Lake Okeechobee Bass Fishing Reports

good place to catch bass on shiners with most being caught on the outside grass line where the water is clean and not to muddy. Another place to try if the wind isn't blowing to hard is the outside grass line from Cochran's Pass down to Observation Island, this water remains clean even if the wind blows hard so it is fishable as long as you can hold the boat to fish. Both of these areas are getting real shallow with the lake level under twelve feet above sea level, you will want to idle in from out in the lake to avoid damaging your boat or motor. While I'm on this subject the lake is once again at a dangerous level and you will want to know where you are running before you get yourself in a bad situation, a suggestion I might make is to hire a guide to show you where you can and can't go on the lake with the water level so low and while your at it a guide will be able to show you some good places to fish on your own. The artificial lure fishing was slow as the cold front passed through the area but has picked up considerable now that the weather has stabilized. A ten inch junebug colored worm has been my best producer for the last couple weeks, I like the Berkley Power Worm that I fish with a 1/4 ounce Gambler Florida rig weight and fifty pound Spiderwire Ultra Cast braided line , another lure that has been working is a Berkley Gulp Batwing frog in green pumpkin color also thrown on fifty pound braided line. Some of the areas that you might want to try artificial lure fishing would be Coots Bay, Pelican Bay around Ritta Island, the West Wall and around Uncle Joe's cut out at the lake end. All of these areas are dependent on the wind and how much dirty water from out on the lake gets pushed into these areas and then the bass are much harder to catch, so the best thing is to do to keep an eye on the wind and fish those areas that are not getting pounded by the wind.
The crappie fishing has really picked up with lots of crappies being caught in Uncle Joe's Cut and just south of Bare Beach channel in the rim canal, most are reporting that the crappies have been big and that limits are being caught daily. Most of the crappies are being caught on minnows but that jigs are producing larger fish for most. Don't take more crappies then what you can eat save some for others as this has been a good year and we want the lake to continue to produce crappies for years to come.
Bass Wishes
Capt. Scott Martin / Capt. Mark King