July 2006
July 31st, 2006
Clewiston-----The Lake Okeechobee bass fishing has been good this past week with a good number of three to four pound bass being caught on every guide trip. The better fish are still being caught on wild shiners and the West Wall is still producing the best for me. The water on the West Wall is real clear so the best fishing is from around 6:00 in the morning till about 11:00 when the sun gets up real high in the sky. We are catching at least one or two good sized bass over six pounds on almost every guide trip, but most of the bass are smaller. There is a good amount of baitfish roaming around off the West Wall in the open water, the bass are out chasing these balls of bait around and can be caught when the start feeding on them. I would throw a Rat-L-Trap or crankbait at these schooling bass when they start feeding, a spinnerbait or small swimbait might also work good. I have also been catching some good bass on a Gambler Cane Toad in the grass, most of these fish are around three pounds or smaller I can't seem to catch anything any bigger in this area. From the West Wall up to Uncle Joe's Cut has been good worm fishing, you need to throw back in the grass at least two to three feet and work the worm out toward open water, a Gambler 10" worm in blue shadow or junebug color with an 1/8 ounce sinker. With this water being so clear you might need to go to monofilament or fluorocarbon line, I have switched from braided line to Berkley Vanish and I have been getting more bites with the Vanish line then I was with the braided line.
The bass fishing from Observation Island up to Cochran's Pass has slowed down this past week, I think the fishing pressure in this area has moved these fish in the grass more or out to open water. I have been catching a few out in the open water on Rat-L-Traps and crankbaits, but most of the fish I have been catching in the open water has been on a Carolina rig . I have had the most success with a Senko or a Gambler Flappin Shad on my Carolina rigs, I use a 3/4 ounce weight to keep in contact with the bottom. As you drag this rig across the bottom of the lake you will feel all the rocks in this area and that is where these bass will be hanging out. The area around Ritta Island is looking real good and the water is clearing up daily, some bass are being caught on wild shiners around the tip of Ritta and the artificial bite has also picked up with worms and Senkos being the best choice. Another area starting to get some attention is around Kramer Island, the area around the tip is starting to get clean, but Pelican Bay is still pretty muddy. I have not heard to much this week about the bluegill bite, I have heard about a few still being caught around Uncle Joe's Cut and at the dynamite hole south of Clewiston.
