Haga/Metzler Win at Windy Okeechobee

Wouldn't you know it. It looked like Florida's 2 days of winter were over for the season until our two day Okeechobee extravaganza came up on the schedule. The wind and cold showed up once more. Not that I would know anything about it, since I didn't even bother getting out of bed to go to the tournament.

Mike Hampton has informed me that Dwayne Haga and Dave Metzler continued kicking our butts with a two day total of 24.27 to win the event. They were in 6th place after day 1 but catapulted to the win with a relatively big bag on day 2 flipping the Harney Pond Canal area. Alan Elder and Wayne Smith earned a close second with a two day total of 24.12, as they so often do, they used watermelon red flukes in the Monkey Box to catch their weight. Mike Calloway and Cliff Semonski took 3rd by flipping sweet beavers at hard edges of the North Shore and Harney Pond Canal. Calloway's 5.00 pounder took Big Bass on day 1 and Joe Jenkins weighed a 5.10 pounder for Big Bass on day 2.

This month's small creel prize went to DJ & Kiera Eidem. I didn't see it myself, so I don't know anything about this, but rumor has it that it was some kind of noxious malodorous liquid that may or may not have been fit for human consumption. Said mysterious liquid which may or may not have been an actual beverage was of completely unknown origin. We hope it was enjoyed responsibly and nobody suffered permanent mental or physical injury as a result of imbibing it.

Mike Hampton tells me that it was "very windy" both days and that the water was muddy on the outside grass lines but clear inside with temperatures ranging from 55 to 71 degrees.

The winners reported catching their fish using the following tricks:

• 1st Place: flipping something in the Harney Pond Canal
• 2nd Place: watermelon red colored Zoom Super Flukes in the Monkey Box
• 3rd Place & Day 1 Big Bass: flipping Reaction Innovations Sweet Beavers at hard edges of North Shore and the Harney Pond Canal
• Day 2 Big Bass:10" worm