Okay, We went 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 and a ride across the
lake. 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 later and the bite was on. We were in
an area with several of the tournament boats showing up. I think we counted 10 other boats. 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 was also very impressed with the Honda engine that he had on the back of his Ranger. It was powerful and very quiet..

I highly recommend Mr. Tom Mann Jr.

Cool post and thanks for the info.

You should have soaked some shiners

Mr. Mann did ask if we wanted to fish live bait. We said no. I think if the fishing was tough on artificial, we would
have given up and fished the shiners.

You can catch monsters there on shiners!!! Sounds like a fun trip though

Haven't heard that name in a long time... You always wonder where those old guys go... The Big O is an awe inspiring body of water... Glad everything worked out for you... Dan

So glad your bunch had a good experience with Tom Mann Jr. Thanks for posting.

Years ago, got to fish a Legends tournament in FL as co-angler and drew Tom Mann Jr. He is one classy guy and will make sure you have a good day on the water. Super to hear he's still making a living doing what he loves without having to travel full-time all over the country.

I remember when I was just beginning to bass fish years ago,Manns jelly worms caught me alot of fish.

Jelly worms still catch a lot of bass. Been using the Jelly Worm as my go to bait since the early 1970's. Just getting hard to get some flavors.

I haven't seen those worms in years, didn't even know they still made them. Where did you find them if you don't mind me asking?

Bass Pro still has them and you can get them off their website... Dan