7 1/2 lb. Lake Okeechobee Trophy Bass
John
DeAgro (Weston, FL - ph: 954-385-5989 - e-mail: jedeagro@aol.com)
and son John DeAgro (San Clemente, CA - ph: 949-361-9212 - e-mail:
john_a_deagro@notes.seagate.com) ) caught 16 bass up to 7 1/2 lbs. during 2 half day sessions (Oct. 23 and
24, 1998) of wild shiner fishing with Ron’s Guide Service.
John jr., on their first session of fishing with Cap’n Ron
caught a 5, 6 and 7 1/2 lb. bass while his dad using light
gear managed put one in the boat that went over 4 lbs. They also
caught 4 other bass up to 3 lbs. for a total of 8 fish. During
their second session they put another 8 bass up to 4 lbs. in the
boat. All 16 bass were caught in the Monkey Box of Lake Okeechobee.
All the bass except the 7 1/2 lb’er were live released. 7 1/4, 6 3/4 & 6 1/2 lb. Lake Okeechobee Trophy Bass
Had
a guide party of 3 persons wild shiner fishing on Okeechobee for
2 half days and 1 full day (July 10 - 12, 1998). Although the
fishing was very show they did manage to land and release 19 bass which included a 7 1/4, 6 3/4 and 6 1/2 lb’er. Mike Ruter (Naperville, IL - ph: 630-904-4794
- e-mail: MRuter@romac.com) caught the 7 1/4 lb. bass after setting
the hook on another fish which turned out to be a mudfish that
came out of the water and threw the hook and wild shiner nearly
10 feet in the air where upon hitting the water was immediately
hit by another fish which turned out to be the 7 1/4 lb’er!
Mike also caught a 6 1/2 lb’er on the last morning
of their trip. Dan Mancuso (North Aurora, IL - ph: 630-406-0786
- e-mail:dmancuso@uqsolutions.com or DMancuso@romac.com)
the second fisherman of this group also caught a 6 3/4 lb’er.
John Ward (Bolingbrook, IL - ph: 630-226-1774 - e-mail: Ward_John_D@jpmorgan.com)
the third fisherman caught most of the 2 - 4 lb. bass that were
boated. 
Eugene Hamm, his wife Rosemary and 15 year
old son Darrell (Wheeling, WV - ph: 304-242-5311) caught 42 bass during
5 days (July 5 - 10, 1998) of wild shiner fishing on Florida’s
Lake Okeechobee that included “two” 6 1/2 lb’ers.
Although the bass were very reluctant to hit, Eugene and his
wife Rosemary each caught a 6 1/2 lb’er. All the bass
were released except the 6 1/2 lb’ers which are being mounted.
Caught on (June 26, 1998) by John Skimelis
Jr. (Shrewsbury, NJ - home ph: 732-741 -7271). John Jr., his dad
and sister Karen caught and released about 45 bass up to 5 lbs. during the 3 days (June 24 - 26, 1998)
they fished with wild shiners. On this trip "their third
since June 1995 with Cap'n Ron" we dubbed John's sister
Karen the "Mudfish Queen" after she hooked and caught
at least 25 mudfish that ran in weight from 5 - 8 lbs. On their
"first trip" (June 15 -17, 1995) John Jr. hooked
and landed a 9 lb. Lake Okeechobee trophy bass. He also landed
and released a 6 1/2 lb'er and 64 other bass from 2-5 lbs. John
also caught a 5 1/2 lb. Snook (Snook and Tarpon are occasionally
caught in Lake Okeechobee). All bass were caught using shiners
and released except for the 9 lb. trophy bass that is being mounted.
Captain Ron was their bass fishing guide.
Frank Zdziarski (Shickshinny, PA - ph: 717-864-2403),
Frank Oley Sr. and son Frank Jr. (Plains, PA - ph: 914-567-9917
- e-mail: FRANK1961@aol.com) caught 63 bass which included
a 5 1/2, 6 and 7 1/2 lb'er. using shiners during the 3
days (May 5 - 7, 1998) they fished on Lake Okeechobee with Captain
Ron. Frank Sr. landed the 5 1/2 and 6 lb'er. Frank Zdziarski
landed the 7 1/2 lb'er. Frank Jr. "did a lot of
missing". All the bass were released except the 7 1/2
lb'er which is being mounted. 
Cecil Kraner (Columbus, OH - e-mail: ckraner@sensotec.com),
Russell Cooper and son Russ (Marion, OH - e-mail: cooperjr@gte.net)
caught
96 bass using
wild shiners during the 5 days (April 20 - 24, 1998) they fished
with Captain Ron. Cecil caught "two" 6 1/2 lb'ers and
a 6 1/4 lb "pug nose" bass. They
also landed about 15 bass that ran from 5 - 5 3/4 lbs. All the
bass were released except one 6 1/2 lb'er kept for mounting.
Emmett Windham (Cary, NC - ph:
919-468-0423) and Wayne Cobb (Apex, NC - ph: 919-362-5555) caught
32
bass using
shiners during the 3 days (April 14 - 16, 1998) they fished lake
Okeechobee with Ron’s Guide Service. Although the fishing
was very slow due to heavy winds that pounded the lake they did
manage to land a 7 1/2 and a 6 1/4 lb’er along with about
eight bass that ran from 5 - 5 1/2 lbs. All the bass were
released.
[ONE]
