Okay, We came down on the 17th of June and fished on Saturday the 18th with Mr. Tom Mann Jr. He did not disappoint.
The morning started off with a beautiful sunrise idling past the boats on the lake for a tournament. Beautiful way to start the day.
We stopped to fish, it was very calm with no breeze, a slight breeze picked up about 30 minutes and the bite was on. We were in
an area with several of the tournament boats showing up. We appeared to be the only boat catching. Mr. Mann was excellent. There were
three of us. My Son and his wife and myself along with Mr. Mann(So, really four, Mr. Mann did not fish at first) My Son and I are experienced fishermen.
We were catching fish in spurts. The slight breeze stopped and so did the bites. Around 8 am when the breeze stopped the heat and humidity started
climbing.
Being from Texas we did not mind it. We all noted how the fish would fight like they were 8-10 lbers. These fish were strong and fun to catch.
about 8:45am the breeze picked up and the bite started again for about 30-40 minutes, then it got dead calm, about 9:45am it started getting down right
hot. Mr. Mann and I had talked about this prior to coming down. I wanted to book a full day and he warned that if the wind stops it will get unbearable. so,
we left the length of the trip open.
Since the wind stopped and it wasn't even 10am yet. Mr. Mann picked up a rod and started trying different things. He figured
something out and handed the pole to my daughter-in-law while my son and I stayed with the original pattern. Unfortunately for her she wasn't able to keep the fish
buttoned up to get them in the boat. At about 10:15am we moved to one last spot where I had hooked and boated the biggest of the day. It was about 5-6 lbs and fought
harder than any bass I had caught. Keep in mind, I fish Lake Fork and other great lakes here in Texas. The pure Florida strain are extremely fun.
At about 10:45am, It was getting extremely hot. We decided to call it a day and head in. Okeechobee was everything I had imagined and will definitely be back.
We were really happy with Mr. Mann and will no doubt book him again. The day was mixed with a lot of laughs and the normal banter between my son and I. Mr. Mann
and my daughter-in-law was also part of the laughter.
I highly recommend Mr. Tom Mann Jr.
