Lake Okeechobee Bass Fishing Reports

Clewiston-----The bass fishing this week has finally started to improve with good catches being reported by both guides and tournament anglers. The wind has been blowing pretty hard most of this past week but the lake has been staying fairly clean in most areas. Most of the same spots are producing for the guides that are out using wild shiners daily they include the Football Field, the 94 hole, Uncle Joe’s Cut and the Clewiston Channel. I have also heard that there are some bass to be caught in the Rim canal south of Clewiston but I have not heard where yet. The Bass Buster tournament this past weekend on the lake showed us all that there are some nice bass to be caught if you can find them, Jimmy McMillan and his son from Belle Glade Florida won the two day tournament with over sixty pounds of bass and that was a five bass limit per day. There are some nice bass being caught offshore in the south end of the lake and also off the shoal. Some baits that are working are Spro Aruka Shad baits, a Gambler Ace if the water is clean enough and a Carolina rig, another bait that you may want to try is a swim bait like a Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad, I have had good success this past week on all these baits. Some of the key points to look for when fishing open water on Lake Okeechobee are holes in the offshore reefs, any differences in water depth ( this can be as little as 6” on a shallow lake like Okeechobee ) can hold fish and any structure in the lake whether man made or not. With the lake level at 10.62 feet above sea level and still dropping you will need to be careful going places that you are not familiar with. If you have any questions about where you can and can’t go on the lake please contact me and I will try to help you out. As the lake level continues to drop the water will continue to get cleaner in most areas and when the winds die down a little it will also help the water to clean up and the fishing should get much better on a daily basis. The Clewiston channel will be a great area as the water gets cleaner it offers both deep water in the channel and shallow water up on the flats, you should be able to start fishing at the locks and fish out into the lake till the water gets to dirty. The crappie fishing has slowed down some as being reported by the regulars that are out there everyday, minnows are the bait of choice. I’m still doing a couple trips a week at the Everglades and have been doing great at Holiday Park area catching bass from two to five pounds on artificial lures and can get out of the wind on those real windy days. I have been using Gambler Aces in watermelon-red color and Gambler Super Studs also in watermelon-red color, top water lures have also been catching the bigger bass all day long.