Ocala, Florida’s Keith Fels triumphed over 225 other anglers who traveled across the country to fish the Rayovac FLW Series on Lake Okeechobee. Fels brought the only 20 pound limit to the scales to take the lead on day 1. His slim 1 pound, 1 ounce lead heading into day 2 didn’t phase him.
On day 2, Fels pulled far ahead of the rest of the field when he weighed in the tournament’s largest bag. His tournament best sack of 26 pounds, 7 ounces propelled Fels into day 3 with a 12 pound lead. A giant 10 pound, 9 ounce lunker anchored his day 2 limit, which he almost lost. His line broke while fighting the fish, but he was able to grab hold of the line and bring the fish in by hand.
Day 3 proved to be tough for Fels, but his 4 fish weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces was enough to hold off Belle Glade’s Jared McMillian to win the 2014 Rayovac FLW Series event on Lake Okeechobee. His 3 day total of 54 pounds, 15 ounces was worth $40,000.
Fels focused on flipping holes in hydrilla all 3 days of the tournament. His weapon of choice was a black/blue Gambler 1-1/4 ounce Jigzilla, paired with a Gambler Megadaddy trailer. He fished the heavy jig with Fitzgerald Rods flipping sticks, 7’6″ and 7’10” models.
Jared McMillian made a strong push on the final day, weighing in the heaviest bag of day 3; 19 pounds, 1 ounce. While most of the field focused on flipping, McMillian caught his fish throwing the Gambler Big EZ swimbait. His three-day total of 52 pounds, 11 ounces was worth $15,500.
Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn. took 3rd place with a three day total of 49 pounds, 2 ounces worth $12,000. Haynes caught his fish flipping a combination of Missile Bait’s D-Bomb, and Strike King’s Rodent with 1-1/2 and 2 ounce tungsten weights.
Val Osinski of Pompano Beach, Fla., finished fourth with 46 pounds, 7 ounces worth $10,000. Osinski, the owner of Gambler Lures, targeted mats with Gambler’s new Why Not, a bait specifically designed for punching thick mats.
Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark., rounded out the top 5 with 45 pounds, 3 ounces worth $9,000. Pace caught his fish throwing a green pumpkin Zoom Horny Toad, and a 7 inch junebug Yamamoto Senko. Pace stated that Sometimes the fish would blow up on the Horny Toad and he would throw the Senko back to where the fish missed the Horny Toad, and they would inhale it.
Rounding out the top-10 pros in the Rayovac FLW Series event on Okeechobee:
6th: Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 44-8, $8,000
7th: Joseph Kremer, Osteen, Fla., 44-4, $7,000
8th: Miles Burghoff, Guntersville, Ala., 43-1, $6000
9th: Thomas Helton, Charleston, Tenn., 42-3, $5000
10th: Kent Ware, Wadmalaw Island, S.C., 40-6, $4,000
