CLEWISTON –  The second qualifier of the Roland Martin Marine Center Series 2024 season presented by HUK on July 20, 2024 was another hot one with a heat index in the triple digits. That’s par for the course in South Florida but on Lake Okeechobee with the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, you put your big-boy (or girl) pants on and get to work.

The father and son team of Daniel “Salt” and Kane Weekley went to work in the Rim Ditch and produced a solid bag of Okeechobee big mouths to claim the top prize with a winning weight of 25.38 pounds.

“We were fishing out deep in the Rim Ditch,” said the younger Weekley. “We fished rock piles and were dragging worms. It was a grind but we found the right bites. We ran around to quite a few spots but it was a fun day.”

The proud poppa of the team added his support and was ready with the net all day long.

“He caught everything today,” said the senior Weekley. “I got him started very young at the age of two and he’s learned a lot since then.”

The next lesson is in economics with the grand payday. The team collected $6,000 for the win and added $250 as the highest finisher to cross the stage in HUK Gear along with $150 in Bruiser Bucks as the highest finishing team.

Just a little over 3 ounces back, the power team of Justin Morgan and Garrett Folbrecht brought 25 pounds to the scale and collected $3,000 as they continue their campaign for the 2024 Team of the Year.

“We were throwing a Spro Frog and a Bass Assassin Tapout,” said Morgan. “We were looking for little indents, little points and stuff that stuck out and just going around and  throwing a frog by it.”

With their second, second-place finish in two events for 2024,  they continue to haunt the top of the leaderboard.

Then there’s these guys with a last name that might as well be Okeechobee. Jared and Dillon McMillan continue the family legacy with another strong outing and a third place finish with 23.39 pounds.

In the extreme Florida heat, we do all we can to keep our anglers and their precious cargo safe. By opening the scales early and discounting a boat-load of ice, we’re proud to say out of 467 bass brought to the scales, only 14 failed to return to fight another day. 

And as the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the payouts continued deep into the 140 boat field.

The U.S. Sugar Big Bass of 7.29 pounds earned Matt Byrd $500 while the 2nd Big Bass of 7.07 earned Kevin Love $100 Gambler Bucks. Justin Morgan collected $250 as the highest finishing Gilbert Chevrolet owner. Tavyn Heisler collected $100 from the Roland Martin Marina as the highest finishing Youth Angler. The highest finishing Female Angler earned Kylee King $100 from Mary Ann Martin. And winning big for going small, the team of John Tavano and Doug Caldwell turned the smallest limit of 5.77 pounds into $300 from AV Inspection.

That’s how we turn the summertime blues into a wave of Green Baby! Next up is Qualifier #3 on Oct. 19. Remember, teams must fish three of the four qualifiers to qualify for the Championship in December where $35K+ goes to the winning team. It’s Big Bass and Big Checks all season long with the Roland Martin Marine Center Series.