Lake Okeechobee Fishing Reports Dec. 2006
Clewiston-----The condition of the lake and the fishing continues to improve everyday, with reports of big bass being caught on wild shiners and artificial lures alike. The water level is dropping rapidly and the water in most of the areas that we are fishing is clear to slightly stained. Most all of the guides reported having a good week catching most of there bass on shiners, my clients enjoyed a great week catching bass on both wild shiners and artificial baits. The bass we caught on shiners were from two to nine pounds with the biggest one tipping the scales at nine and a half pounds, most of the bass we caught on lures were from one to three pounds. Gambler Ace’s and Senkos were the bait of choice to catch the most fish last week and green pumpkin and junebug were the colors of choice. I also caught a few fish on a Zoom Super Fluke and lizards, watermelon-red color seemed to work the best, all these artificial lures had to fished slow. The bass seem to be moving in to the shallow water to spawn with the full moon approaching and another cold front that will be passing through our area next week. The East Wall was a hot spot this week with several big bass being caught in this area during tournaments over the weekend. The Senko and the Super Fluke were the baits for this area, the key was to fish them in and around the grass and to deadstick them or fish them as slow as you can stand to fish them. The next good area was from Uncle Joe’s Cut up to Cochran’s Pass, most of the bass are being caught on the outside grass line and on some of the trails that are close to the outside of the grassline and of course you will want to fish all of the grass points. I did catch a few bass on a Rat-L-Trap on these points but they were few and far between, chrome with blue back was the color I throw this time of the year to try and imitate the shad that the bass are feeding on. Another area that you might want to check on is Pelican Bay, I have had reports that the bass are starting to move into this area to spawn and this would be great as this area has not been in the best shape since hurricane Wilma did her deed a year ago. I spent a couple days last week down at the Everglades at Sawgrass recreational park and caught a good number of bass but most were from one to two pounds with a three pound bass being our largest one. I fished the canals mostly but the water is up high enough to go out on the flats and I would guess that is where the bigger bass are at right now. The crappies are still biting well at Harnie Pond Canal and Uncle Joe’s Cut, most of the reports are that the crappies are real thick and heavy this year but seem to be harder to catch. Most of the folks I have been talking to are using minnows to catch these crappies, but a few are jigging for them. Quick update on my Garcia Revo STX reel that I have been using for six months now, still real smooth to cast and retrieve and the finish looks like it is still new, I would recommend this reel to anyone from a tournament pro to the weekend warrior it will get the job done.
Bass Wishes
Capt. Scott Martin / Capt. Mark King
November 27th, 2006
Lake Level 12.26
Clewiston-----The week started out slow with the temperatures in the 40s at night but as the week progressed the fishing has improved. Most of the bass that I have been catching on my guide trips this past week were north of Clewiston from Uncle Joe's Cut up to Horse Island. This water has remained fairly clean even with the north and east winds we had all week, but the water level is really starting to drop fast with today's reading at 12.26 feet above sea level. Most of the bass are being caught on wild shiners and most of the bass earlier in the week were small but as the weekend approached and the weather improved so did the fishing with a bigger bass being caught. Everyone will need to use caution when running the lake as the water level nears twelve feet it will be easy to hit something on the bottom if you run in the wrong places, make sure you idle way out from the grass line before you try to get up on plane. This might be a good time to hire a guide that knows where he or she is going and can get you to the fish that you might otherwise be afraid to take your boat for fear of tearing it up. The bite on artificial has picked up some with a few bass being caught on Senkos on the East Wall and up around Cochran's Pass, both areas can be affected by the wind if it is blowing hard out of the north or east. When fishing the Senko you should use a darker colors like black-blue and junebug in stained water and lighter colors like watermelon and green pumpkin in the clearer water and you will want to fish the Senko weightless and as slow as you can. The trick this week was to let the Senko sit on the bottom for up to a minute and then the bass would pick it up and move off with it. Most of the bass seem to be just on the outside edge of the grassline, I haven't caught any bass back in the grass this week with the falling water level I believe these fish are moving out from in the shallow water. Capt. Ron Stevens who guides out of Roland Martin's Marina reported catching a good number of bass one day last week at the Sawgrass Recreational area in the Everglades on worms. I also spent a day in the Everglades out on Alligator Alley fishing with Dick McConnel and his daughter Polly and we caught around 25 bass but they were all small ones, this is the second year I have fished with Dick and Polly and they are a lot of fun out on the water. The crappie bite has slowed up this past week with a few being caught in Harnie Pond Canal and Uncle Joe's Cut also producing a few, minnows will be the bait of choice to catch some of these slabs. I would also like to remind everyone that as spawning season for bass approaches to please take a quick picture of these big female bass and get them back in the water as soon as possible so that they will still spawn and you will be able to catch them again. With Christmas only four weeks away a guided bass fishing trip on Lake Okeechobee would make a great gift for a loved one this year.
Bass Wishes
Capt. Scott Martin / Capt. Mark King
