Lake Okeechobee Bass Fishing Reports

Clewiston----- The weather has been cooling off but the bass fishing is heating up on the big lake. Reports of big bass being caught on wild shiners are starting to come in daily and it's about time with the month of December approaching fast these bass should be in off the main lake and getting ready to spawn. I had a good number of four and five pound bass with my clients last week and watched as another fisherman close by caught bigger fish on almost every cast. The bait of choice for this past week was wild shiners, but we did catch a few bass on artificial lures including a couple three pound bass on Gambler Ugly Otters in bluegrass color rigged with a 1/4 ounce screw in sinker. The West Wall has started to come alive again as the bass are starting to move back in the grass from the outside grass line and some nice bass are being caught on shiners from holes in the grass and in the boat trails. I weighed a bass for a fellow that caught it close to Clewiston either Coots Bay or the West Wall that weighed in at 11 pounds, yes she was full of eggs and was release unharmed back into the lake. Most of the guides from our marina are reporting having good days with Jerry Wares and Ed Steadly having a couple real good days last week. The Football Field (if it's not to muddy from the wind), Coots Bay, the East Wall and the West Wall are all good areas to concentrate on if you want to catch a good bass or two. The area from Uncle Joe's Cut up to Cochrans Pass is really holding up good to the wind and the water clarity is staying fairly clear especially if you get back in the grass a boat length or two. I did catch a few fish on Senkos in this area but I had to make long casts so as not to spook these bass with the water being so clear. You might also catch a few bass on Rat-L-Traps in Cochrans Pass and out along the outside grass line keying in on the points, silver with blue back Rat-L-Trap would be my color choice. Another area that has started to produce bass is around Horse Island up to Tin House Cove as long as the wind doesn't have the water dirty, these bass like those on the West Wall are starting to move back into the shallows to get ready to spawn. I would throw a spinnerbait or Rat-L-Trap in the boat trails and a Senko or Ugly Otter in the sparse grass and around reed patches. The water level is still going down and is at 12.34 above sea level and the water temperature has been dropping into the lower 70's. The south end of the lake around the Belle Glade area has been slow with hardly any bass being caught at this end of the lake, I'm not real sure why there is not a few fish in this area, the bottom of the lake looks bad with lots of sediment and dead vegetation but the water has been clear in most areas. The crappie bite is still picking up with Harnie Pond Canal, Uncle Joe's Cut and the Kissimmee River being the better areas, with minnows being the bait of choice. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and gets to spend it with family and friends.

Bass Wishes
Capt. Scott Martin / Capt. Mark King