"When they'd bite, they'd almost take the rod out of my hand, and it didn't take a lot to get a hook in them," he said. "On the first day I had one open the hook all the way up and get off.
"After I loosened the drag, when they'd get near the boat and want to take off and run, I'd just let the drag slip a little line out and I'd wear them out. When I got them in they were hooked perfectly."
A stealthy approach and precise casts were critical.
"If I didn't hit within 6 inches (of his target), I didn't catch that fish. If I got bit, it was always within the first 1 to 2 feet of the retrieve."
Swimjig gear: 7'4" medium-heavy Abu Garcia Ike Power Series rod, Abu Garcia Revo ALX casting reel, 50-pound Spiderwire Stealth Smooth braided line, unnamed 3/8-ounce swimjig (black/blue), Yamamoto Twin Tail Grub trailer (black/blue).
He flipped up one weigh-in fish at the end of day 4 on a Medlock jig and caught one on day 1 swimming a worm.
Main factor - "Being able to get away from the crowd. These big Florida fish, if they don't have trolling motors going by and big engines over their head all day, they will bite. It's almost like you have to get away from fish to find fish."
