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Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report, brought to you by Mark King,
Lake Okeechobee fishing guide.
Click image to view full size.
Bob Klobnak from Illinois with an 8 1/2 pound Okeechobee bass
caught off a bed.
January 31, 2010.
If you want to catch bass
then Lake Okeechobee is the place to be now. The lake level is
at a good level the weather is finally stabilizing and the bass
are moving in to spawn, everything is right. The past couple
weeks has been awesome here on Okeechobee catching bass on the
beds, in areas that the bass are getting ready to spawn, and
even some schooling fish. Most of the areas that the bass spawn
in are going to be from two to four feet deep and clear water so
this will eliminate a lot of the lake. The beds for those that
have never seen them will be a clean shiny area on the bottom,
you will be able to see shell on the bottom of most beds and
most will be well hidden.
I have been
fishing from the Monkey Box to KramerIsland with great success on most days;
yes the cold fronts have slowed it down for a day or two but
than the bass get right back to what they were doing. I have
been able to catch bass doing a lot of different things from
actually fishing the beds on sunny days to just fishing around
the beds on windy days and catching a good number of bass and a
few really nice ones. Some of the baits that I have been using
to catch bass off the beds when the wind is blowing and you
can’t really see the beds has been a Gambler 5” Flapp’n Worm
rigged texas style with a 1/16 ounce Gambler screw in weight.
The other lure that works great in this same situation is a
Gambler Flapp’n Shad buzzed across the top of the grass. I have
been fishing both of these lures on a heavy action Deep South
Rod and a new braided line made by Diamond Fishing Products.
This new braided line is round not flat like other braided
fishing lines which allow it to cast farther and it never pulls
down in the spool like other braided lines, I have been using
this for about a month now and this line is the best new product
to come across my boat in years. The other way we have been
catching bass is when we get a south or southwest wind is to go
out to the grass line where the clean water is being blown out
toward the lake and look for schooling bass, just like saltwater
fishing look for the birds because they are on the bait. For
these schooling bass I have been throwing a Spro Aruka Shad
lipless crankbait, Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad swim bait, and a
gold spinnerbait with a white skirt. These schooling bass can be
a lot of fun to catch but it takes the right wind to make it
happen.
The crappie
bite has been slow here at the south end of the lake but the
Kissimmee River and Harney Pond Canal has been producing a few
from I’m told. Jigs and minnows are both working to catch these
Lake Okeechobee
crappies. Remember we have a limit on the crappies here on the
lake but don’t take more than you are going to eat, save some
for someone else to catch.
January 4th, 2010
I
know that you keep hearing me say that Lake Okeechobee just keeps getting better every day but it
really is. I have been guiding almost every day and my clients
have been catching good quality bass on shiners, topwater lures,
and bed fishing for spawning bass. It has been an absolute
pleasure fishing on the lake these past few months and if the
cold fronts would leave us alone it couldn’t get any better. I
have been catching bass from the NorthShore
area all the way down to KramerIsland and everywhere in between. Some of
the better areas right now have been the Monkey Box, West Wall,
and East Wall areas but if you spend the time in some of the
other areas you will be pleasantly surprised at what you will
find.
If wild
shiner fishing is your game then get a few dozen wild shiners
and head out on to the lake looking for good clean edges against
cattails or hyacinth patches. If you can fish out on the outside
of the grass toward the lake when the wind isn’t blowing than
that is the place to be but if not look for areas back in the
grass that are more protected. When we get these cold fronts
push through South Florida the bass become pretty hard to catch but
wild shiners will produce even on the worst of days. For
artificial lures tie on a Reaction Innovation Skinny Dipper or a
Gambler Flapp’n Shad to a heavy action rod with braided line. I
have been using a new braided line made by Diamond Fishing and
it is awesome, it is round not flat so it won’t pull down in the
spool like other braided lines and from the testing I have been
doing the past week or so this new line will soon be spooled on
all of my reels soon, it is awesome. I will report more on this
line later. Most of the areas that I have been fishing are very
thick vegetation so throwing a topwater soft plastic lure is
about the only option other than throwing a worm in the few open
holes and pockets. This is where the new Diamond braided line
comes into play because you are not going to get fish out of
this thick cover very consistently on any other line than braid.
As these cold fronts keep moving through the areas I think that
these bass will get use to moving up under these hyacinth mats
to get to some warmer water and than it will be time to get that
flippin stick out and get busy with a heavy weight and a small
craw.
The crappie and
bluegill bite has been pretty slow for most even though there is
a handful of fisherman that has been catching them. Hopefully
this cold weather will move them in off the main lake. I hope
everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year and I hope to
see everyone here on Okeechobee catching bass. Now is a great
time to get out of the cold north and head to
South Florida for some great fishing.
The
fishing just keeps getting better every day here on
Lake Okeechobee. I just came off a great week
guiding here on the lake and we caught some really nice bass on
both wild shiners and artificial lures. If you have ever thought
about coming to the Big “O” to fish for bass than this year
would be a great year to make it happen. The lake is in great
shape with good clean water almost everywhere and eel grass and
pepper grass scattered from the one end of the lake to the
other. The water level has been holding steady at 13.69 feet
above sea level and this has been a good water level to allow us
to get back in areas as well as fish on the outside grass line
and still enjoy clean water to fish in.
Lake Okeechobee is back to looking like it did many
years ago and the fishing has just been off the hook.
The bass are
already moving into traditional spawning areas like the Monkey
Box, the shoal and the East Wall here on the south end of the
lake. We have been fishing the outside grass line with shiners
when the wind will allow us to and than moving back in the
heavier grass and throwing artificial lures and catching some
real nice bass from two to seven pounds. My customers have been
catching bass on Gambler Flapp’n Shad baits in this thicker
vegetation and Lake Fork Hyper worms rigged with a 1/16 ounce
screw in sinker in the grass that is not so thick. The
LakeFork worm has a lot of
action and rigged on a 1/16 ounce screw in sinker the lure does
not seem to get hung up to much. You will want to fish both of
these lures on braided line and use a heavy action rod like the
ones I use from Deep South Rods. I like to use a heavy action
rod in the 7’2” length range for everyday fishing and Deep South
offers just what I need, as we get toward tournament season I
will step it up to a 7’11” extra heavy rod so that I can make
extra long casts and can still get the bass to the boat in the
heavy cover. Some of the things that you will need to try and
target while fishing back in some of these areas is pepper grass
patches, pencil reeds, and bullrush heads.
The crappie
fishing has really been hit and miss with the Kissimmee River
and the area around
BirdIsland being the areas that
I have been hearing the best reports from. I have gift
certificates and my signature series Deep
South “Shakey Head” rod available for Christmas
presents if you haven’t found that perfect Christmas present
yet. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year, and remember to keep Christ in Christmas this year.
Picture of Jake Towle from Michigan with a nice 6 1/2 pound bass
November 24th, 2009
Fall fishing here on Lake Okeechobee has turned out to be great with lots of
bass being caught from the north to the south end of the lake.
We are catching bass on wild shiners and artificial lure alike
and we are catching some good solid fish. The lake level is at
13.59 feet above sea level which is about a foot lower than it
was last year at this time. The water temperature has finally
dropped and we have been getting some nice wind on the lake to
move and transfer some of the water from back in the shallow
spawning areas. This winter should be the best year for fishing
in quite a few years; the lake is in the best shape water level,
vegetation, and water quality wise than it has been in a long
time.
I have been fishing from the Monkey Box to long
Point and everything in between. When the wind will allow I have
been fishing on the outside grass line and when it blows too
hard I just move back in the grass. I have been catching bass
from two to seven pound bass with a lot of three and four pound
fish finding there way to the end of customer rods. Some of the
lures that have been working for me and my clients are a Sebile
Bonga Minnow and a Magic Swimmer where the vegetation isn’t to
thick. When you get back in the thick stuff a Gambler Ace rigged
with a 1/16 ounce screw in weight or a Reaction Innovation
Skinny Dipper will get the job done. You will want to use heavy
braided line back in the heavy cover or you will have a hard
time getting these bass to the boat. Look for areas that have
pepper grass and eel grass as these have been the key to me
catching bass. Another technique that has been working is to
pitch small craw type bait like a Gambler BB Cricket to isolated
reed patches, darker colored lures seem to work best.
With Christmas just around the corner I have a
couple items to offer for the fishing fanatic in your family.
The first is my signature series Deep South
“Mark King” Shakey Head rod and the other item is gift
certificates for guide trips for bass or inshore and backcountry
fishing. You can contact me for either of these items. Also keep
an eye out for my new Low Key Custom Baits “Flat Tail worm” that
will be the ultimate worm for bass fishing.
Captain Mark King is a full time guide and
tournament angler guiding out of the world famous Roland
Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida. Mark is an IGFA
Certified Captain, active member of the Florida Guide
Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Captain
Mark is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Deep
South Rods, Sebile Lures, Power-Pole, Lake Fork Trophy Lures,
Minn Kota trolling motors, Gambler Lures, AFTCO clothing,
Smartshield Sun Protection Products, Roland Martin’s MarineCenter, RMR Industries and Frigid Rigid
coolers.
Mark can be contacted to book a guide trip,
seminars, personal appearances, test rides in his Evinrude
powered Ranger or to fish a tournament with him at 863-983-9950
or at
www.markkingfishing.com
Oct 27th, 2009
The fishing here on Lake Okeechobee continues
to improve every day and if the water temperature would cool off
just a little more the lake will be awesome. We have been catching
bass that are on the move toward shallower water and traditional
spawning areas throughout the lake. After the cold front that we had
a week ago the fishing did improve dramatically but with the ninety
degree air temperatures everyday since has the water warmed back up
and slowed the fishing down just a little. The water level is at
14.14 feet above sea level and still dropping slowly, this is about
a foot lower than it was last year at this time. This all means that
we will not get to fish back in the shallow water as long as we did
last year but the outside eel grass in a lot of areas will clean up
a lot quicker this year and that is where I think we will find a lot
of the bass as we move into the spring.
I have been fishing clients everywhere from the Monkey Box to RittaIsland
and catching some great bass from two to seven pounds. Wild shiners
have started to work great and Roland Martin’s Marina has some
really good ones that are the right size and they are still priced
at $20.00 a dozen, at least some things in life haven’t went up in
price for years. The bass fishing on artificial lures has been
really good and Gambler Flappin Shad and Reaction Innovation Skinny
Dippers are the bait of choice right now. Yes you can catch some
bass on 10” worms and Gambler Ace’s but if you want to catch quality
bass than you need to be throwing a Flappin Shad or Skinny Dipper.
To fish either one of these baits all you need is a heavy action rod
like the one I use from Deep South Rods, some sixty five pound test
PowerPro line, a 5/0 Gamakatsu Super Line hook, and either a Screwed
Up Weight made by Reaction Innovation or a small 1/32 ounce screw in
bullet weight. The screw in bullet weight or Screwed Up Weight will
keep the bait from sliding down the hook while fishing in the heavy
cover where the bass are. The key areas that you should look for to
fish are areas that have pepper grass patches, the bass may move
into the hydrilla and eel grass soon but for now they are in the
pepper grass patches. Look for waves of bass to start moving in as
the water cools and we head into the major spawning season here on
Lake Okeechobee.
Now is a great time to start planning a trip to World famous
Lake Okeechobee
as my outlook for this year is great. We have all the elements for
this year to be one of the best years here on the lake and with
hurricane season all but over we are ready to once again make
Lake Okeechobee
one of the most famous bass fishing destinations in the world. No
word yet on the crappie fishing outlook for the year but we are
still catching a lot of good sized bluegill. Please practice catch
and release and help Lake Okeechobee be the place that your grandkid and their
grandkids will want to come and fish for many years.
October 1st, 2009
Lake Okeechobee
is looking better almost everyday as October has finally arrived
bringing some cooler evening for now. The lake is in the best shape
it has been in years and we are seeing bass almost everywhere that
there is clean water. The lake level is up to 14.52 feet above sea
level but the rain has slowed down around the lake and the water
level is not rising as fast as it was. I don’t think that there will
be a better time than this fall and winter to visit
Lake Okeechobee and experience some of the best fishing
and lake condition that we have seen in many years.
As I mentioned earlier there are bass almost everywhere on
the lake from up around Cochran’s Pass to
KramerIsland. And there is heavy grass to throw
a frog or open areas to fish a worm or my favorite heavy mats to
flip. For now there is a little bit of something for everyone. With
the spray boats out everyday killing vegetation I’m not sure how all
of these good areas will hold up, but for now all we can do is pray
that they can’t get to everything. I know that spraying is necessary
to keep things from getting out of hand here on Okeechobee but I
have seen the damage that they do when they just go through and
spray everything that is living. We have such great things going on
here on Lake Okeechobee and I would sure hate to see it ruined and
be back to the mud hole we had a few years ago.
It’s time to get a frog rod out and move back in the grass
and start throwing a Gambler Cane Toad or a Snag-Proof Frog. On some
days the bass want a moving frog like the Gambler Cane Toad but on
other days they seem to want something slower moving like the
Snag-Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog. I have been catching a few bass on
Reaction Innovation Skinny Dippers but the frog seems to be the
ticket for now. For fishing more open areas where the grass isn’t so
thick a 10” Gambler worm or a Gambler Ace rigged weightless has been
working well for my clients. The bass are still scattered out and
when you do catch one you can stay in that area and catch about six
and than move on. But as the water starts to cool and the full moon
approaches there should be a lot more bass moving in off the main
lake. October should be a great month to catch some good bass here
on the Big “O” and it will only get better.
I’m running an October special here on
Lake Okeechobee, a half day guide trip for two persons
and a room at Roland Martin Marina and Resort for $249.00. That is
over a seventy dollar savings but only good on dates in October.
Give me a call at 863-983-9950 to reserve a day of fishing on World
Famous Lake Okeechobee. You can also check out my websites at
www.markkingfishing.com
or www.mybassclass.com .
September 10th, 2009
The
lake level here on Lake Okeechobee
continues to rise and the fish are on the move looking for bait.
With the lake water level up over fourteen and a quarter feet
above sea level the bass now have a lot of area to roam around
looking for food. We have been in a typical September pattern
where one day can be really great and than the next can be tough
as these bass are continually roaming around looking for bait to
eat. And don’t forget that the water temperature is up over
eighty degrees and feels like bath water. But the good news is
that the water is clean and the vegetation is grow and looking
better than ever. We have eel grass, pepper grass, and hydrilla
grow almost everywhere you look and the bass are taking
advantage of these great conditions on Lake
Okeechobee. The rains have slowed down some so we do
not have as much of the dirty tannic water coming in from the
fields around the lake. As you get back in the grass away from
the open water the lake is teaming with aquatic life from small
fry to bluegills to bass roam around looking for an easy meal.
Some of the
areas that have been producing some bass are the East and West
Walls, Ritta Island, Bluehole, and around the Monkey Box. I have
heard that the fishing at the north end of the lake around
King’s Bar has been awesome and that is because there is a lot
of bait right now at the north end of the lake. The bass we have
been catching around the Clewiston area have back in the grass
and Gambler 10” worms and Aces seem to be the best baits for the
job. I have been rigging the 10” worms on a screw in 1/8 ounce
bullet sinker and the Ace I have been fishing weightless. They
will also hit a Fluke but the Ace and 10” worm have worked best
for me. With the water temperature so hot the morning and late
evening are the best times to catch fish unless we have a storm
move across the lake and than it can be good all day. Don’t get
caught in a storm that has lightning and thunder in it as you
will be the highest thing out on the lake and the chances of
getting struck by lightning definitely increases. With October
just around the corner the fishing will get a lot better and it
should cool off a little and make fishing a lot more fun.
Lake Okeechobee has slipped into the summer time
pattern where you can catch bass early in the morning and than
it can get a little tough. But if you can find the bait (shad)
you should have no trouble finding bass. The Lake level is up to 13.82 feet above sea level and still
rising despite the pulse water releases to both the
Caloosahatchee and the Saint Lucie rivers. We have been
receiving a pretty good rain almost daily and the ground is well
saturated so all the run off is going into the lake. The lake is
in pretty good shape in most areas with vegetation growing and
the water pretty clear. The one exception is an alga bloom
offshore at the north end of the lake. As long as we do not have
a hurricane this year I think the lake will be awesome going
into this winter and the spawn will be even better than last
year.
I have been
fishing with clients all over the lake from King’s Bar at the
north end of the lake to PelicanBay at the south end of the lake and the
fishing is good in the morning but slows down after the sun gets
high in the sky. Up at King’s Bar a spinnerbait thrown in the
grass has been catching some nice bass, but I have been using a
swimming jig made by Omega Custom Tackle (www.omegacustomtackle.com
) with a Zoom Fat Albert grub for a trailer and catching bigger
bass than the spinnerbait. The swimming jig allows me to fish
slower and in thicker grass than the spinnerbait and that is
where the bigger bass seem to be, the 3/8 ounce Omega jig in
threadfin color with a white grub on it for a trailer is just
the bait to fish these areas. King’s Bar is a long run from
Clewiston to catch bass but with the fuel economy that my
Evinrude E-Tec gets the run has been well worth it for that
early morning bite. As the sun starts to get high in the sky and
the fishing slows down in the shallow water areas I have been
moving offshore to deeper water and fishing a shakey head worm
and catching some good fish to finish the day off with. My
shakey head set up consists of a
Deep South “Mark King” Shakey Head rod, Gamma
100% fluorocarbon line, a ¼ ounce jig and a new shakey head worm
I designed. This new worm will be available by the fall and will
one of the best shakey head worms you have ever fished I
promise. I have also been catching some bass on 10” Gambler
worms in junebug color and on a Gambler Ace in Xmas color rigged
weightless both fished along the outside grass line from the
West Wall to
RittaIsland.
With the
summer temperatures so hot your best bet is to get out early and
when the fishing slows down and you get to hot just get off the
water. We have really had a good summer here in
South Florida, the weather has been great, the
fishing has been good, and the economy is slowly starting to
turn around. Now is the time to take a fishing trip to Lake Okeechobee a destination that is not to far away and
won’t break the bank to get here.
Captain Mark King is a
full time guide and tournament angler guiding out of the world
famous Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida. Mark is an IGFA
Certified Captain, active member of the Florida Guide
Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Captain
Mark is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Deep
South Rods, Azuma Baits, Power-Pole, Lake Fork Trophy Lures,
Minn Kota trolling motors, Gambler Lures, AFTCO clothing, Van
Staal pliers, Smartshield Sun Protection Products, Northlake
Marine, RMR Industries, Omega Custom Tackle, and Frigid Rigid
coolers.
Mark
can be contacted to book a guide trip both freshwater and
saltwater, seminars, personal appearances, test rides in his
Evinrude powered Ranger or to fish a tournament with him at
863-983-9950 or at
www.markkingfishing.comand be sure and check out
www.mybassclass.com
July 8th, 2009
With
the water level at around thirteen feet above sea level the
Lake Okeechobee bass fishing has been on fire. Fifty
fish days are not uncommon right now and there are some real
nice bass from six to ten pounds being caught almost every day.
As the water continues to pour into the lake from the rains that
we have been receiving the water level has been rising inches
daily and I don’t see it slowing down for awhile. The bass have
positioned themselves at the edge of the grass line throughout
most of the lake but as the water continues to rise they will
start moving back into the grass and than the fishing will get a
little tougher. It would be nice if the water level would stay
between twelve and a half and thirteen and a half feet
especially going into the hurricane season here in south
Florida.
As I
mentioned above the outside grass line and scattered reed
patches are where the bass seem to be hanging out looking for
their next meal. I have seen a few schooling bass but you just
have to be at the right place at the right time to catch them.
From
PelicanBay to the Monkey Box there
are bass but certain areas seem to be holding the bigger bass. I
have been fishing from Clewiston to PelicanBay and catching good numbers of bass and
a fair amount of big bass. All of this water is crystal clear
and you will need to make long casts so that you do not spook
the fish with your boat. There is a lot of bluegill beds around
and in the small reed patches and in the grass, this is where
the bass seem to be hanging out and where they are easily
caught. Try to fish an area slow and you will find bass ready
and willing to bite.
For my bait
selection lately it has been pretty simple, a Zara Super Spook
first thing in the morning and than a 10” worm, Senko, and
shakey head worm the rest of the day. I know some guys have been
catching bass on frogs and Skinny Dippers but for me the Spook
and worms have worked best. I have been throwing a Gambler 10”
worm with a 3/16 ounce bullet weight on a
Deep South 7’2” heavy rod and Gamma Edge
fluorocarbon in 14 pound test. The Senko type bait that I throw
is a Gambler Ace that is also rigged on a Deep South Rod; the
“Mark King” Shakey Head rod is my choice for this type fishing.
I have been using fluorocarbon for all my worm fishing but you
will want to use Co-Polymer like the Gamma High Performance line
for your topwater because fluorocarbon sinks and takes away from
the action of your lure.
This is also
a great time of the year to go fly fishing on
Lake Okeechobee as the wind doesn’t really blow that
hard during the summer months. You can catch bluegill as well as
bass on a fly and the fight is awesome. Yes the bluegill fishing
remains good and a limit of big bruisers are not too hard to
come by using Beetle Spins and live crickets fished under a
cork. Summer is a great time to fish Lake
Okeechobee since the snow birds all head north to
get out of the heat we pretty much have the lake to ourselves.
Just make sure you drink plenty of water and use lots of
sunscreen and you will have a great day fishing on
Lake Okeechobee. Be sure and check out my guide
test fishing gear for sale on my website
www.markkingfishing.com
and keep an eye out for a new worm I designed to be out soon, it
is a fish catching worm that you won’t want to be without.
Captain Mark King is a full time guide and tournament angler
guiding out of the world famous Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida. Mark is an IGFA
Certified Captain, active member of the Florida Guide
Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Captain
Mark is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Deep
South Rods, Azuma Baits, Power-Pole, Lake Fork Trophy Lures,
Minn Kota trolling motors, Gambler Lures, AFTCO clothing, Van
Staal pliers, Smartshield Sun Protection Products, Northlake
Marine, RMR Industries and Frigid Rigid coolers.
Mark can be contacted to book a guide trip, seminars, personal
appearances, test rides in his Evinrude powered Ranger or to
fish a tournament with him at 863-983-9950 or at
www.markkingfishing.com
and be sure and check out
www.mybassclass.com
June 11th, 2009
As
the water level rises on Lake Okeechobee
the fishing continues to be great. The water level is up to
11.78 feet above sea level and still rising everyday as the
rains continue to bring water to our lake. With the water rising
the bass have moved back in toward shallow water instead of
heading for deep water as is the norm for summer time bass here
on Lake Okeechobee. Most of the
lake has very clear water even with the inflow of the dirty
water coming in from the farms surrounding the lake.
The bass
have been hitting a variety of lures from lipless crankbaits to
worms; it all depends on the area that you are fishing and the
cover in that area. I have been catching bass on Zara Spooks, LakeFork “Live” Magic Shad swim baits, Gambler
Super Studs, Azuma Wake-Z wake baits, and the Shaker-Z lipless
crankbait made by Azuma. The bass have been hanging around the
bluegill beds and moving baits especially in a bluegill pattern
has been the ticket to catch these bass. A Senko rigged
weightless has also been good when the wind just does not seem
to want to blow. The Azuma Wake-Z in the bluegill pattern has
been accounting for a good number of the bass my clients and I
have been catching, this bait swims on the surface to one foot
deep depending on the retrieve and will not roll over like most
wake baits. The Azuma line of baits are new and have all had a
lot of research put into the baits before ever being introduced
to the public and did I mention the finish is second to none and
with every color and pattern you could want, check them out at
www.fishazuma.com
Bass are
being caught in a lot of areas right now from up on the NorthShore,
the shoal above Uncle Joes Cut, CootsBay, around Ritta and KramerIslands, and even in some of the dynamite
holes. With the water rising daily the bass seem to be moving
almost as fast, but the one thing to key on this time of the
year are active bluegill beds. The areas I have list above all
have bluegill beds you just have to find ones with bluegill on
them. As far as the water level being safe to run your boat it
seems to be good in most areas, but if you do not feel safe to
run into these areas DON’T idle in until you know how much water
depth there is. In some areas the bass are in the eel grass and
some areas they are around pencil reeds but one thing for sure
they are all looking for something to eat. Soft plastics like
the Gambler Super Stud in watermelon-red and 10” worms seem to
work best on days when the wind is calm and there doesn’t seem
to be much activity.
The bluegill
fishing has been awesome here on the lake and catching a limit
of nice sized bluegill on either a Beetle Spin or crickets
doesn’t seem to be a problem. I have also been doing a few
saltwater trips and the tarpon, trout, redfish, and snook are
ready to eat that’s for sure. Anyone wanting to book a trip for
bass, bluegill or some saltwater action can contact me at
863-983-9950 or through my website at
www.markkingfishing.com
Captain Mark King is a full time guide and tournament angler
guiding out of the world famous Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida. Mark is an IGFA
Certified Captain, active member of the Florida Guide
Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Captain
Mark is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards, Deep
South Rods, Azuma Baits, Power-Pole, Lake Fork Trophy Lures,
Minn Kota trolling motors, Gambler Lures, AFTCO clothing, Van
Staal pliers, Smartshield Sun Protection Products, Northlake
Marine, RMR Industries and Frigid Rigid coolers.
Mark
can be contacted to book a guide trip, seminars, personal
appearances, test rides in his Evinrude powered Ranger or to
fish a tournament with him at 863-983-9950 or at
www.markkingfishing.comand be sure and check out
www.mybassclass.com
May 11th, 2009
Lake Okeechobee is getting shallower by the day but the
bass are still biting as good as ever. The lake level is at 10.72
feet above sea level and getting shallower every day, as we keep
letting water out to both coasts and for the farmers. If they keep
letting water out at the rate they are now we will be back in a
drought on the lake before the end of the month and that is a shame
that the government can’t do a better job of managing this lake. The
lake is at a dangerous level to be running your boat and a lot of
props and gear cases are starting to get destroyed so please be
careful.
The bass fishing
has been great the past few weeks and you can catch them on wild
shiners or on artificial lures it really doesn’t matter. Most of the
bass that my clients have been catching have been bass in the two to
five pound range with a few bigger ones also being caught. As I
mentioned above you can go out and use up three to four dozen wild
shiners in a morning or if artificial lures are what you prefer than
topwater, worms, swim baits, and crankbaits have all been working. I
had a couple great mornings last week catching bass on Zara Spooks
and even had two four pound bass at the same time. I have also been
catching a lot of bass on a Gambler Super Stud in watermelon red
color rigged with a 1/16 ounce screw in sinker and a 4/0 Gamakatsu
hook. One other bait that has been really working great is an Azuma
Wake-Z; it is amazing new wake bait that you can get in almost any
finish but the bluegill pattern is my favorite. If you have not
checked out the new line of Azuma hard baits you need to do so
because in my opinion there is no finer line of crankbaits and
topwater lures being offered by anyone and the finishes and colors
are top of the line. And of course don’t forget to match up any of
the lures that I talk about with an all new Deep South rod, they are
the next generation of fishing rods including the signature series
shakey head rod with my name on it and the all new lineup of inshore
rods.
The areas that
I’m going to talk about to fish are extremely shallow and you should
use caution getting in and out of these areas. The shoal from Uncle
Joe’s Cut to Turners Cove has been a hot spot with most fishing at
least two hundred yards out from the reed line. I just zigzag in and
out till I locate the bass and than just move up and down the shoal
and catch bass till my clients are tired of catching them. Yes we do
have a few tough days but it has been really good for the most part
and if you just keep fishing an area you will find the bass. Some
other areas that have been producing bass are around the tip of
Ritta and KramerIslands.
The bluegill
fishing has been great from one end of the lake to the other. I have
been catching them on Bettle Spins but a cricket fished under a cork
will work just fine. Now is a great time to fish
Lake Okeechobee, give me a call and set up a fishing
trip of a lifetime. I’m fishing for both bass and bluegill on the
lake and inshore saltwater fish in
South Florida at this time.
April 21st, 2009
Great
things have been happening on Lake Okeechobee
in spite of our water managers pulling a lot of water out of the
lake. The bass have been on fire and the bluegill fishing that has
been good all winter long is really getting fired up. The lake level
is at 11.52 feet above sea level and this is only one foot higher
than it was last year at this time. If the water managers do not
slow down the water that is being released out of this lake to
irrigate fields and down the rivers to the coast we will be back in
a drought condition before summer. We have such a great natural
resource with Lake Okeechobee why
can’t it be managed right?
The bass have
moved to the eel grass beds and outside grass line with the falling
water and they are thick in most areas. My clients have been
catching twenty to thirty bass a day on artificial lures from two to
seven pounds. It is a lot of fun to catch four and five pound bass
all day on top water lures. The shoal and north shore have been
great areas to catch some good quality fish, another area is the
west side of KramerIsland where a few local tournaments have
been won. The key the last couple weeks has been to find areas that
you can fish with the wind blowing hard, my Power-Pole shallow water
anchor has made it possible to fish in the wind and catch fish. Most
of the places that I have been fishing are staying pretty clean even
with the wind blowing and this is due to the fact that the water
level is getting lower. With this said you will want to be very
careful where you run your boat because it is getting very shallow
and trick to run in some areas of the lake. Some of the best fishing
areas from Uncle Joe’s Cut up to Turners are very shallow with lots
of rocks, I see boats run through this area and not even realize
what is under the boat.
The artificial
bait selection has been very broad with Gambler Flappin Shad and
Zoom Flukes being my favorites to spinnerbaits, Senkos, and topwater
lures. On a day with a little ripple on the water tie on a Zara
Super Spook and hold on, or on days when the wind is hardly blowing
a weightless Senko will get the job done. A new bait that I have
been using is a wake bait made by Azuma called a Wake-Z, the
bluegill colored one is awesome and can be fished just over top of
most of the eel grass beds. White spinnerbaits have been working
great as well as Rattle-Traps, and Chatterbaits. As you can see a
lot of different baits have been working on any given day. Sometimes
the bass are in the thicker eel grass patches and than other times
they are out in the scattered eel grass patches, but as you can see
the common denominator is the eel grass.
There are
bluegills almost everywhere in the lake from out on the lake to
dynamite holes and even the rim canal. A Bettle Spin or a cricket
fished under a cork should get you a limit of good sized bluegill.
The other fish that I have been going south in Florida to catch is peacock bass and what a
blast they are to catch. This is a good time of the year to catch
peacock bass off the beds and it is a lot of fun and they fight like
no other freshwater fish their size. You can catch them on shiners,
bucktail jigs, topwater, and jerkbaits like the one I use made by
Azuma called the Minnow-Z in olive oil color. The fishing forecast
for the summer looks to be awesome on the lake so gather up the
family and come to Lake Okeechobee
for some affordable fun. I’m booking bluegill trips and inshore and
backcountry trips for snook, trout, redfish, and tarpon just give me
a call.
March 13th, 2009
The
water keeps dropping here on Lake
Okeechobee and the fishing continues to be good in
most areas. A lot of the areas that I was fishing last month are
now to shallow to get a boat into and with the level at 12.47
feet above sea level and dropping pretty fast. As the water
level drops the fish will be moving in the grass toward the main
lake but only as far as they have to go since the open water
part of the lake is still really muddy. In a lot of areas there
is an eel grass line between the heavy grass that the bass have
been in and the open water that is so dirty, this is where the
bass will move to next as the water gets shallower. Some really
nice bass are being caught on both wild shiners and artificial
lures; bass from two to eight pounds are being caught.
I have been
fishing at Turner’s Cove, the East Wall, the Monkey Box, and in
Bay Bottom and all of these areas have great potential on any
given day. But you may have to try different areas as the
fishing seems to change daily. The eel grass outside Turner’s
Cove and in the Monkey Box has a lot of potential this next
month and I think that this is where you will catch a lot of
bass. The eel grass will be a little tough to fish for most but
on days when the wind is blowing you can get upwind on an eel
grass patch and than let the boat drift through it. You can drag
wild shiners under a cork over this grass or pitch an artificial
lure in the holes in the grass as you drift by them. For now
what seem to be working best to catch bass is artificial lures
in the heavy cover, like Gambler Flappin Shad, Reaction
Innovation Skinny Dippers, and top water frogs.
The pattern
for now seems to be to get in the heavy cover throw something on
top of the grass and keep the boat moving. You will be wore out
after a day fish artificial lures in my boat for sure, you will
make hundreds of casts but this is what it takes to catch these
bass that are roaming around and on beds in this cover. I have
been throwing a Gambler Flappin Shad and Reaction Innovation
Skinny Dipper on heavy PowerPro braided line and a heavy action
rod. The new line of Deep South Rods (www.deepsouthfishingrods.com)
has heavy action rods in any length that you might be looking
for from 6’6” to the 7’11” model that I use. For all your
fishing rod needs you need to check out the all new Deep South
Rods, they are light in weight, sensitive, and tough enough for
me to use on guide trips. They also have the new line of Inshore
Rods that will be a big hit for the flats and inshore anglers
targeting snook, redfish, trout, and other inshore species. The
colors of the baits that I am throwing does not seem to matter
much it is the action of the lure that gets the reaction bite. I
do try to stick with darker colors on cloudy days and lighter
colors on sunny days. As we start to fish the eel grass beds you
will want to pitch something like a Lake Fork Hyper Freak or a
craw type lure into the open holes in the grass. I really like
the action of the Lake Fork Hyper Freak as it falls it does not
just go straight down it darts off to the side and has great
action.
The fishing
at the everglades has been awesome even though most of the bass
you catch are small, but who wouldn’t like catching over fifty
bass a day. Don’t get me wrong there are some nice bass in the
everglades but there are a whole lot more smaller bass. The
crappie fishing has been slow all winter here on Lake Okeechobee and most are only catching just a few a
day. But the bluegill fishing still remains great and will only
get better as we start in to summer here on the Big “O”.
I do guide
for bass and bluegill on Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades and will be offering flats and inshore fishing
for trout, snook, redfish, and tarpon through the summer. I will
also be the new South Florida Rep for Deep South Rods especial
the new inshore rods. If interested in this new line of rods
please contact me at 863-983-9950 or at
mark@markkingfishing.com
. Until next month take a day to get out fishing and be sure and
take someone with you and introduce them to fishing and they
will be hooked for life.
February 3rd, 2009
For all of those who have heard
the rumor about how Lake Okeechobee has no bass in it, well
after what the FLW Series anglers caught last week we can put
that rumor to rest. Bass were caught from the north end of the
lake to the south end and everywhere in between. The key to
finding the fish was to find clean water and for the first three
days that was no problem and than a cold front and the fourth
day collided and the fishing was back to being tough again. Big
bass of the tournament was caught by a good friend of mine Scott
Lunsford that weighed in at 10.3 pounds, it also help him to
have the largest five bass limit of the tournament that was
25.15 pounds. Jimmy McMillan from Belle Glade Florida was the
winner of the $100,000.00 check with a four day total of 74.04
pounds. There was no fish kill on the lake, maybe in some of the
canals around the lake thanks to the farmers but not on the
lake!!!!
Bass are being caught from
Monkey Box to Bay Bottom and everywhere in between with areas
like Turners Cove, the West Wall, the East Wall, and Bay bottom
all being well as long as the cold fronts slow down. A couple
different techniques that have been working really well to catch
bass are to throw a Gambler Flappin Shad or a Cane Toad across
the grass and just working them over as much water as possible
and you will catch fish. The other way is to pitch a worm or
craw in the holes in the grass, I like a 10” Lake Fork worm or a
Hyper Freak also made by Lake Fork Tackle. I have been using a
3/16 ounce bullet sinker with the 10” worm and Hyper Freak and
not getting caught up much in the thick vegetation. My rod
selection has been Deep South Rods in a heavy action and long
lengths to get the bass up and out of the vegetation as quick as
possible, Deep South makes an awesome rod that is sensitive but
yet is very strong to get these big Lake Okeechobee bass out of
the thick stuff. My line selection has been PowerPro braided
line in fifty pound test and I may even move up to heavier line
in the future. One of the other baits that has been catching a
few bass is a Senko thrown weightless in the more open water
like up in Monkey Box.
The crappie fish is still slow
with small numbers being caught on the lake. A couple areas to
try are around Moonshine Bay and the West Wall. The bluegill
fishing does still remain pretty good with Uncle Joe’s Cut and
the East Wall both good areas to try. Minnows and jigs for
crappies and crickets fished under a cork for bluegill would be
the best baits to catch some pan fish for supper.
I have been fishing Deep South
Rods for over a year now and I’m blown away by the quality and
attention to detail of these rods. They are very sensitive yet
are built strong enough to get bass out of the thickest cover.
Only top quality components go into the building of these rods.
The shakey head rod that I helped design is a bait casting rod
designed to fish a shakey head worm or a drop shot rig, it has a
fast tip and heavy enough butt section to get the fish in the
boat like the 10.6 pound bass that I caught on Lake Okeechobee
last summer. I have most all of the different actions and
lengths if you are interested in seeing one and I also have the
“Mark King” signature series shakey head for sale if anyone is
interested in one. Be sure and check out my new bass fishing
social web site at
www.mybassclass.com
January18th, 2008
Picture of
Bob Enck from Newmanstown, PA with a nice Lake Okeechobee bass
picture by
Mark King
Click image to
view full size
The fishing has improved
some here the last few weeks on Lake Okeechobee but the bass are
still a little hard to find from day to day. With the cold
fronts moving through every few days and the water level still
dropping I’m not sure if the bass really know what to do. We did
have a good number of bass in to spawn the last full moon and
anticipate an even better spawn this next full moon. The water
level is at 13.64 feet above sea level and the farmers are still
pulling water out of the lake to irrigate the fields, I sure
wish that we could stop them from taking to much more. A lot of
the areas that I saw beds the last full moon will be to shallow
to use this next full moon and some of the trails that we have
been running our boats in are starting to get at that dangerous
level again. Areas like the Blue Hole and the West Wall are full
of big rocks and are not a good area to run through as this
water level continues to drop. Areas that I have been fishing
for the past few weeks are now getting almost to shallow to even
run the trolling motor. As we head into February we should not
get as many cold fronts moving through South Florida and the
fishing should really start to improve almost daily.
I have been fishing
from Bay Bottom to the Monkey Box and catching bass in the two
to six pound range. But the key is to locate the bass, and than
really fish the area thoroughly to catch more fish. When I say
there are bass from Bay Bottom to the Monkey Box I don’t mean
you will catch bass in this whole area what I mean is that you
will have to find them on any given day and they seem to move
almost daily. The other challenge is that the bass are in the
thickest vegetation on the lake and very hard places to fish and
even harder to get these bass to the boat. Since we are all
fishing the thick vegetation fishing with wild shiners has not
really been an option. I have been able to catch a few on
shiners but for the most part artificial lures are the way to
go. Some of the best lures to use right now are a Bass Pro Shops
“Swim Stik-O”, a Gambler Flappin Shad, and a Snag-Proof Bobby’s
Perfect Frog. All of these lures can be fished on top of the
heavy vegetation and seem to be producing the best for me and my
clients. You will need to use heavy braided line like the
PowerPro fifty pound test that I use and a heavy action rod. I
have found that the Deep South Frog Rod that is a heavy action
7’2” rod is perfect for making long casts and heavy enough to
get the bass out of the thick stuff. The color of bait doesn’t
seem to matter that much but keeping your bait in the water and
covering as much water as possible seems to be the key to
catching these bass that are always on the move.
Crappie fishing is
still real slow here on the lake but hopefully this next cold
snap will move these fish in off of the lake. Yes the commercial
catfish guys are catching crappies and bass in their nets, to
answer the question about if there are still good numbers of
fish on the lake. The bluegill fishing remains good with fish
being caught in Uncle Joe’s Cut and almost all of the cuts south
of Clewiston. A cricket fished under a cork float should work
great to catch a nice mess of bluegill. I have also been to the
Everglades fishing lately and the bass fishing has been great
but as usual most of the bass are small but who doesn’t enjoy
catching a lot of bass.
Captain Mark King is a
full time guide and tournament angler guiding out of the world
famous Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida.
Mark is an IGFA Certified Captain, active member of the Florida
Guide Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association.
Captain Mark is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards,
Deep South Rods, Power-Pole, Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Minn Kota
trolling motors, Gambler Lures, AFTCO clothing, Van Staal
pliers, Smartshield Sun Protection Products, Northlake Marine,
RMR Industries and Frigid Rigid coolers.
Mark can be contacted to
book a guide trip, seminars, personal appearances, test rides in
his Evinrude powered Ranger or to fish a tournament with him at
863-983-9950 or at
www.markkingfishing.comand be sure and check out
www.mybassclass.com
January 7th, 2009
The fishing on Lake “O” has
improved some over the past week and I have been catching a fair
number of bass on most guide trips. The grass is making it a
little tough to fish in most areas but the fish are there you
just have to talk them into biting and then get them out of the
heavy cover. There have been bass from the Monkey Box to Pelican
Bay but you will have to look for them. The water level is at
13.97 above sea level and still dropping slowly which has
started to make some areas a little to shallow to run your boat
in, just be careful when shutting down or getting on plane in
some areas. The main lake still remains muddy at best but you
don’t have to go to far back into the grass to get to clean
water. I have seen beds from Moonshine to Bay Bottom, some are
from last month but some are new and I have seen fry and
fingerlings in a number of areas. This lake will be the most
awesome fishing lake in the future.
Most of the bass my clients and
I have been catching have come from the thick grass and clean
water. This is some of the hardest fishing since the vegetation
is so thick that we are limited to what lures that you can fish
in it. I have had the best success on a Gambler Flappin Shad,
Zoom Super Fluke, and a Lake Fork Hyper Freak. The Flappin Shad
has been the best lure to get these bass to come up out of the
thick weeds and eat. I rig it on a 5/0 wide gap super line hook
and attach it to fifty pound test PowerPro braided line. I like
to throw it on a Deep South 7’ 2” Frog Rod that has a lot of
backbone to get the fish out of the weeds, I use a high speed
Abu-Garcia Revo STX reel to finish out this combo. The Lake Fork
Hyper Freak is a new bait by Lake
Fork and has really good action as a flipping and pitching bait,
the flat tail really moves when it drops in the water. I fish
the Hyper Freak on a Deep South Flipping Rod that is 7’11” and
extra heavy action with fifty pound test PowerPro braided line.
I’m sure other lures will work but this is what has been working
for my clients and me.
Bay Bottom, around Ritta
Island, the West Wall, and from Uncle Joe’s Cut to Moonshine are
all areas that I have caught fish in the past couple weeks. No
the fish are not everywhere but if you cover some water throwing
the Flappin Shad you will catch some fish and usually there are
more than one fish in the area. Some days I go out and catch a
good number of bass and than some times I don’t catch as many,
but the look on a clients face when a bass comes up and grabs
the Flappin Shad and leaves a hole in the water is worth all the
time you spend locating these bass.
The crappie fishing is
improving a little but it is still slow at best. Try up around
Bird Island as this is where the best chance to catch them now.
The bluegills are still biting and a cricket fished under a
float in Uncle Joe’s Cut is a good place to start. I would like
to let everyone know that the FLW Series tournament will be held
on Lake Okeechobee out of Clewiston on 28th to the 31st
of January. Bring the kids over for the daily weigh in at Roland
Martin’s Marina on the first three days with the final weigh in
being held at Wal-Mart on the 31st.
Product of the Month
I would like to let you know about
a new product called BTS (Bow to Stern). BTS is an all surface protectant that you can use from one end of your boat to the
other. It works great on the outside to keep water stains, scum
lines and road grime from sticking to your boat. It works
equally as well on the seats and dash to keep mold and mildew
from starting. Spray it in your storage lockers to keep them
from getting mildew. It has the highest UV protection that you
can get and it does not leave you boat oily feeling like some
other products. Another use is to use it on your vehicle and
bugs and road grime just hose right off. I’m not usually
impressed with many products but I am with this one. Check this
product out at
www.btsproducts.com or contact me if you want to try a
bottle of this amazing protectant.
December 22nd, 2008
Wow the bass fishing on Lake
Okeechobee has improved almost overnight and seems to be getting
better every day. We are still getting some cold fronts moving
through the area and it does affect the fishing but it only
seems to make it tough for a day. The bass are moving in off the
main lake toward the shallow clean water to spawn and we have
been catching some bass off the beds. The water level is at
14.12 feet above sea level and still slowly dropping from the
farms pulling water out of the lake for irrigation. As slow as
this fall started out I was a bit worried about the bass fishing
this year but if the past couple weeks is an indication as to
what the winter will bring the fishing should be great.
Fishing with artificial lures
has been as good as if not better than fishing with wild
shiners, I have been suggesting both for my clients and we end
up throwing artificial lures more than we shiner fish. I have
been catching bass on a variety of different lures but something
that you can fish overtop of the vegetation has been the key to
more bites. I have been using a Gambler Flappin Shad and a Gary
Yamamoto Swimming Senko to get the most bites, but you can also
flip a Lake Fork Hyper Freak or throw a weightless Senko and get
bites. The next hardest thing to do is to get the bass out of
this thick vegetation and into the boat, I try to go to the fish
once we have it hooked and usually we get them in the boat
before we lose the bass. I have been covering a lot of water and
fishing kind of fast until I locate a bass and than I will fish
this area very thoroughly because I will usually catch a few
more bass in the same general area. I have been catching more
fish on the Flappin Shad and Swimming Senko but I have had
bigger fish on the Lake Fork Hyper Freak. You will want to use
heavy line like the PowerPro braid that I use or the new
fluorocarbon line that Lake Fork is now selling that you can get
in heavy thirty three and thirty nine pound test.
The areas that I have been
fishing are scattered from the Monkey Box to South Bay with
clean water being the only thing that I really have had to have.
Bay Bottom has been producing tournament winning sacks of bass
the past couple weeks but fish are being caught up on the shoal
and the East and West Walls. The key is to look for clean water
and to fish areas that have been traditional spawning areas in
the past. Even though we are off the full moon I have been
seeing and catching bass off the beds. This is very encouraging
to see that the lake is healthy enough that we are seeing lots
of bass beds this early in the year. The crappies are still a
little tough to catch here at the south end of the lake but we
are catching good numbers of bluegills.
I would like to thanks everyone
who has followed my column for the past couple years. I really
appreciate the e-mails and kind words at the marina, boat ramps,
and out on the water. I hope everyone has happy and prosperous
New Year.
Bite of the Week
I would look for clear to slightly
stained water at the south end of Okeechobee and cover a lot of
water until I located some fish. I would throw a Gambler Flappin
Shad or Swimming Senko until I found the bass and than work the
area good with a Lake Fork Hyper Freak. For bluegill try
crickets in Uncle Joe’s Cut.
December 9th, 2008
The bass fishing has been a little
tough the past couple weeks here on the Big “O” as cold front
after cold front moves through South Florida. The lake level has
been slowly dropping and has the lake level at 14.18 feet above
sea level. I know we all wanted to see water back in Lake
Okeechobee but the fishing has been tough since the water has
filled the lake back up and no one seems to know why it has been
so tough to catch bass. But that is why we call it fishing, it
seems like we were so use to catching big numbers of bass the
past couple years with the water being so low that now when we
do catch a few bass it isn’t enough.
Some of the bass that we have
been catching have been in areas that have very clean water but
the main lake and the outside grass line has very dirty water
and the wind has kept it that way. Some of the areas that do
have clean water are around Ritta Island, the East Wall, West
Wall, and from Cochran’s Pass to the Blue Hole. Most of these
areas have clean water back in from the outside grass line. Look
for areas that look healthy with some green on the vegetation
and any signs of bait fish moving around. You will not be able
to go into any of these areas at any given time and catch bass,
you will have to cover lots of water and look for them.
My bait selection has been
pretty small the last couple weeks with a swimming Senko, Zoom
U-Vibe Speed Worm, and a Zoom Horny Toad being my main baits. I
have been fishing the Swimming Senko and the Zoom U-Vibe Speed
Worm with a one sixteenth ounce screw in sinker, 4/0 hook, and
on twenty pound test fluorocarbon line. I fish the Zoom Horny
Toad on a Deep South heavy action frog rod rigged with fifty
pound test PowerPro braided line. The key the last couple weeks
seem to be to cover as much water as possible and keep your bait
in the water. Another lure that my clients have caught a few
bass on is a Gambler Flappin’ Shad fished over top of the grass.
Most all of the areas that I have been fishing have pretty thick
vegetation and it limits you to the type of lure that you can
use. Be sure to use a good heavy action rod like the Deep South
Rods that I use or you will have a hard time getting the bass
out of the heavy grass.
I have also been fishing at the
Sawgrass Recreational area and have been catching bass but most
of them are small. It is a little different scenery than fishing
the lake and is a little easier to catch bass which is great for
the kids. Try fishing a Senko wacky style and Zoom Flukes in
green pumpkin and watermelon colors and you should be able to
catch a good number of bass in the canals. A few crappies are
being caught on the lake at Bird Island and around Uncle Joe’s
Cut. The numbers of crappies have not come in off the lake yet
but if you just want a few to eat it shouldn’t be any trouble to
catch enough on some minnows. If you are still looking for that
perfect Christmas gift I do have some of the Deep South “Mark
King” Shakey Head Rods and gift certificates available, just
contact me at www.markkingfishing.com. I want to wish everyone a
very Merry Christmas and try not to forget what the true meaning
of Christmas really is about.
Bite of the Week
With the bite being slow I would
start fishing around Ritta Island and work my way toward
Cochran’s Pass fishing any water that looks good and also
covering as much water as possible. I would rig a frog, swimming
Senko and Zoom U-Vibe Speed Worm and just go fishing. For a few
crappies to eat try Uncle Joe’s Cut with minnows.
November 25th, 2008
The cold fronts just keep rolling
through South Florida and it is not helping the fishing here on
Lake Okeechobee for sure. The fishing is still hit and miss and
no one really seem to know why. You can go out one day and have
a fair day and catch a few bass and than have a slow day the
next. But the water is really cooling off and this should bring
the bass in from out on the main lake. The mornings have been
chilly here on the lake but by afternoon it has been warming up
as long as the wind isn’t blowing too hard. The lake level is at
14.34 feet above sea level and still dropping slowly. As we are
coming up on the dark of the moon the buck (male) bass should
start to move toward the grass and hopefully the big females
will follow.
The areas that I have been
concentrating on are Ritta Island, Coots Bay, and the East Wall.
All of these areas have some bass in them roaming around but
they are not bunched up for sure and it seems like you will need
to find clean water but not crystal clear water. The best water
color for me has just a small amount of stain or tint to the
water. Another area that has had some fish is Bay Bottom, this
area has a lot of dying vegetation but the water is fairly clean
and my clients have been catching a few bass here. All of the
areas that I mentioned above have been staying fairly clean even
with the wind blowing everyday. I have also heard that the
Monkey Box area has been producing a few bass when the wind
isn’t blowing too hard. This area has been looking better every
time that I go up there but I can’t seem to locate the bass but
the reports are coming from a reliable source. The key is to
cover lots of water and fish as slow as you can.
I have been using a Swimming
Senko and a Lake Fork Hyper worm to catch ninety percent of the
bass that my clients and I have been catching. I have been
fishing both weightless and just throwing them out and slowly
reeling them in across the grass and when you come to a hole
just stop reeling and let the bait drop slowly to the bottom. I
have been using both green pumpkin and junebug colors but the
color doesn’t seem to matter as much as the presentation. On
windy days when it is hard to fish the soft plastics across the
grass I switch to a black Cavitron buzzbait and have been doing
pretty well with a slow retrieve across the grass. The Cavitron
is the only buzzbait to fish when you want to fish real slow. I
have also been pitching a craw in the holes in the grass but
have only caught a few bass, this method should be a great way
to catch these bass that are back in the grass but it just isn’t
so right now.
The crappie and brim fishermen
are catching a good number of fish on almost every outing. The
crappie are moving in off the lake with this water temperature
dropping and can be found in places like Uncle Joe’s Cut and the
Barge Canal. Minnows are bait of choice for crappies and if you
want to catch a few brim take some crickets along. I hope
everyone had a great Thanksgiving as I know that my family will
as we head to the Florida Keys for the holidays. Everyone needs
to check out my new web site at
www.mybassclass.com and become a member of the fastest
growing bass fishing social web site.
Bite of the Week
I would star in Bay Bottom
throwing Swimming Senkos or Lake Fork Hyper worms rigged
weightless in the grass and than move on toward Clewiston
stopping at Ritta Island and Coots Bay. For some crappies I
would start looking at the lake side of Uncle Joe’s Cut fishing
with minnows.
November 10th, 2008
Lake Okeechobee is a
mysterious lake these days; the bass are here one day and darn
hard to find the next. The water level is right, the water color
is right, the water temperature is getting right, yet the bass
seem to be a little hard to locate on a consistent basis. I had
a couple good days last week where we caught some nice fish but
we had to work for them. But with the full moon just around the
corner we should have bass in on the beds like we did last
month. The water level is at 14.66 feet above sea level and that
is just about right going into winter here on Lake Okeechobee.
We have some great grass growing almost everywhere on the lake,
from pepper grass, eel grass, to hydrilla and it is keeping the
water clean in most areas.
Some areas that have been
producing the bass that my clients and I have been catching are
the East Wall, West Wall, Ritta Island, Long Point, and Coots
Bay. The wind has been blowing a lot here so fishing out on the
lake side of these areas is almost impossible. The water color
back in the grass has been really good with it being clear in
most areas. Out on the lake the water looks muddy from the wind
blowing almost everyday, but it is fishable in some areas. With
the bass being so unpredictable from day to day I’m not sure
that the majority of the bass have moved in from out in the lake
yet. There is some larger shad moving around out in open water
and these bass may be chasing them around and not moving into
the grass yet. The only problem is that with the wind blowing so
much the lake is muddy and it will be hard to locate these bass
that are off the grass in open water. You might be able to find
some fishable water out in the open water if the wind slows down
some and a Spro Aruka Shad would be the perfect bait to locate
these bass. This outside grass will also be a great place to
catch bass on wild shiners as they move toward the inside grass
from out on the lake.
For most of the areas back in
the grass I have been using a Lake Fork Hyper Worm rigged
weightless, I just throw it out and slowly swim it across the
grass. I have also been pitching a Lake Fork Hyper Freak rigged
with a half ounce weight in to the holes in the grass. Junebug
and green pumpkin have been the best colors for me the past few
weeks. I have been throwing both of these baits on Gamma Edge
100% Fluorocarbon line in 20 pound test. The grass that I have
been fishing is pretty thick and I have been going to the fish
when you catch them not even trying to pull them through the
grass, it is just too thick. The new line of “Hyper” soft
plastic lures by Lake Fork are awesome baits to add to your bass
fishing arsenal, they have a wide tail that has great action in
the water and are loaded with garlic and salt to make the bass
want to hold on. And of course I have been throwing all my lures
on the new line of Deep South Rods (www.deepsouthfishingrods.com)
that were designed by fishermen for fishermen. They are the most
sensitive rods I have ever used and are assembled with quality
Fuji components. Try one of my signature series shakey head rods
that I helped design to fish a shakey head rig with a
baitcasting reel not a spinning reel.
The brim are still biting good
and most reports that I have been receiving are that you can go
out almost any day and catch all you want. Be sure to check out
my new site at
www.mybassclass.com for all the newest bass fishing
information.
Bite of the Week
I would start fishing the open
water off Long Point or Ritta Island and move into the grass
looking for bass. Throw a Spro Aruka Shad as a search bait to
locate the bass in the open water and than switch to a Lake Fork
Hyper worm in green pumpkin color fished weightless over top the
grass and let it sink into the holes in the grass.
Oct 27th, 2006
Click
image to view full size
The fishing on Lake Okeechobee has
been for a lack of a better word “strange”. You can go out one
day and catch them pretty good and than the next day it is hard
to find even a few fish. I think that the bass are still out
roaming around and haven’t settled into any type of fall pattern
yet. But with the cool temperatures that we are getting this
week it should trigger the bass into wanting to eat and move
into traditional fall areas. The lake level has remained at
around fifteen feet above sea level and looks like that is what
it will be going into the winter, this is good news and will
enable the bass to spawn in areas that the fry should have
plenty of cover to survive. For the past few years when the
water level was low the bass had to spawn out in open water and
the fry had no cover to hide in so the survival rate was low.
I’m starting to see some hydrilla, lots of eel grass, and some
pepper grass in a lot of areas around the lake.
Some of the areas that are
producing bass are the East Wall, West Wall, Coots Bay, Long
Point, and around Ritta Island. These areas all have certain or
small areas that the bass seem to be holding in and can
sometimes be hard to find. Some of these areas have very clear
water and others have stained water in them it just all depends
on which way and how hard the wind is blowing. When you do find
bass in an area you should spend more time dissecting that area
as most of the fish seem to be in small areas. There have been
reports of bass being caught in the Monkey Box area but I can’t
seem to locate any bass in this area. Some other great looking
water is the shoal from the Blue Hole up to Cochran’s Pass but
this is also an area that I can’t seem to locate any fish.
The bait selection the past
couple weeks has been pretty small but does include the Swimming
Senko, Snag-Proof Frog, and a buzzbait. As all the bass that my
clients and I have been catching have been back in the thick
grass a frog or weightless Swimming Senko have been the go to
baits. The Snag-Proof Bobby’s Perfect frog I’m fishing is on a
Deep South Frog rod with fifty pound test PowerPro line and an
Abu-Garcia Revo STX reel. For the Swimming Senko I have been
using a 7’2” Deep South medium heavy action rod with Gamma Edge
100% fluorocarbon line in sixteen and twenty pound test spooled
on an Abu-Garcia Revo STX reel. When fishing the Swimming Senko
I reel it slowly across the grass and than let it fall in any
holes in the grass I can find. The buzzbait seems to work good
when the wind is blowing hard and everything else is hard to
fish. I like to throw a Cavatron buzzbait in 3/8 ounce size and
use both a black and white colored ones. I have also been doing
pretty good on wild shiners; the key is to find a hole back in
the grass big enough to fish and than be patient and you will
catch a few bass.
The bluegill bite has slowed
down but I do know of a few guys that are still catching them on
a regular basis. Fish a live cricket under a cork in the rim
canal and on the inside of the dyke on the East Wall and down
toward Bear Beach channel. As I write this South Florida has
just had its first cold front of the year pass through and it
should cool the water down even more which should get the bass
move looking for bait. Good luck and hope to see you on the
water and don’t forget to take time to take a kid fishing, you
might just be the one to get them hooked on fishing not on
drugs.
Bite of the Week
Fishing in the grass seems to be
the hot spot to fish and the West Wall, East Wall, Coots Bay,
and Ritta Island are great places to start. Use a Snag-Proof
frog in black color or a weightless Swimming Senko to entice
these bass into biting. I would also keep a buzzbait and a
spinnerbait rigged for windy days. For fishing with wild shiners
get back in the grass and look for holes big enough to fish in,
they only need to be as big as your boat in size. Anchor your
boat in the grass and fish in the open hole.
Sept. 30th, 2008
September has proven to be
somewhat a tough month fishing here on the Big “O”. For most to
go out and catch a couple fish a day has been good. The bass
have been really scattered out, you may catch one or two fish in
an area and than you have to find another area to catch them in,
this is true even with wild shiners for bait. The water has
slowed down flowing into Lake Okeechobee and has even gone down
some in the past couple weeks to 14.95 feet above sea level. I
believe that the water just needs to cool down a little and the
water needs to clean up in some areas from the dead and dieing
vegetation. As long as the wind isn’t blowing too hard to dirty
up the water I have had good success on the outside grass line
but when the wind blows and dirties up the water on the outside
you need to move back in the grass. And this is where the
trouble locating fish starts, I have found a few open water
holes back in the grass and you can sometimes catch a bass or
two out of them but for the most part you will put some time in
to catch a few bass back in the grass.
The bass that my clients and I
have been catching have been on worms and craws fished along the
grass. A ten inch worm like the ones I use from Lake Fork Trophy
Lures in junebug color fished with a 3/16 ounce weight on twenty
pound test fluorocarbon line has been one of my best producing
lures. A Swimming Senko would be my next choice for lures,
fished weightless on a 4/0 Gamakatsu wide gap hook also attached
to the twenty pound test fluorocarbon line. I swim the Senko
through the grass till I get to an open hole in the grass and
then just stop it and let it fall in the hole, if no bites just
continue swimming it. The frog bite has slowed down but I’m
still catching a few and most of them are really good fish. The
Snag-Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog in black has been the best color
and frog for me to use back in the real thick grass like almost
all of the grass is. The fishing has been slow so you will want
to really slow down and fish real slow to get the bites.
Some of the areas that have
been good are Long Point, Ritta Island, Coots Bay, West Wall,
and around Observation Island. It depends on the wind as to
which areas will be the better ones. Try to fish the outside
grass line first and move in grass farther as you try to locate
the fish. I have heard of a few bass being caught back in the
grass all the way against the hard line but the water quality is
not very good back in with the dieing vegetation. There does
seem to be a lot of bait back in the grass moving around so it
is just a matter of time before the bass will be there also. By
mid October the bass should really be moving in to the grass and
feeding for the fall migration into the spawning areas.
In tournament news the Wal-Mart
BFL was held last weekend out of Okeechobee with Alex Picos from
Davie Florida winning with a two day total of 38.14 pounds,
second place was Brandon McMillan from Belle Glade Florida with
38.08 pound for two day. The bass are out there as the
tournament results show but they are a little bit hard to find
for now.
The bluegill fishing has still
been great with most of the bluegill being caught in the rim
canal and dynamite holes. My neighbor and fishing guide Joe
Payne has been catching a limit of bluegill on almost every trip
out. A cricket fished under a cork is the best bet to catch some
nice bluegill but a Bettle Spin will also work.
Bite of the
Week
I would start fishing the outside
grass line at Observation Island, Ritta Island, or Long Point
and than slowly work my way back in the grass. Throw ten inch
worm, swimming Senkos, or frogs and really fish areas
thoroughly. Look for water that is not to dirty and does have a
little wind blowing on it. For bluegill try some of the dynamite
holes south of Clewiston with crickets.
Picture
of Tim Hegarty of West Palm Beach FL and
his dad Tom with a nice Okeechobee bass caught on a wild shiner.
Picture by Mark King
Click photo for full size
September 15th, 2008
September is flying by here on
Lake Okeechobee and the fishing has been really good as the
water level continues to rise. For some though the fishing has
been a little tough as they learn to fish in the grass of
Okeechobee all over again. The bass are not everywhere and you
will not catch a lot in one area but when you do find them you
will be able to catch a fair number in the general area. With
the water level at 15.15 feet above sea level it is no problem
to go almost anywhere as long as you can get through the grass.
I have been catching bass from above Cochran’s Pass to Kramer
Island. The wind seems to have a lot of affect on where the bass
are positioning themselves. If the wind blows pretty hard the
bass are back in the grass more but when the wind lays down or
just blows a little the bass are more toward the outside grass
line. Most of this depends on if the wind is pushing the bait
back into the grass or if they are hanging out on the edge of
the grass.
Some areas that have been good
the past couple weeks are both sides of
Ritta Island, Long Point, Coots Bay, and around
Observation Island area. Where I go depends on the direction of
the wind, I like it to blow straight in against the grass if
possible. Another thing to watch for is the dirty water, the
harder the wind blows from out on the lake the dirtier the water
on the outside of the grass is going to be but as you move
farther back into the grass the water will clean up and almost
get to clear. I know everyone hates to fish in the wind but this
is where the bass will be waiting to ambush bait that the wind
pushes in to them. I use my Power-Pole to hold the boat on the
outside of the grass and cast back into the grass a couple feet
and work my bait out toward open water. Without a Power-Pole you
could use an anchor but it would be a long day fishing a grass
line for a couple miles if you have to pull the anchor all day,
with the Power-Pole all I have to do is use the trolling motor
to move me down the grass line and hit the remote to deploy the
Power-Pole and I’m fishing. They are expensive but it is one
piece of equipment that is on my boat that I couldn’t do
without.
I have been catching bass on
both artificial lures and wild shiners. The wild shiner fishing
has been really good and all you need to do is find an area that
the wind is blowing straight into the grass and anchor out a
casting distance away and throw the shiners just of the grass
line and give it some time and you will catch some nice bass. As
for artificial lures I have been using
topwater frogs and 10” worms for the most part. The
Bobby’s Perfect Frog made by Snag-Proof has been producing
better than any other top water baits I have been using and
black seems to be the color to use. The other lure that has been
working best is a 10” worm made by Lake Fork Trophy Lures in
junebug color. Remember we are now
fishing in the grass again and you will need to use braided line
like PowerPro, I use thirty pound
test for worms and fifty pound test for frogs. Some other lures
that have been working are a Johnson Silver Minnow spoon, Lake
Fork “Live” Magic Shad, and HeddonZara Super Spook. Most of the bass
that we have been catching are from two to six pounds but I have
heard about some bass over eight pounds being caught this past
week. Don’t be afraid to keep trying different areas till you
find the one that is holding fish that you can catch.
Bite of the
Week
I would start at Long Point
throwing a 10” worm on the outside of the grass and than work my
way back in the grass throwing a Snag-Proof frog. I would than
move to Ritta Island or Coots Bay
and do the same thing till I found some bass. If you want to
throw wild shiners fish the outside of Coots or Long Point
depending on which way the wind is blowing. Move back in the
grass only if the wind is blowing to
hard to fish the outside edge of the grass line.
September 3rd, 2008
We wanted water on the Big “O” and
now we have it, water level is at 14.60 feet above sea level and
going up every day. The fishing has been really good, which is
more than I expected with this water coming up so fast. Most of
the bass that my clients and I have been catching are holding on
the outside of the grass for the time being. The non aquatic
grass that has been growing back in the areas that did not have
any water in them for two years is now covered with water and
dying off. This plant life that is dying off has made this water
smell bad and lacks oxygen for fish and bait fish to live in for
now. But as soon as this grass does die off the bass will be
moving back into these areas and Lake Okeechobee will once again
be the famous lake that people come from afar to catch trophy
largemouth bass. For now you can catch bass on the outside of
the grass from Kramer Island to the mouth of Cochran’s Pass.
Some of the better areas this
past week have been outside Coots Bay, East Wall, West Wall, and
around Observation Island. I was really surprised at the number
of bass that have moved in toward this grass so fast. You have
to cover some water to catch the bass holding on this grass, you
may catch two or three and than go a quarter of a mile down the
grass line and catch four or five more. There is some areas
along this grass line that have some eel grass growing in with
the other grass and these spots seem to be the best. There is
plenty of water to get around almost anywhere on the lake
without fear of hitting the bottom with your motor or boat. If
you haven’t been out on the lake for awhile you will be in for a
big surprise as there is water everywhere and nothing looks
familiar any more.
A ten inch Lake Fork worm and a
Snag-Proof Frog have been the best lures for the past couple
weeks. For worm fishing along the outside grass thirty pound
test PowerPro line would be my choice but if you prefer twenty
pound test fluorocarbon will also work. I prefer braided line
once we start fishing in the grass like we are now and PowerPro
is my choice for braided line. For fishing the Snag-Proof Frog I
would suggest fifty pound test PowerPro line, the best colors in
the frog seem to be black. The worms that I use from Lake Fork
Tackle are a ten inch ribbon tailed worm and I use the junebug
and blue bruiser color most of the time. I also did catch a few
bass on a shakey head rig on the outside of the grass line. I
was using the new worm from Lake Fork Tackle called a Hyper
Finesse worm on my shakey head and I’m really impressed with the
action of this worm. The Snag-Proof Frog that I have been using
is the Bobby’s Perfect Frog in black color, fished on a Deep
South 7’2” heavy frog rod. This rod has a heavy backbone for
getting bass out of the heavy cover and is 7’2” long for making
long casts back into the grass. The new line of Deep South Rods
are a great rod for beginners to seasoned pros and everyone in
between, and are offer in spinning, baitcasting, and specific
technique rods. If you have any questions about the line of Deep
South Rods give me a call and I can let you know all about them.
Bite of the
Week
I would fish the outside grass for
now as the bass have not moved back in to the grass yet. Fish
the East Wall, Coots Bay, West Wall, and around Observation
Island with ten inch worms and Snag-Proof frogs. If there is
some wind pushing bait into the grass line
try a spinnerbait or buzzbait along the edge of the
grass.
August 19th, 2008
I’m writing this as tropical storm
Fay is approaching the Lake Okeechobee region and everyone has
their fingers crossed for lots of rain. The lake level has
already come up to 11.34 feet above sea level before this storm
so with Gods grace we will get a good amount of rain from this
storm. The fishing on Lake Okeechobee has been improving the
last couple weeks as some eel and pepper grass has stated to pop
up in some areas. The grass is just in patches but for now that
is great and it should spread quickly with the clear water that
is in most areas that I write about on the south end of the
lake. The bass are relating to the small patches of eel grass
and my clients have been able to catch a couple bass out of each
patch before you need to move on to the next patch of grass.
Also with the water level getting up high enough to once again
get back into the main grass line in most areas the bass seem to
be also heading to these areas.
Most of the areas from Kramer
Island to above Observation Island have some type of grass
starting to grow and a few fish to be caught in most of these
areas. A shakey head rig and Carolina rigged worm have been the
most productive techniques as of lately. But I have been getting
my frog rod and heavy flippin rod ready as these bass will be in
the grass real soon. I have been fishing a shakey head rig in
the eel grass patches with great success, my shakey head rig
consist of a Giggy Head jig made by Gambler Lures and a new worm
made by Lake Fork Tackle called a Hyper Worm that has great
action. On the Carolina rig I have been using a Gambler Ace and
a Lake Fork Ring Fry. Darker colored worms like junebug,
black-blue, blue bruiser seem to be the best colors to use. I’m
still catching a few fish on a swim bait and they are usually
bigger bass but you may throw a swim bait all day for just a few
bites.
I really excited about the
amount of rain that we are receiving from tropical storm Fay and
can’t wait to get out on the lake and see how far back in the
grass that we will be able to get. I will be getting a frog rod
ready to use along with a heavy flippin stick to fish back in
the grass. My rig for fishing frogs consists of a Deep South
7’2” heavy rod, an Abu-Garcia Revo reel spooled with fifty pound
test Power-Pro line. The Abu-Garcia Revo reel that I use for
fishing a frog has a high 7.1 gear ratio so that I can get a
Gambler Cane Toad up on top of the water and can keep it there.
I use two types of frogs a soft plastic Cane Toad made by
Gambler baits and my favorite type of frog made by Snag Proof
that will not sink and can be worked very slow over vegetation.
I like to use the Bobby’s Perfect Frog made by Snag Proof Lures
when I want a frog that will not sink and that I can add a
rattle when I fish over heavy cover, when you stop this frog the
legs will pulsate. But if you want to fish a frog fast over top
vegetation than a Gambler Cane Toad is the bait I turn to.
Bite of the
Week
There will be a lot more area
accessible after tropical storm Fay passes by and you should be
able to fish areas like the East Wall, West Wall, and around
Observation Island. There has been a good deal of eel grass
popping up in various areas, you just have to get out and look
for it. I would fish a shakey head rig, Carolina rig, frog, and
a texas rigged worm to search out these bass. Look for areas
that have clean water that does not have too much of the tea
colored water in it.
August 3, 2008
Click photo to view full size
Picture of Stacey Stout with a
nice bluegill, picture by Mark King
The fishing has slowed down as
water continues to pour into Lake Okeechobee. With the water
level at 10.72 feet above sea level Lake Okeechobee is filling
up with water at a pretty fast rate, just hope it continues. The
bass fishing has slowed down the past couple weeks here on the
south end of the lake. Most of the bass being caught are out on
the main lake roaming around chasing bait. The rim canal and
most of the channels and canals have the red or tea stain water
in them and the bass have moved out of this water that has
little oxygen. It is great that we are still getting a lot of
water into the lake but it is just a shame that it is such bad
water from the agricultural community. Maybe some day someone
will figure out what to do with this run off water from the
fields and farms before they dump it into Lake Okeechobee.
Because if they don’t the most famous lake in the world will be
nothing more than a sediment pit with no fish or wildlife for
our kids to enjoy.
The bass that we have been
catching are looking for bait so this is also what you need to
be looking for. I have seen some very large schools of shad this
past week and the bass were in the middle feeding on them like
they hadn’t ate for months. The shad that I have been seeing are
big shad so in matching the hatch you will want to be fishing
larger baits for these bass out looking for shad. Large swim
baits and big 10” worms would be my choice. You will probably
not get many bites but the ones that you do get will be nice
bass. I have also been catching a few bass on a shakey head rig
but it has slowed down some. For worm colors for both the 10”
worm and the shakey head worm I would stick with darker colors
like junebug, black-blue, or black grape. For what color swim
bait to use try to get something that looks like a shad color or
white. The swim baits I use “Live” Magic Shad made by Lake Fork
Tackle have a color called albino shad that I like to use a lot,
but any of the colors that look like a shad or wild shiner will
work.
The areas that I have been
fishing mostly are out on the lake even though it is shallow in
most of these areas. Norman’s channel still has a few fish in
and around it, the shoal north of Uncle Joe’s cut has a few bass
roaming around chasing shad and bluegill, and the area out from
Bear Beach channel has been holding bass most consistently. I
have not been able to catch very many bass in the rim canal
since they started running the dirty tea stained water in from
out in the fields and canals surrounding Lake Okeechobee. There
are still bass to be caught on the pipe line that runs from the
water tank to the area between Coots Bay and the East Wall. This
water out in this area does have a small amount of stain to it
but depending on the wind direction it can also be very clear.
The pipe line is pretty easy to find as it is covered with rock
and is in a pretty straight line. With this water being shallow
and clear you will want to stay out a casting distance away from
the pipe line and make long casts to keep from spooking these
bass. Another tip is to put your trolling motor on a low speed
and let it run constant, try not to run it on high or turn it on
and off as this will spook these bass in this shallow water.
The bass have been a little
hard to find for most even in the tournaments we have here
almost every weekend. The winner may come in with over twenty
pound in five bass but than second place may only have a little
over ten pounds, but than that’s summer fishing on almost any
lake in the United States. My suggestion for this time of the
year is to get out early as possible to get the best chance of
catching these summer bass and to fish slow and be patient and
you will catch some bass. The bluegills are still biting good,
as long as you find active beds with fish on them. Crickets
under a cork or sometimes without a cork will be your best bet.
A Beatle Spin will also work good but for me the crickets have
been working best. Yes you heard me right I have been doing some
bluegill fishing and having a good time at it. Remember during
the hot summer months to drink lots of water and use plenty of
good sunscreen like the one I use made by
SmartShield (www.smartshield.com)
that is eco-friendly and oil free so it will not harm fishing
line or any of your outdoor gear.
SmartShield also makes a great insect repellent that is
Deet-Free and I can tell you from
experience this stuff really works even in the Everglades
National Park where the mosquitoes are as big
as a birds.
Bite of the Week
I would start bass fishing on the
pipe line just off the Clewiston channel and then move over
toward the Bear Beach area, fishing 10” worms and swim baits.
From there I would try Norman’s channel fishing the holes and
drop-offs in the channel with a shakey head rig. Use dark
colored worms and look for the bait and you will find the fish.
Bass fishing is almost like dolphin fishing, if you see birds
diving on bait the bass won’t be to far behind. For bluegill
look for beds up on the shoal north of Uncle Joe’s cut and out
from Ritta Island.
July 22nd, 2008
As the dirty water continues to
flow into Lake Okeechobee from the farms surrounding the lake
the fishing has gotten a little tough if you can’t find clean
water. Yes we needed water in the lake but this red or tea
stained water that is flowing and being pumped into the lake
does not have much oxygen in it and has the bass scrambling for
good water. The lake level is at 10.34 feet above sea level and
still rising everyday. It seems to be one of those deals where
do you want dirty water or no water! The key to finding bass the
past couple weeks is to find clean water and bait, the clean
water is a little easier to find than the bait fish.
Some of the areas that the
water still seams to be ok are the shoal north of Uncle Joe’s
cut, Norman’s channel, and the pipeline area. The shoal does
have more water on it than it did a couple weeks ago but it is
still very shall to fishing it in a bass boat. Norman’s channel
and the pipe line that runs from the water tank that is out the
Clewiston channel to an area between Coots Bay and the East
Wall. The water in the pipe line area is clear and you just need
to look for the rocks that cover the pipe. On a weekend it is
easy to find the pipe line because there is a string of boats on
it, but even then they are still catching bass. At Norman’s
channel you want to fish the edge of the channel and up in the
shallower water also, you should find the fish if you keep
looking around in this area.
My bait selection has changed
some from past months to where I’m throwing
a swim bait a lot more especially if I see bait jumping
or bass trying to eat them. For soft plastic swim baits try a
Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad in both the 4.5 and 5.5 sizes. For
hard plastic swim baits I have been using the King Shad made by
Strike King. As for what color to use I have been using shad
colored soft and hard plastic swim baits. The other thing about
fishing swim baits is the fact that the strike is viscous and
braided line and a rod with a lot of back bone is needed. I have
been using thirty to fifty pound test Power Pro braided line and
a 7’11” Deep South Flipping rod. My next lure of choice would
be an shakey head jig, I use a
Gambler Lures ¼ ounce Giggy Head jig
but there is a great variety of different jig head on the market
now. Just try different ones until you find the one that works
best for you, the one made by Gambler Lures has been a great jig
for my clients and I to use. One the best feature is the fact
you can get it with a 5/0 hook so that you can use large soft
plastics with it and still get a good hook set without the worm
being in the way and the fact that the hook is bigger and
stronger it won’t bend when you get one of these trophy Lake
Okeechobee bass hooked up. I have been using a variety of
different soft plastics the past few weeks from 10” worms to 4”
tube baits, but the straight tailed 6” worm is still the best
producer by far. The bite on wild shiners has been very slow
with it being tough to use up a couple dozen. My suggestion to
clients is to use artificial lures and save the money that they
would spend on the wild shiners.
The bluegill bite has been good
as we come off the full moon and the bluegills are on the beds.
The key here is the same as the bass fishing, find fish and you
will catch them. The shoal has a good number of active bluegill
beds on it and would be my choice, just remember that the water
is still very shallow and this area is dangerous. Crickets are
still producing best but a Bettle
Spin will work almost as well. Good luck and hope to see you on
the water this week. Now is a great time to pick up some of that
trash we all see on the water, lets all help clean up Lake
Okeechobee.
Bite of the Week
For bass I would concentrate on
areas that are safe to get to and have clean water, Norman’s
channel and the pipe line would be my choice. I would take three
lure a swim bait, a
shakey head rig, and a top water
lure. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different soft plastic
worms on a shakey head jig, the bass
will let you know what they want by the way they bite. For
bluegill just drift the shoal area till you find some active
beds and then throw a cricket under a cork over the bed. If you
prefer not to use crickets throw a Bettle
Spin with a black trailer. Please don’t keep more bluegill then
you plan on eating, save some for others and for next year.
July 7th, 2008
Picture of Capt. Mark King with 10.6 pound bass caught on a
shakey head picture by Diane King.
Click image to
view full size.
The water level is rising
fast on Lake Okeechobee and the bass that were headed out to the
deeper water are just hanging out in the shallower water. The
lake level is at 9.99 feet above sea level and rising more every
day with the rain we have been receiving around the lake and
especially north of the lake. The bass fishing can be great one
day and so so the next. I had a rare opportunity last week to go
fishing with my wife Diane and I was able to catch and land a
monster bass that weighed in at 10.6 pounds. And yes it was on a
shakey head rig with light line. The bluegill fishing has slowed
down a little but if you can find some active beds then you
should be able to catch all you want.
With the water coming
up the fish seem to be holding in some of the flats areas that
they were starting to leave when the water was going down two
weeks ago. Most of the bass that my clients and I are catching
are in two feet of water or less and the presents of bait seems
to be the key. During the summer months here on the Big “O” the
bass will follow the bait around the lake, this is why you can
catch bass in one area and then fish the same area the next
couple days and not catch a thing. Some of the areas that I have
been fishing is the Norman’s channel area, Bear Beach area and
out both ways from the Clewiston channel. These fish are
sometimes hard to locate in these areas but once you do you
should be able to catch a good number of them. Even though the
lake has come up over a foot in the last couple weeks it is
still not safe to run in a lot of areas that I have mentioned
above. You will notice that they are close to a channel and you
can start fishing in the channel and move out on to the flats
areas on the trolling motor and not have any problems.
The shakey head rig and
swim baits have been the most productive lures the past week. My
shakey head rig is still the same as it has been with a Gambler
Lures ¼ ounce Giggy Head jig with a dark colored straight tailed
worm like a Zoom Trick worm or a Gambler Sweebo worm. One thing
that has changed is the rod that I’m now using; it is made by
Deep South Rods (www.deepsouthfishingrods.com)
and is made especially to fish shakey head jigs. I helped design
this rod and it has a fast tip to let you feel everything on the
bottom and detect subtle bites, it also features lots of
backbone to get bass to the boat. Look for this rod in your
local tackle shops, it is a top of the line rod blank with Fuji
components and best of all it has my name on it. The swim baits
that I have had success on are the Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad
and the new 5.5 BFL (big fish lure) made by D.O.A. Lures. The
wild shiner fishing has been really good one day and pretty poor
the next. It’s best if you want to fish with wild shiners to
just get a couple dozen and see if the bass want them on the day
you are fishing. I’m still fishing shiners under a cork and
letting them swim around, I’m not using a sinker that keeps them
in one place.
As I mentioned above
the bluegill fishing has been good as long as you can find
active beds. Some areas to look are the pipeline area off the
Clewiston channel, Bear Beach area and off the outside of Uncle
Joe’s cut. Crickets are still the best bet but a Beetle Spin
will also catch a limit of these tasty pan fish. Remember to use
plenty of sunscreen and drink lots of water during the hot
months of summer. Also keep an eye out for the afternoon storms
you don’t want to get caught in them. And one more thing if you
see a piece of trash in the water pick it up, I know no one
throws it in the water but than no one ever seems to pick them
up either.
Bite of the Week
For bass I would be
fishing a shakey head jig with a junebug colored straight tailed
worm. I would try out Bear Beach channel and out on the flat
surround it or Norman’s channel area. For bluegill try the
pipeline area with crickets or Beetle Spins with a black tube
jig.
Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report
June 24th, 2008
Picture of
Mike Billet from State College, PA. with a 7.8 pound Lake
Okeechobee bass caught on a shakey
head worm. Picture by Mark King . Click image to view
full size.
The fishing has been a little
tougher as the water continues to drop on Lake Okeechobee. The
fish we were catching two to three weeks ago would need shoes to
walk around with in these areas. So the bass are on the move
looking for deeper water and bait fish to eat, but this is
making it tough to find them from day to day. You might go out
one day and really catch them and you go back to the same area
the next day and can’t even catch a bass. The wild shiner bite
has been about as good as the artificial bite, so it is entirely
up to you whether you want to watch shiners swimming under corks
or move around and throw artificial lures.
Deeper clean water seems to be
the key to catching bass on the Big “O” at the present time. By
deeper I mean just a little deeper than the surrounding water,
six inches can make a big difference. The best areas to look for
deeper water are the channels like the Clewiston channel,
Norman’s channel or some of the other deeper channels in the
lake. Some other great places to look for are deeper holes out
on the lake that you can get to safely with your boat. Buy a
good quality map and it will show a lot of the deeper holes out
on the lake, just remember the water needs to be clean in the
area that you are fishing. The rim canal has really slowed down
as far as the bass fishing is concerned; I’m not really sure why
because this is deeper water but I haven’t seen much bait in the
rim canal for a few weeks now. The only other areas that my
clients have caught a few bass are up on the flat areas before
the sun gets up high in the sky. But once the sun gets up these
bass just disappear.
The top water bite has been
good in the morning and if it is overcast. I have been throwing
a Zara Super Spook if the wind is blowing and a small Pop-R if
it is calm out. I will also try these throughout the day because
there are some days when the bass will eat top water all day
long. The other lures that I have been using are soft plastic
worms. The shakey head rig is still
my favorite technique to catch bass on Lake Okeechobee with the
water levels being low like they are now. I have been using a
new line of rod the past couple months made by
Deep South Rods
(www.deepsouthfishingrods.com)
and just love the feel of these rods, they are light weight for
using all day and are very durable to take the everyday
punishment that my clients and I give them. The new signature
series shakey head rod with my name
on it is just the rod to throw a shakey
head and catch bass from under docks or fishing out on the flats
where we just drag a Giggy Head on
the bottom. These rods can handle anything you throw at them
including monster Okeechobee bass. The only other soft plastic
lure that has been working with any consistency has been a Lake
Fork Lures 10” worm in junebug
color. While fishing these channels like the Clewiston channel
and Norman’s channel I will have one client throw a
shakey head worm and the other throw
a crank bait like a Bomber 6A in a
shad pattern. When we find that one lure works better than the
other than we all switch to that.
The bluegill bite has been pretty
good if you can find some beds that still have some fish on them
that someone hasn’t come in and caught them all. A Beetle Spin
has been working as good as live crickets; try one with a black
and yellow tail. I am now doing bluegill
trips and inshore/backcountry fishing.
Bite of the Week
The Clewiston channel would be my
pick to catch bass either on wild shiners or artificial lures.
Start out in the morning with top water and as the sun gets up
use a shakey head jig with a darker
colored worm or crank bait in a natural shad pattern. To catch
some bluegills look for beds out on the flats around the
Clewiston area and throw a Beetle Spin.
June 9th, 2008
The
water level is dropping fast on Lake Okeechobee with the level
at 9.44 feet above sea level and the fish are starting to move
out of the shallow water areas just as fast. Fishing this past
week has been a hit and miss deal,
one day you catch the fire out of them and the next you struggle
to catch just a few. As the water drops the bass will move to
deeper water areas and then they will be easier to pinpoint but
for now they are roaming around between the shallow water and
the deeper water. If you get out early in the morning the bass
are up on the shallow flats till the sun gets up and then they
disappear. After the sun gets up the rim canal and channels have
been holding enough fish to keep your interest. I was even able
to catch a few good bass this week on wild shiners in the
dynamite holes.
Some of the areas that are
producing well for bass are the Clewiston channel, Norman’s
channel, the pipeline from Coots Bay out to the water tank, the
rim canal, and the dynamite holes. As this water continues to
drop the bass will move to deep water areas like the channels. A
great area to fish is the shallow water next to the deeper water
as long as the water is not too dirty. As I mentioned earlier
the bass have been eating wild shiners in the dynamite holes and
out on the lake, try sitting in the shallow water and throwing
the shiners in the deeper water. I have been using both shiners
fished with a cork float and free runners without a cork. For
now the smaller shiners seem to be working better than the big
ones. As for artificial lures topwater and soft plastic worms
are the way to go. A Lil’ Zip made by local lure maker Sam
Griffin or a Bomber Torpedo in a small size are working great
for topwater, and like I have said before they work just as good
all day as they do in the early morning hours. As for soft
plastics the shakey head rig with a straight tailed worm and a
Zoom Super Fluke fished with a 1/16 ounce screw in sinker will
both catch some nice bass. I have been using a 3/16 ounce
Gambler Giggy Head jig instead of the 1/4 ounce now that the
wind has slowed down and as to what color worm, try any dark
colors. Some of my favorite colored worms are black, junebug,
black-grape, and black-blue. Don’t be afraid to experiment with
different worms like a 10’ worm or a Senko, both will work at
certain times. When I fish a Zoom Super Fluke I like to fish it
on a 4/0 wide gap hook and a 1/16 ounce screw in bullet weight.
My favorite colors for Flukes are watermelon-red, baby bass and
green pumpkin. Another thing to consider is the water color
where you are fishing, if it is clear and the wind isn’t putting
much of a ripple on the water than you may want to move out
toward deeper water and on windy or cloudy days the bass will be
up on the clear shallow flats. Also consider your fishing line
and use fluorocarbon line in the clear water as these bass can
get line shy in the shallow water. If you like to use braided
line then just tie a fluorocarbon leader about 24” in length to
the braided line and you shouldn’t have any trouble.
I have been seeing a good
number of bluegill beds out on the lake in the shallow water
areas I mentioned above. There are bluegills on some and others
seem to not have any bluegill even around them, you just have to
look for the active beds. Crickets under a cork would be my bait
choice but a Beetle Spin with a black and yellow trailer will
also get the job done.
With summer here you want to
remember to take lots of water out on the lake and drink it
throughout the day not just when you are thirsty. Sunscreen
should be applied before you even leave the dock in the morning
and reapplied throughout the day, even on cloudy days you will
get burnt without sunscreen. I like to use a sunscreen made by
Smartshield that is oil free and eco-friendly so I don’t worry
about getting it on my fishing line or in the water. One other
item is sunglasses; wear them all the while you are out on the
water. I have wore cheap glasses in the past and my eyes would
hurt like a tooth ache all night but since I started wearing a
good quality pair of sunglasses like Costa Del Mar glasses my
eyes feel as good after a day on the water as they did in the
morning.
Bite of the Week
I would start out fishing the
pipeline in the morning with topwater and a shakey head rig and
move toward the Clewiston channel as the sun got up overhead. If
you want to throw some wild shiners than I would head to one of
the deeper dynamite holes and sit in the shallow water and throw
the shiners to deeper water. For bluegill try the pipeline area
and also out Bear Beach channel. There are still a few bass in
the rim canal but they seem to be scattered out so don’t expect
to sit in one spot and catch a lot of bass.
May 27th, 2008
You
want to catch up to 30 plus bass a day? Then Lake Okeechobee is
the place to be now if you like catching bass on artificial
lures. The main lake is clearing up daily as the wind has
finally giving us a break and the bass are almost everywhere in
the shallow water flats looking for something to eat. My clients
have enjoyed a great couple weeks fishing out on the lake from
the pipeline area to the shoal. Most of the bass are in the two
to four pound range but we have had a fair number of fish over
seven pounds. I’m fishing in water that is two feet deep or less
and these bass are fighting like they are monster bass, this is
what makes this so much fun to see the rod bent double and these
bass out of the water like they are tarpon. The lake level is at
9.78 feet above sea level and has stayed pretty steady this week
with the rain we received. It hasn’t been enough rain to fill
the lake but enough to keep the farmers fields wet so they don’t
take our water.
If you’re going to be out on
these flats areas fishing for bass you will not need too many
different kinds of lures. Most all the fish that we have caught
the past week or two have been on a shakey head rig or a lipless
crankbait. Everyone gets tired me talking about a shakey head
rig but when you take out two clients for six hours and they
catch over fifty bass with a 7.12 pound bass to anchor the catch
why would I want to use anything else. On windy days a lipless
crankbait does work pretty well, I have been throwing a Spro
Aruka Shad in both the 75 and junior size. The blue and green
shiner colors seem to be the better colors, but any color with a
shiny chrome finish should work. Spro has gone the extra mile on
the finishes they are putting on the Aruka Shad, they are
comparable with the high dollar Japanese lures at a fraction of
the cost. My shakey head rig hasn’t changed much for the past
six months, a Gambler ¼ ounce Giggy Head jig and a dark colored
straight tailed worm like a Gambler Sweebo or a Zoom Trick worm.
On days when the wind doesn’t blow at all then a 3/16 ounce
Giggy Head may work better. A few other lures that work from day
to day for me are a 10” worm and swimbaits both hard and soft
plastic.
The areas out on the lake that
I have talked about are very shallow water areas and for the
most part you can not run your boat into these areas on plane.
You should plan on doing a lot of idling and running your
trolling motor most of the day while you fish these areas. The
pipe line that runs from the water tank to an area off Coots
Bay, the outside of Bare Beach channel, the area from the
outside of Uncle Joe’s cut up to where the mouth of Cochran’s
all have fish but are also very shallow and dangerous areas to
be right now. There are lots of bluegill beds in these areas and
the bass are roaming around eating till they look like little
footballs, some are as big around as they are long. There are
still fish in the rim canal and a few in the Clewiston channel
from the locks at Clewiston out to the water tank.
The bluegill bite has been good
for some and not so good for others. There are lots of beds in
all the shallow water areas that I talked about bass fishing
above. Crickets would be my bait choice with Beetle Spins being
my second choice. A lot of the airboat folks are getting out and
wading around in the shallow water catching good numbers of
bluegill.
Bite of the Week
My first choice for bass would be
the pipeline area and I would throw a Gambler Giggy Head jig in
¼ ounce size and a dark colored Gambler Sweebo worm attached. My
next choice would be the shoal as long as the wind isn’t blowing
too hard. But if you want to be safe with your boat that stick
to the rim canal and you should be able to catch a good number
of bass. For bluegill try the flat in front of Coots Bay or the
rim canal and dynamite holes with a cricket under a cork float.
Picture of Mike Squillace from the
Ft. Lauderdale Florida area with a bass that weighed 7.12 pounds
caught on a shakey head. Picture by Mark King
May 13th, 2008
Picture of the smoke from the fire
on the lake. Picture by Mark King
The water level continues to drop
on Lake Okeechobee as fires burn on the lake from Moorehaven to
Clewiston. The lake level is at 10.03 above sea level and
dropping pretty fast, but we are still higher than we were last
year at this time when the lake level was at 9.33 feet above sea
level. The fishing continues to be awesome from the rim canal
out to areas on the lake and everywhere in between. Bass have
been hitting artificial lures better than they have been eating
wild shiners, but that’s not to say they won’t eat up a couple
dozen shiners pretty quick.
The shakey head rig is still my
number one choice to catch size and numbers of bass. In my
opinion a ¼ ounce Gambler Giggy Head jig with a straight tailed
worm like a Zoom Trick worm or a Gambler Sweebo can’t be beat.
For color choices anything from junebug to black will work
great, junebug when the sun is bright and black when it is
overcast skies. Some of the other lures that have also been
working are a 10” texas rigged worm, lipless crankbait like a
Spro Aruka Shad in golden shiner color, or a topwater popper.
The 10” worm is something that has just started to work good, I
like to throw a Lake Fork Trophy Lures 10” worm in a darker
color with as small as bullet weight that the wind will allow me
to throw and still have contact with the bottom. The trick to
using any worm at this time is to fish it as slow as you can and
then fish it even slower. I have also been catching some bass on
a weightless Senko on days when the wind isn’t blowing; again
darker colors are my choice.
The rim canal is still
producing some nice fish and good numbers but if you are like me
I’m tired of looking at the same areas day in day out. I have
started fishing out on the lake in a couple different spots. One
is the pipeline that runs from the water tank to the point
between Coots Bay and the East Wall. And the other area is up on
the shoal which is a very shallow and dangerous area right now.
If you do not have a good knowledge of this area you might not
want to fish there unless you have an endless supply of boats
and gearcases. The pipeline area is not bad to get to as you can
idle from the Clewiston channel to it and then start fishing in
this whole area. There are also a lot of bluegill beds in this
area, which is why the bass are roaming around out here. The
shoal also has some bass on it but this area is very shallow and
much harder to get to and if the wind blows it becomes even
worse. Bass should start showing up on the Clewiston channel any
day as this is where everyone was fishing this time last year,
from Clewiston out to the water tank is the best area. The bass
in the rim canal are still on the humps and ridges from
Clewiston to Belle Glade.
The bluegill beds are almost
everywhere from the rim canal to the lake and the males are on
them now waiting for the full moon and the females to start
moving in. The males can be caught now off the bed using
crickets or Beetle Spins.
Bite of the
Week
The pipeline would be my choice
area as long as the wind isn’t blowing too hard and if it is
than go to the rim canal and you should be able to catch all the
bass you want. For bluegill try out in front of Coots Bay and
the East Wall, both areas have a good number of beds. Baits of
choice would be a Shakey Head rig or weightless Senko for bass
and crickets for bluegill.
April 28th, 2008
The wild shiner bite for bass
slows down a bit on Lake Okeechobee but the artificial bite is
still on. And by on I mean that you can catch bass on topwater
to shakey heads and anything in between. The bass have not
really wanted to eat wild shiners since the record setting cold
front came through two weeks ago, but they will still eat an
artificial lure like it’s their last meal. The lake level has
drop slightly to 10.35 feet above sea level but that is still
over six inches more than it was last year at this time. The rim
canal and dynamite holes are still getting a lot of attention
but the main lake has started producing bass and bluegills in
good numbers. As long as the wind doesn’t blow to hard the main
lake should continue to clean up more everyday.
Some of the areas that are
starting to see clean water out on the main lake is out from
Coots Bay, East Wall, West Wall and up on the shoal. I’m not
telling you can run into these areas with your boat I’m just
saying that the water is clean and very fishable if you want to
idle in on the big motor or use your trolling motor. As you are
in these areas you will notice vegetation growing on the bottom,
please treat this as if you were fishing a saltwater flat and
don’t tear it up with your props. We need all the vegetation to
grow on the bottom of Lake Okeechobee as we can get, as this is
what will keep our waters clean and filter out the dirty water.
The rim canal and dynamite holes are also getting clearer by the
day and should continue to do so as we head into summer. My
clients and I have been mostly concentrating on the humps and
ridges in the middle part of the rim canal.
The shakey head rig is still my
number one choice to catch both numbers and big bass. That’s not
to say that we are not catching our fair share on topwater and
crankbaits also. As the wind slows down I have started to use a
3/16 ounce Gambler Giggy Head jig in place of the 1/4 ounce
size, the key is to maintain contact with the bottom and the
3/16 works great when the wind isn’t blowing to hard. My worm
colors for the shakey head have not changed with darker colors
like junebug, black, black-blue being my favorites. As far as
crankbaits are concerned a lipless crankbait like the Spro Aruka
Shad in blue shiner or wild shiner would be my choice. The blue
shiner color on sunny days and the wild shiner color on cloudy
overcast days. For topwater I’m using a small pop-r type lure
and either a Lil’ Zip or Lil’ Richard both are a prop type bait
made by local lure maker Sam Griffin. The topwater lures and
Spro Aruka Shad will work great out on the flats areas like out
from Coots Bay and the East Wall. I have also had some success
on these flats with swimbaits both hard plastic and soft
plastic.
The bluegill bite has also been
picking up since the cold front came through and good sized ones
are being caught both in the rim canal and out on the lake if
you can find clean water. If you like to use live bait than
crickets will work best and if artificial lures are your choice
than Beetle Spins and Rooster Tails would be my choice. There
have bluegill beds out in front of Coots Bay and in the rim
canal that I have seen but I’m sure there are a lot of other
places to find them also.
Bite of the Week
I know I keep telling you rim
canal every week but that is the place to be and my clients keep
catching big fish and good numbers of bass. Artificial lures
would be my choice this week as they seem to be working better
than wild shiners. Target the humps and ridges in the middle of
the rim canal with a Gambler Giggy Head jig and a straight
tailed junebug worm. For bluegills try out in front of Coots Bay
if the wind isn’t blowing and if it is than head to the edges of
the rim canal.
April 15th, 2008
Picture of Jake Bension with a
9.7# bass caught on a wild shiner. Picture by Mark King
The water level in big Lake
Okeechobee continues to rise and the fishing also keeps getting
better. The lake level is 10.50 above sea level and that is six
inches higher then it was last year at this time. Everyone keeps
talking and reporting about how bad Lake Okeechobee is well I’m
here to tell you that the fishing is great and the Good Lord has
provided us with enough water to maintain a good lake level for
the vegetation to grow back and for the fishing to continue to
be great. All anyone wants to report about is the bad news, how
about coming over and reporting about some of the good things. I
know enough about the press we know that all they are going to
report about are the negative things.
My clients have been catching
around twenty five bass on most outings and some real nice ones
over seven pounds are also being caught. Oh did I mention that
the artificial lure bite is as good if not better than the wild
shiner fishing. I’m still catching most of my bass on a shakey
head rig but topwater and crankbaits have also been accounting
for a good number of fish. My shakey head rig has not changed
for the last four months it consists of a Gambler Giggy Head jig
fished on twelve pound Berkley fluorocarbon line with a straight
tailed worm like a Gambler Sweebo worm, darker colors have been
working best. For topwater I prefer to use small Poppers and
small prop type baits like the ones I use that are made by local
lure make Sam Griffin. Sam’s baits are all wooden plugs that sit
in the water just right and have great action. Sam also does a
great job of custom painting his lures. As far as what
crankbaits that I have been using the past few weeks both are
made by Spro lures. The Spro Aruka Shad lipless crankbait has
been bait that I have been using to crank the humps and ridges
in the rim canal. And the Spro Little John crankbait has been
what I have been using to work along the rip rap on the levy
side of the rim canal. The only other bait that has been working
for my clients and I is a Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad fished
real slowly over the humps and ridges in the rim canal, this
swimbait has great action that can really get the bass fired up.
Try some of the 4.5” or 5.5” size in golden shiner color and you
will see why I like these baits. They have also been working
great for inshore saltwater fishing; Bass Pro Shops can’t keep
them in stock.
The areas that I have been
fishing have not changed much in the past few months. The humps,
ridges, and rip rap in the rim canal has been the better places
to be, but don’t count out the dynamite holes or out on the
shoal north of Uncle Joe’s if the wind allows you to get there.
Remember the lake is still low and you will want to be very
careful running around anywhere out on the lake itself. The
bluegill bite has real turned on the past couple weeks and some
real nice ones are being caught. The rim canal seems to be the
place to be and crickets are the bait of choice.
I fished my first IFA Redfish
tournament last weekend in Jacksonville and just wanted to say
that the IFA is a class act. I have fished a lot of bass
tournaments around the country and they don’t even compare to
how the IFA runs a tournament. Everyone is friendly from the
tournament officials to the anglers and the meeting, boat
launching and weigh in just runs real smooth. Now if I could
just figure out how to catch some redfish!
Bite of the Week
For bass the rim canal is where
you should be fishing, anywhere for Moorehaven to Belle Glade
you should be able to catch fish. Look for humps and ridges in
the rim canal and if that doesn’t work for you try fishing along
the levy side with both soft plastics and crankbaits. If
bluegills are your fish of choice get some crickets and fish
them under a cork in the rim canal and you should be able to get
a limit.
April 1st, 2008
A
happy April Cates from Rockport Texas with a bass she caught on a
shakey head worm rig. Picture by Mark king
We have all heard the
words “should have been here last week the fish were really
biting”, but this is not the case on Lake Okeechobee as the bass
just keep biting week after week. The water level has come up a
little to 10.25 feet above sea level and the wind has slowed
down some the past few days. Most of the water in the rim canal,
dynamite holes and out on the shoal has really cleaned up to the
point you can almost call it clear. All these conditions have
added up to lots of bass being caught from Moorehaven to
Pahokee. Most of my clients the past couple weeks have really
caught a lot of bass on artificial lures from sunrise to mid
afternoon. It is great to see almost everyone catching bass from
guides to weekend warriors and since the bass are scattered out
no one is fishing on top of each other.
Most of the bass are
still being caught in the rim canal but they are not on just the
humps and ridges now, they are along both the lake and levy
sides as well as the points. They can also be caught on
crankbaits, topwater, or soft plastics. Of course the shakey
head has been my top producer in both numbers and big fish. Tie
on a ¼ ounce Gambler Giggy Head jig with a Gambler Sweebo worm
or Ace and you can’t go wrong. Remember that with the water
clearing up that you should use fluorocarbon line; it is almost
invisible in the water and has great strength. I have been using
the new Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon professional grade and I’m
really impressed with all of its qualities especially the low
memory feature that makes it great for use on spinning reels.
The crankbaits that I have been using with great success the
past couple weeks are the Spro “Little John” and the Spro Aruka
Shad lipless crankbait. Spro makes a great quality crankbait
with a finish that is as good as Japanese lures costing twice as
much. The topwater bite has been spotty but we have been
catching a few everyday either on a Pop-R or a buzzbait, both
are great on overcast days. A lot of the bass that we have been
catching are in the two to four pound range which is a lot of
fun to catch especially when you can catch over thirty a day.
And yes we are also catching some bigger ones up to eight or
nine pounds but were just not catching them like we were on
every trip. But who wouldn’t enjoy catching twenty bass over
three pounds in one day. Want even more of a challenge bring
your fly rod and hook into some of the bass that fight like fish
twice their size.
The crappie bite has
slowed down to almost nothing but the bluegill bite is starting
to heat up. Try getting some crickets and fishing in the rim
canal toward Belle Glade and you should be able to find a good
number bluegill. Remember to not take more bluegill out of the
lake than what you are going to eat or everyone will be
complaining that they can’t catch any fish next year. And if you
see someone keeping too many fish or bass that are not the right
size that don’t hesitate to call the FWC, the number is on your
fishing license. The future of our fishery might just be in your
hands Think About It!!!
Bite of the Week
I would start in the rim
canal with topwater lures early in the morning and than go to
soft plastics on a shakey head jig as the sun gets up overhead.
Fish the levy side of the canal or the humps and ridges in the
middle. For bluegill try fishing a cricket under a cork along
the lake side of the rim canal.
March 17th, 2008
Picture
of Randy Cameron from Creede, Colorado with a nice bass caught on a
fly rod. Picture taken by Mark King
Lake Okeechobee
is hot, once again this past weekend it took a five bass
limit over twenty five pound to win a tournament. Most all
of the guides here at Roland Martins Marina and Resort have
been catching good numbers of bass and some big ones on both
wild shiners and artificial lures. Bass Busters silver
division held on March 15th was won by Brandon
McMillan and Ron Veale with 28.56 pounds and the Gold
division held on Sunday the 16th was won by Jimmy
and Brandon McMillan with 26.51 pounds. It took over twenty
pounds to get in the money both days. Big bass on Saturday
was an 8.07 pound bass caught by Skip and Beth Simmonds and
big bass on Sunday was caught by Val Osinski weighing in at
8.72 pounds.
The lake level has been
coming up just a little with all the rain that we have been
getting around the lake for the last couple weeks. The lake
level is at 10.19 feet above sea level which is not a lot
below what it was last year at this time which it was 10.88
feet above sea level. If we can continue to get the rains
that we have been getting to hold us over till rainy season
here on the Big “O” the fishing should be great all summer
long. We need a tropical storm to fill the lake back up to
normal level this summer and to let the natural healing
process continue here on our great lake.
The rim canal was the hot
spot for this past month and I don’t look for much to change
for next month. Most of the bass have gone to a post spawn
mood but sometime throughout the day they will eat and when
they do be ready to catch some fish. The bass in the rim
canal have been moving from the humps and ridges in the
middle to both the levy and lake sides of the canal. The
artificial lures that have been working best for my clients
and I are still the shakey head rig using Gambler lures
Giggy head jig and a straight tailed worm like a Gambler
Sweebo worm and if the wind is really blowing I have been
using a Lake Fork Trophy lures 8” worm in a darker color. I
have also had a good topwater bite that has been lasts all
day long. Try throwing a pop-r type lure and work it slow
along the edges of the rim canal. If the wind is blowing
hard down the rim canal a crankbait will catch some nice
bass along the levy side. I have been throwing a Bomber 7A
or Bandit 300 series crankbait in firetiger or rootbeer
color. Randy Cameron a fly fishing guide and client of mine
from Colorado had a great day catching bass on a fly rod
using a saltwater popper this in spite of the wind blowing
twenty to thirty miles an hour.
The crappie bite has been
slowing down quite a bit the last couple weeks. The crappies
that most have been catching are being caught in the rim
canal and out the Clewiston channel toward the lake. Minnows
under a bobber and jigs are working about the same. A few
bluegills are also starting to be caught.
Bite of the Week
The rim canal would be my
choice along with the dynamite holes if bass are what you
want to catch. You should only need three baits a shakey
head rig, consisting of a Gambler ¼ ounce Giggy Head jig and
a dark colored worm attached, a white Pop-R, and a Bomber 7A
crankbait in firetiger color. For crappies try out the
Clewiston channel before you get to the main part of the
lake with jigs.
March5th, 2008
Picture
of Owen Sizemore from Richmond Virginia with a 7.7 pound bass his
first bass ever on soft plastic baits.
The fishing
continues to be great here on the Big “O” with bass being caught by
everyone. Yes I said that almost everyone has been catching bass
both on artificial lures and on wild shiners. Last week my clients
were still using from eight to ten dozen shiners a day and it wasn’t
taking a day to use them up, more like four hours. Most of the bass
that we have been catching are in the two to five pound range, but
don’t count out the bigger ones. Most of the guides have been
reporting of catching some nice bass Capt. Jim Taylor had one over
ten pounds this week and Capt. Mike Balon had a couple nice ones
over eight, both Jim and Mike guide out of Roland Martin’s Marina
and Resort. The cold front that moved through the area the end of
last week did have a small affect on the bass but they were back to
normal this week. The fishing here on the south end of the lake
seems to be much better than it is at the north end as some of the
guides from the Okeechobee area are making the trip to Clewiston
every day.
The rim canal
and dynamite holes are the place to be with wild shiners and
artificial lures. Fish are being caught both ways in the rim canal
from Clewiston, but most are fishing around Uncle Joe’s to
Moorehaven. You can anchor up on almost any point or cut into the
lake and catch bass on shiners. If artificial lures are your choice
than any humps, ridges, or steep banks can be fished with a shaky
head rig or a Carolina rig and should yield a good number of bass. I
use a ¼ ounce jig head for my shaky rig with a Gambler Sweebo worm
attached in junebug or watermelon red color. The darker colors seem
to work best on most days especially if it is cloudy or the wind is
blowing, on calm sunny days try the watermelon red color. Other
lures that have been working good are crankbaits, lipless
crankbaits, and swimbaits. I like to throw the Lake Fork “Live”
Magic Shad swimbait in golden shiner color most of the time, the 4.5
size seems to work the best for me. If you have never fished a
swimbait before get some and give a try, they are a big fish lure
that will catch the ones that almost rip the rod right out of your
hand. It’s best to fish this or any other swimbait on braided line
so that when a bass hits the lure it almost sets the hook itself.
The lake level
is at 10.08 feet above sea level and still holing its own. The rains
that we have been receiving are not normal for this time of the year
on the lake, but the Good Lord is watching out for the Big “O” and
is keeping the fields wet so that the sugar farmers don’t need as
much water from the lake. Lake Okeechobee is an awesome fishery
right now and has been all through this pull down of the water. Yes
I know everyone wants to go out on the lake and fish but we have all
learned to fish different than in the past and look at all the bass
that most everyone has been catching. When this lake does get filled
back up to normal level it will again be called the most awesome
lake in the United States. But in the mean time learn to fish the
structure in the rim canal and you will become a better more
versatile fisherman.
The crappie
fishing has slowed down as the water continues to get warmer. Some
are still catching specks in the rim canal and out the channel from
Clewiston on jigs as well as minnows.
Bite of the Week
The rim canal
continues to produce better than anywhere on the lake. Try fishing
both directions from Clewiston looking for structure like drop-offs,
ridges, humps especially those with rock on the top of them. There
has also been some bass along the rip rap on the levy side of the
rim canal, look for steeper banks. I would fish with a shaky head
rig 75% of the time and throw a crankbait the rest of the time. Try
to use darker colored worms and shad colored crankbaits. For
crappies try fishing out the main channel from Clewiston with jigs.
Feb 19th, 2008
The fishing here on the
Big “O” couldn’t be better, with big bags of bass being caught
in tournaments and even more being caught by guide clients on
wild shiners. When I say we’re catching a lot on guide trips I
mean I have been using up to ten dozen shiners in less than a
half day. The artificial lure bite has been awesome too with a
good number of two to five pound bass being caught all day long.
Bass Busters tournament held February 17th out of
Clewiston saw big limits of bass come to the scales. Winners
Dave King and Joe Payne from Clewiston weighed five bass for a
total just over thirty pounds. And the media just keeps writing
about how bad of shape that Lake Okeechobee is in. The lake
level is 10.12 feet above sea level and still holding its own.
If we could just keep getting the once a week rains that the
good Lord has been blessing us with the lake level may not drop
too much.
Everyone is still
fishing in the rim canal for the most part. Both directions from
Clewiston have been good, but most boats have been fishing up
around Uncle Joe’s. The humps, drop-offs, and ridges in the rim
canal have been the place to catch bass. The rip rap along the
levy side of the rim canal has also been holding bass,
especially from Moorehaven to Clewiston. The dynamite holes have
also been good from day to day but the rim canal has been the
most productive area. Wild shiners would be my bait of choice if
you are looking to catch numbers of bass or that lunker of a
lifetime. My favorite way to fish is with artificial lures and
this past couple months has been just great here on Okeechobee.
The shaky head worm is still my bait of choice as it has
produced more large bass the past couple months than any other
lure. My favorite jig head for the shaky head rig is a Giggy
Head made by Gambler Lures and you can use almost any kind of
worm with it from a finesse worm to a ten inch worm. My favorite
soft plastics to use on a shaky head jig are a Lake Fork Ring
Fry, Gambler Sweebo worm, and Berkley Shaky worm. Worm color
doesn’t seem to matter as long as it is a darker color like
junebug, black, or black-blue. Some other lures that have been
working are the Spro Aruka Shad lipless crankbait and a bandit
200 series crankbait in rootbeer/chartruse color. I have also
been catching a few bass under the right conditions on a
swimbait like a Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad or a Strike King
“King Shad”.
The crappie bite is
still going strong here on the south end of the lake. Most are
fishing in the rim canal both east and west of Clewiston, but
the area around Uncle Joe’s has been outstanding. Another area
is out the Clewiston channel before you get to the main lake,
but this area depends a lot on the wind. Jigs and minnows are
the weapon of choice but most report that jigs are working best.
BITE OF THE WEEK
Fish the rim canal if you
want to catch big bass and good numbers of bass. I would throw a
shaky head jig with a Lake Fork Ring Fry attached. Color
selection would be junebug or black-blue. Concentrate on humps
and ridges in the rim canal, best if covered with rocks. For
crappies the rim canal around Uncle Joe’s and out the Clewiston
channel toward the lake.
Feb 5th, 2008
Picture of Butch Fulks from
Sistersville West Virginia with a seven pound eleven ounce bass
caught on a Lake Fork Trophy Lures worm.
The past few weeks on Lake
Okeechobee has been pretty busy with the FLW Series tournament
and normal winter fishing. The news reporters keep reporting
about how bad it is on the Big “O” but FLW angler JT Kenney from
Port Charlotte Florida has a different story to tell, after
winning the FLW Series tournament with a four day total of sixty
eight pounds and thirteen ounces. JT’s four day limit of twenty
bass netted him a $100,000.00 payday with a $25,000.00 bonus
from Ranger Boats. It was a pretty busy week with most of the
tournament anglers fishing in the rim canal, but you could still
go out and catch some nice bass for clients. The lake level is
still hovering around ten feet above sea level but reports in
the news are that the farmers are going to start pumping lots of
water out of the lake real soon. It’s too bad that Big Sugar has
the right to pump all the water that they want out of this lake
after all the bad things that they have pumped into this lake
over the years.
The rim canal has been
the hot place to be the past few weeks for the tournament
anglers, guides, and crappie fishermen. The water has remained
clean and the wind doesn’t seem to have to much affect in the
rim canal as compared to out on the lake. Yes I know JT Kenny
and second place winner Jimmy McMillan caught most of there bass
out on the lake, but the rest of the one hundred and ninety
eight boats fished in the rim canal and the rivers. For most of
us it’s not worth tearing up your motor or boat to get to the
places that this tournament was won.
The humps, drop-offs,
points, and rip rap banks in the rim canal have all been holding
bass. Drop shot rigs, shakey heads, crankbaits, and Carolina
rigs have all been working depending on the areas that you are
fishing. On the humps and drop-offs a shakey head and drop shot
rigs have been my weapon of choice. On the points try a Carolina
rig or shakey head and on the rip rap a crankbait works best
especially if the wind is blowing parallel to the rocks. Some of
the lures that I have been using are a Berkley Frenzy crankbait,
Gambler Giggy Head jig with a Berkley Shakey worm, Lake Fork
Trophy Lures 8” worm, and a Senko on the Carolina rig. The
colors that I have been using for the soft plastic lures have
been junebug, black-blue, or any darker colors. Crankbait colors
that have been working for me and my clients are firetiger and
shad colors depending on the water color. On cloudy overcast
days and when there is a fog in the morning topwater lures like
a small Pop-R or Heddon Tiny Torpedo has been great to catch
some bigger bass. The bass that we have been catching have
varied in size from two to nine pounds with two to four pound
fish being the average.
The crappie bite has
been good lately here at the south end of Lake Okeechobee. The
rim canal, dynamite holes, and main channel out of Clewiston
have all been producing some nice sized crappies. Small jigs
have been working as well as minnows for most. Now that we are
finally seeing some good numbers of crappies being caught here
on Okeechobee please only take what you are going to eat, there
is no need to go out and catch a limit every day of the week and
then wonder next year why you can’t catch any crappies.
Bite of the Week
For bass I would
concentrate on the rim canal both directions from Clewiston,
paying close attention to your depth finder looking for any
humps, drop-offs, or ridges. Fish these with a Gambler Giggy
Head jig in 1/4 ounce size rigged with a Berkley Shakey worm in
a dark color. When the wind blows try a crankbait or carolina
rig with a dark colored Senko. For crappies I would fish the
main channel out of Clewiston at the first bend and the rim
canal both directions from Clewiston.
Picture of Butch Fulks
from Sistersville West Virginia with a seven pound eleven ounce
bass caught on a Lake Fork Trophy Lures worm.
January 23rd, 2008
What
a great couple weeks it has been here for fishing on the Big
“O”. With Christmas over the folks from up north are making the
trip to sunny south Florida to catch some nice bass. And Lake
Okeechobee has been producing some nice ones for sure and the
number of bass being caught on almost every guide trip has been
great. Most of my clients are enjoying a day of catching at
least twenty bass with most catching more. Oh did I mention that
we are also catching some nice ones from the five to nine pound
range! Yes the crappie fishing here on the south end of the
lake has been good also, with good numbers of big crappie being
caught almost daily.
The bass the past month have
been eating artificial lures as well as they have been eating
wild shiners. On a typical guide trip we will use five dozen
shiners in about three hours and then go catch just as many fish
on artificial lures. Most of the bass that I have been catching
are on soft plastic lures. I have been using a
shakey head rig which consists of a
1/4 ounce Gambler Giggy Head jig
with a Gambler Sweebo worm on it.
The other soft plastic lures that I have been using are a Texas
rigged Lake Fork Lures “Ring Fry” with a 3/16 ounce sinker. I
use tungsten sinkers made by Lake Fork Trophy Lures for the
simple fact that they are smaller than lead sinkers and they are
harder then lead so you are able to feel any contact that they
make with rocks or other structure. The colors that I have been
using on my soft plastics are darker colors like
junebug or black-blue. If fishing a
worm is to slow for you than you might try throwing a Little
John crankbait or an
Aruka Shad lipless
crankbait, both are made by
Spro Lures and have been working
good for me and my clients. Crankbait
colors need to be natural colors or something with a gold
finish. When the wind doesn’t blow we have had a
topwater bite on a Pop-R and a
small prop bait like the one I use
called a Lil’ Zip made by local
custom lure maker Sam Griffin. The topwater
bite seems to be all day on cloudy days and early morning or
late afternoon on sunny days.
The areas that I have been
fishing mostly have been the rim canal both ways from Clewiston
and the dynamite holes from Clewiston to Belle Glade. On days
when the wind doesn’t blow to hard the area out in front of
Coots Bay and the East Wall has been good. Try throwing a
swimbait on this flat area like a
Lake Fork “Live” Magic Shad or a Strike King “King Shad”. The
rim canal has been the best place to catch good numbers as well
as bigger fish. A client from the Atlanta Georgia area last week
had two seven pound bass within two casts of one another on soft
plastics in the rim canal. You will need to key in on deeper
water and steep banks in the rim canal with the soft plastics
and look for shallow humps and ridges to throw
crankbaits and
topwater on.
The crappie bite has really
turned on since the cold fronts that South Florida has been
receiving the past few weeks. Most are being caught in the rim
canal both directions from Clewiston and out around Bird Island
when the wind isn’t blowing too hard. Minnows and jigs are both
working great. The ones that they are catching in the rim canal
are coming from the lake side not the dyke side. The FLW Series
tournament will be in Clewiston the week of the 21st
of January and there should be some awesome bags of bass weighed
in. With the water level at 10.09 feet above sea level there
won’t be a lot of boats fishing out on the main lake but there
are still some big fish being caught in the rim canal
Picture of Zachery Taylor from
Wauchula Florida with a 6.15 pound bass.
Zachery won a donated trip from me by catching the biggest fish
at the Bass Pro Shops kids day at Ft
Meyers store. The Ft. Meyers store has kids
day the first Sat. of every month, come out and win a free trip
guide trip with me
January 7th, 2007
The first cold front of the year
for south Florida had everyone scrambling for coats and gloves
this past week, but the bass fishing continues to be awesome.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New Year. The past
couple weeks has been great bass fishing here on the south end
of Lake Okeechobee with most of the bass coming from the rim
canal. And the rim canal has been busy with the guides, pleasure
fishermen and the FLW Series anglers who are here practicing.
Even with all this pressure the fishing has been great. Most of
my clients are enjoying days catching around twenty to thirty
bass with at least one good one over six pounds.
Wild shiners have been the bait
of choice for both numbers and larger bass but that’s not to say
that the artificial bite isn’t almost as good. Even with the
cold front coming through the area we were still able to catch a
few nice fish on shiners. The rim canal and dynamite holes are
still the better areas to catch bass from Moorehaven to Belle
Glade. Areas to key in are the points especially if the have
rocks on them, and any other drop offs or structure in the rim
canal. The dynamite holes and the other cuts that that go to the
lake from the rim canal are also good spots to try. Some of the
artificial lures that have been working the best for myself and
my clients have been texas rigged Senkos, shakey head jigs
(Gambler Giggy Head) rigged with a four to six inch straight
tailed worm, Lake Fork swim bait, and a small Pop-R type
topwater bait. It seems to take a day with cloud cover to get a
topwater bite but when you do it last all day long. The Lake
Fork Trophy Lures swim bait called a “Live” Magic Shad has been
working great in the rim canal around any structure you can
find. Color choices for the Senkos and worms are junebug and
black-blue, watermelon-red was working good till this cold front
came through and muddied the water up. The key after this cold
front has been to fish slow and in the deeper water.
The lake level is at 10.20 feet
above sea level and has been holding its own for the past couple
weeks. We have been getting a few rain showers that have been
keeping the fields around Lake Okeechobee moist and this is good
news for the lake, the farmers won’t need as much from the lake
right now. The water temperature has been in the fifties since
the cold front but it is slowly warming back up. One good thing
about the colder water temperatures is the crappie bite will
really turn on. Not that the crappie bite hasn’t been good but
it will surely improve with this cooler water. Most of the
crappies are being caught in the rim canal and some in the
dynamite holes. The size of the crappies being caught is making
up for the small numbers that most are catching.
BITE OF THE WEEK
The bite of the week would be in
the rim canal from Moorehaven to Belle Glade. I would look for
ridges and humps in the rim canal and I don’t just mean along
the edges. Try idling down the rim canal and watching your fish
finder looking for drop offs and humps, these are the areas to
key in on. Soft plastics would be my bait of choice with Senkos
and straight tailed worms on a jig head. Try along the edges of
the rim canal if you’re looking to catch a few crappies, minnows
would be my bait of choice
Clewiston----- what a great couple weeks my clients and I have
enjoyed on the south end of Lake Okeechobee. We have been
catching bass from seven to ten pounds on almost every guide
trip with a good number of three to five pound fish also being
caught. One trip last week produced five bass over nine pounds
with the biggest one weighing in at 10.2 pounds. Wild shiners
are the bait of choice if you want to catch one of these big
bass or if you are out to just catch a good number of bass. On
most guide trips I can go through ten dozen shiners if the
client is willing to pay for that many shiners at $20.00 a
dozen. The artificial lure bite is almost as good with one over
eleven pounds and two over ten pounds caught during the toys for
kids tournament a week ago. If you do find bass in an area you
can stay there and catch them till you’re tired of catching
them. And the media says that Lake Okeechobee is low and in such
bad shape environmentally that it is hardly worth fishing here,
my clients would be more than happy to tell them how wrong they
are. John and Cindy Venable from the Lake Amistad area said that
they thought Lake Amistad was the best lake that they had ever
fished on till they came to the world famous Lake Okeechobee and
caught five over nine pounds in one day.
The rim canal, dynamite holes,
and the flat in front of Coots Bay and the East Wall are the
areas that are producing the best here on the southern end of
the lake. As far as what artificial lures that have been working
best all I can tell you is what I have been using and what has
been working for me and my clients. A lipless crankbait like the
Spro Aruka Shad that I throw most of the time has been working
great out on the flats in front of the East Wall and out toward
the fish attractor that is marked with an orange barrel. In the
rim canal and dynamite holes a worm like a Gambler Ace or a Lake
Fork worm in a darker color. Both of these I have been fishing
on ten pound test line and with an 1/8 ounce sinker also made by
Lake Fork Trophy Lures. There have also been some bass caught on
swim baits, I use a “Live” Magic Shad made by Lake Fork but
there are many different ones being made at the present time.
The water in the rim canal and the dynamite holes has been very
clean and with the water level slowly dropping most of the areas
will remain clean all winter long. The lake level is at 10.18
feet above sea level and dropping ever so slowly. Most of the
areas that we have been fishing are still accessible at this
time but you will still want to be careful running your boat in
some areas of the lake.
The snowbirds are catching some
crappies everyday either in the rim canal or in the dynamite
holes. There should also be a few crappies in Uncle Joe’s Cut
and out the Clewiston channel. Minnows and jigs are the way to
go if you’re looking to catch a few crappies. I want to wish
everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Picture attached of David Lowe
from Ft Meyers Florida with two nice Lake Okeechobee bass.
November 26th, 2007
Wow
what a great week on Lake Okeechobee this past week. The bass
fishing has really improved by the day with good numbers and
bigger bass being caught almost every day. How
does three bass over seven pounds
caught in one day and then a nine and seven and a half pound
bass caught the next day sound. And as the press reports how low
the water level is and how bad the fishing is on Lake
Okeechobee, my clients have a different opinion.
The lake level has been at 10.3
feet above sea level for the last few weeks and with little
change expected for the next few weeks. Most of the bass that we
have been catching have been in the rim canal or close to the
rim canal. The water in the rim canal has been very clear and
has been loaded with bait fish. This is the reason that the rim
canal has been the place to catch bass and the wind doesn’t
really affect it one way or the other. Wild shiners have been
bait of choice to catch the bigger bass that the Big “O” is
famous for. I have been using from five to eight dozen shiners
on most guide trips so you do the math on how many bass we been
catching. The artificial lure fishing has also been good, but
most of the bass caught on artificial lures have been in the two
to three pound range. A straight tailed worm
like a Gambler Sweebo or Gary Yamamoto Senko have been
the baits that have been working best for my clients and myself.
They can be fished on a Gambler Giggy head jig or texas rigged
with as smallest weight as possible. But the real key to fishing
the rim canal is to use small eight to ten pound test line,
preferable fluorocarbon line. With the water in the rim canal
being so clear these bass are pretty spooky of fishing line and
trolling motor noise. I have also been catching a few bass on
topwater lures like a the Hydro-Pop
made by Spro Lures, it’s a great little popper type lure. I have
also had some good luck the last couple weeks on the swim baits
made by Lake Fork Lures, the “Live”
Magic Shad is great to fish along the rocks and on points. The
smaller Magic Shad in the 3.5 size have been working better than
the larger ones, try the golden
shiner or magic shad color. I have also caught a few bass on a
Rapala Shad Rap in the SR7 size and the natural colors.
The water is cooling off and
the fishing has improved as we head into the winter season. Yes
the bass may be a little harder for some to locate and getting
out to traditional areas on the lake to fish may be impossible
but the bass haven’t left the lake for better waters, they are
still here and looking healthier than ever. The crappie bite has
also been improving on a daily basis. I see
crappie fishermen catching a few almost everywhere from Uncle
Joe’s Cut to South Bay area of the rim canal and most of
the dynamite holes. Minnows and jig are working best according
to what the marina at Roland Martin’s Resort has been selling to
customers.
November 12th, 2007
As we’re heading toward the
Thanksgiving holiday the fishing on the Big “O” continues to
improve. The water temperature has been dropping with the cool
weather that we have been having for the last couple weeks. And
the water level has been staying around 10.35 feet above sea
level without much change. The wind has let up a little from
what it was the past few weeks and most areas have clean water
in them.
The rim canal has been the
place to be for the past week or so if you want to catch bass. I
don’t mean just good numbers of bass but also big bass like the
10.4 pound bass caught in the HT3 tournament over the weekend.
My clients have enjoyed catching a good number of bass with a
few bigger ones over six pound on most trips. Wild shiners and
artificial lure are still working equally well, but most of my
client’s larger bass have been on shiners. When I say the rim
canal I mean most of the rim canal, from above Moorehaven to
Belle Glade. The water is very clean in the rim canal and will
stay that way even when the wind blows as it always does here on
Lake Okeechobee during the winter months. Some key things that
you should look for when fishing the rim canal are drop offs,
rocky points and rock banks. There has also been bass around
some of the cuts that go from the rim canal to the lake or at
least used to go to the lake before the lake level got so low.
Another thing to keep in mind is to slow down while fishing
these areas and if fishing with shiners stay in an area and let
the shiners work around for a while, don’t get in a hurry to
move to another area to quick.
Some of the artificial lures
that have been working well the past week or so have been mostly
soft plastic baits. A Gambler Lures Giggy Head jig in 3/16 or
1/4 ounce size with a Gambler Ace, Senko, or any kind of a
straight tailed worm has been working best for me. A Carolina
rigged Senko has also been catching a few bass. But the key to
fishing artificial lures now seems to be to use as light a line
as you can. Eight and ten pound test line will get you twice as
many hits then if you were using heavier line. I know that sound
light for line size for Lake Okeechobee but you are fishing open
water in the rim canal and if you check your line for bad spots
often you shouldn’t have any problems. There have been a few
bass schooling in different areas, but it just hasn’t been very
often that you find them. If you are fortunate enough to be
close when they do come up schooling, throw a Rat-L-Trap or a
Lake Fork Magic Shad swim bait. You will enjoy catching these
bass till they quit schooling usually about ten to fifteen
minutes. Most of the bass that the tournament anglers and guides
have been catching the past few weeks have come out of the rim
canal. There is some adjusting to do to fish the rim canal
compared to the main lake and grass that so many are familiar
with, but the rewards are well worth it. A few crappies are
starting to be caught at this end of the lake with Uncle Joe’s
Cut being the best place that I have heard of.
In local tournament news HT3
Outdoors held there American Series tournament on November 11th
and 12th in Clewiston. Jeff Edgerly won 1st
place with 21.02 pound with a three fish limit per day. Jeff
also had big bass that was 10.43 pounds. Troy Olivier was second
with 20.07 pounds with a three fish limit both days.
Congratulations to all that participated in this tournament.
Bass Busters will be hosting the 17th annual Toys for
Kids tournament December 2nd in Clewiston. The entry
fee is $50.00 per team plus two new unwrapped toys. For more
information on this event go to
www.bassbusterflorida.com or call Chris Fickey at
941-232-9539.
BITE OF THE WEEK
I would definitely concentrate on
fishing the rim canal because that is where most of the bass are
being caught. As for bait wild shiners would be my first choice
but artificial lures have been working just as well. If the wind
isn’t affecting the area that you are fishing try a Gambler Ace
rigged texas style with a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce bullet sinker. My
color choices would be junebug or blue shadow. A Gambler Giggy
Head jig in 3/16 ounce size with a straight tailed worm would be
my next choice fished on eight or ten pound test line. For
schooling bass make sure you have a swim bait like a Lake Fork
Magic shad in the color they call magic shad. If you are
targeting crappies try Uncle Joe’s Cut with minnows.
Oct 14th, 2007
Cooler water temperatures and fall
approaching have the bass on Lake Okeechobee starting to move in
toward traditional spawning areas. Now will they be able to get
to these areas will be the question. But not to worry they will
still find places to spawn even if the have to stay out a little
from the grass they will still spawn. But that’s not for a month
or so right now they are just on the move hunting bait to eat
and get ready for the winter months. My clients this past couple
weeks have enjoyed some good days catching bass on both wild
shiners and artificial lures. We were able to catch an 8 ½ pound
bass on shiners and a couple around six pounds on soft plastic
lures.
The lake water level has been
steady at around ten feet above sea level for the past two weeks
and looks like it may stay there for awhile. We all need to quit
looking at this drawdown of Lake Okeechobee as being such a bad
think. The lake bottom has started growing some good vegetation
up to two miles offshore and there are areas that the water is
crystal clear that were nothing but muddy water last year. The
bass are still here they just aren’t in the tradition areas that
we are all so used to catching them in. Try fishing out in the
open water and looking for little differences in the bottom
contour. On some lakes a drop off or hump could be many feet of
difference but here on Okeechobee with such shallow water a drop
off could be six inches. Try looking for small rock piles or
piece of wood that hurricane Wilma put in the lake. These are
the things that hold bass out in the open water where most
anglers don’t fish. This drawdown that Lake Okeechobee is going
through is a positive thing and when the water does return to
normal level our lake will be better than ever. Some of the key
things that you should look for when fishing open water is where
you have a color change in water color. Look for water that is
clean or just stained a little, muddy dirty water is not the
place to be when looking for bass on Okeechobee. Before you jump
on the press bandwagon and badmouth our lake try fishing in the
open water, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Last week I had the pleasure of
guiding Lanier and Elizabeth Bryant from Adairsville Georgia and
she told me when I met her at the marina that all she wanted to
do was catch an eight pound bass. Now I knew this was going to
be a challenge with the conditions we were faced with but as
lady luck would have it she put an eight and a half pound bass
in the boat on the second day. They were a wonder couple to fish
with and I’m glad that I could help make Elizabeth’s dream come
true. Wild shiners and artificial lures have both been working
good but I think if you are looking
to catch a trophy shiners are the way to go. Soft plastics are
my choice for artificial lures with the shaky head jig still
working the best for me and my clients. Swimming Senkos have
been working in the shallow clear water along with topwater
lures when the wind isn’t blowing to hard. Some of the better
areas to try are the rim canal, the ship channel out from
Clewiston, Bear Beach channel, the Airport Hole, and the
dynamite holes south of Clewiston. Try to keep in mind that you
want to fish where the water is clear to slightly
stained in color.
The bass have been biting
good out the ship channel from
Clewiston on wild shiners and shaky head jigs with a junebug
Gambler Ace on it. My next choice would be the rim canal both
north and south of Clewiston, fish the rocks with a Zoom Fluke
and a wacky rigged Senko. You can also catch a few on topwater
and jerkbaits along these rocks. Bear Beach channel has been
producing quite a few bass on Flukes, Swimming Senkos, and
topwater lures. If the wind isn’t blowing to hard there have
been a good number of bass in the Airport Hole that have been
hitting topwater lures and swim baits like the Lake Fork “Magic
Shad” that I use. The bluegill bite has been slow but a few are
still being caught but most are being tight lipped about where
they are catching them.
Oct 1st, 2007
The fishing continues to improve
as we head into our fall pattern here on Okeechobee. We have
been having some better days catching bass, but there seems to
be no rime or reason to what works best. One day you can take
out some wild shiners and catch a boat load of fish, and the
next day you can’t even catch a single bass in the same spot. I
guess this is why they call it fishing not catching. The water
level is still slowly rising with it at 9.85 feet above sea
level as of October 1st. The water continues to
remain clear out into the lake for miles and we are still seeing
some vegetation growing on the bottom. As the water temperature
drops a little into the mid 80’s the bass fishing should get
better every day.
Some of my clients enjoyed some
great bass fishing last week catching a good number of fish in
the two to five pound range. Wild shiners were working best but
we did catch some on topwater lures, crankbaits, and soft
plastics. The key seems to be in the right place at the right
time. I have not been seeing many schooling bass like we should
be seeing this time of the year, but there is plenty of bait
swimming around for this to happen. I have still been catching
bass out the main channel about two miles out from Clewiston.
Wild shiners are working best but a 10” worm rigged texas style
or a Gambler Sweebo worm rigged on a jig head will catch you
some bass. Try to fish along the channel throwing your bait up
in the shallower water and drag it into the deeper channel.
Another place to try in this same area is around the islands
with deeper water on the ends, the bass have been holding here
especially when the wind is blowing across them. Around these
islands a Carolina rigged Senko or crankbait would be my choice.
The Airport Hole and Norman’s
channel at the south end of the lake have been producing a fair
number of fish. Topwater lures like a Lil’ Richard made by local
lure maker Sam Griffin or a Heddons Tiny Torpedo have been
working good all day long. I have been catching bass in these
areas using a swim bait by Lake Fork Trophy lures called a
“Live” Magic Shad in the 3 ½ inch size. The fish in this area
seem to want a smaller bait that is
closer to the size of the live bait swimming around in this
area. A few bass have been being caught in the dynamite holes
south of Clewiston but it has been slow in these areas. The bass
that are holding in the Bear Beach channel have been receiving a
lot of fishing pressure lately and the bite has slowed down.
This seems to be a good area to go to during the week but come
the weekend there are to many boats in here to catch fish like
we were. One of the things that I do when fishing in here is not
run the trolling motor to much, even though my Minn Kota
trolling motor is very quiet I try to run it on a low speed and
not turn it on and off to much. Topwater, small crankbaits, and
Swimming Senkos would be my choice in the Bear Beach channel.
The Rim canal has been holding
bass all summer but they seem to be on the small side, with most
being two pounds at best. But these bass are a lot of fun to
catch and you don’t have to worry about the shallow water like
you do out in the lake. A Gambler Giggy Head jig in ¼ ounce size
has been my go to bait to fish this area. You can put any kind
of soft plastics on it that works good for you some of my
favorites are a Berkley Gulp 5” Sinking Minnow and a Big Stick
by Gambler Baits. Dark colors like black, junebug and black-blue
have been my go to colors in this darker colored water. Don’t
pass up any of the cement pumping station in the rim canal as
they usually hold bass and they are normally a little bigger
fish.
Some of the resent tournaments
on the lake have been tough for some but nice bass are being
caught. The Super Bucks tournament held on September 22nd
and 23rd resulted in a $10,000.00 check for John
Burke and Jim Hurlock with a winning to day total of 42.64
pounds. Brad Sievert had big bass of the tournament that tipped
the scales at 9.64 pounds. The BFL Super tournament held on
September 29th and 30th was won by Brian
Prowant from Moorehaven Florida with a winning two day total of
22.03 pounds good for a check worth $3,967.00. On the co-angler
side John Guttuso from Delray Beach Florida walked away with the
winning check worth $2,334.00 for a two day total of 17.07
pounds of bass.
The brim fishing continues to
be good here around Clewiston. Local angler Bob Frieg reported
catching a five gallon bucket full of nice sized brim more than
once last week. Crickets fished under a cork float are the bait
of choice. Some of the areas that you may want to try are the
dynamite holes, the rim canal, and out in open water around the
water tank and the islands along the main channel from
Clewiston.
Bite Of The Week- If you want to
fish with live bait I would concentrate on the main channel out
of Clewiston. Go out a mile and a half and anchor up and throw
shiners into the channel itself. Don’t be afraid to move further
out or in if you don’t get bit. For an artificial bite I would
try the Airport Hole, and the dynamite holes with deeper water.
For bait choices topwater lures with a propeller on them, Lake
Fork swim bait in the smaller size and a shakey worm rig with a
darker colored worm. The islands closest to the water tank on
wind days with a Carolina rigged Senko or Lake Fork Ring Fry.
For brim get some crickets and fish the rim canal and out around
the water tank.
Sept 17th, 2007
The fishing has been improving as
the month of September flies on by, and with October just around
the corner better fishing and cooler weather is on the way. The
lake level has been staying steady at around 9 ½ feet above sea
level in spite of the rain and water that has been flowing in
from the Kissimmee river. The bass
have been starting to school up and the water continues to get
cleaner farther out into the lake, with some areas as far out as
three and four miles and you can still see the bottom. Some of
the better areas to fish for bass are the Bear Beach channel,
around the islands out the Clewiston channel, the Airport Hole,
Norman’s channel, and the rim canal both north and south of
Clewiston. The Bear Beach channel has been pretty good now for a
couple weeks, the key is to go out far enough that the water is
still clear and not run the trolling motor to much as to spook
these fish. I have been throwing a Gambler Ace in watermelon-red
and bluegrass color, rigged weightless with an Owner 4/0 wide
gap hook. I have also been using a Yamamoto Swimming Senko
rigged the same way, this seems to work better when there is no
wind and you need to get a little more action out of your bait.
If you happen to be close when these bass come up schooling in
this area you need to have a swim bait, spinnerbait, or a
topwater lure ready on the deck of the boat to cast to them. A
Carolina rigged Ace has also caught a few good bass in this area
the past week, try to use as light of weight sinker as possible.
Fluorocarbon line is also a must in this shallow clear water, it
is almost invisible in the water to the fish and most have good
abrasion resistance that is needed
fishing in these areas. Around the islands out the main channel
from Clewiston the same baits have been working, but the 3 ½
inch swim bait made by Lake Fork Trophy Tackle has been
accounting for the most of my client’s fish. Another lure you
might want to try in this area is a big worm at least 10” in
length, I have been getting reports
from other anglers that the bigger worms have been producing the
best for them.
The Airport Hole and Norman’s
channel are on the Pahokee side of the lake and you will want to
be very carefully in this area as there are a lot of big rocks
in some pretty shallow water. There are some big bass that hold
this time of the year in this area, try fishing a crankbait or a
jerkbait and if that doesn’t work than you will need to throw a
worm or Senko. If you get a good map it will show these areas
and it will also show you where the deeper water that is safe to
be running a boat, please be careful in this area there is a lot
of underwater hazards.
When fishing the rim canal I
would try to fish along the rocks and would start out with a
jerkbait or crankbait and if that doesn’t work try using a Giggy
Head and a Big Stick worm both made by Gambler, junebug and
watermelon-red would be my colors of choice. Most of the bass
that I have been catching in the rim canal have been around two
pounds with an occasional larger one. The bite here seems to
last most of the day even on those days when it is real hot and
the wind doesn’t blow.
Resent results for a Bass
Busters tournament held on Lake Okeechobee out of Clewiston on
Sunday September 16th netted a first place win for
the team of Terry Garrels and Steve Lake of Clewiston who
brought a five bass limit of 22.76 pounds to the scale with an
8.73 and 7.14 pound bass to anchor there limit. Second place
went to Asa Godsey and Mark Lee both of Clewiston with a five
bass limit of 17.07 pounds. Most of the bass were caught on
plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits.
BITE OF THE WEEK-Bare Beach
channel would be the better place to start in the morning hoping
to catch a few bass on topwater or soft plastics and this would
be a good place to catch a few schooling bass. The Airport Hole
and Norman’s channel would also be a great place to start in the
morning and probably be able to catch bass all day
long, this would be a great place to
catch a big bass. The islands out the Clewiston channel and the
rim canal would be my next choice with soft plastics and
crankbaits.
Sept 2nd, 2007
Clewiston-----As we head into
September we could sure use some water in the big Lake
Okeechobee. The water level is staying steady at around nine and
a half feet above sea level and only goes up or down a very
little on a daily basis with the little amount of rain we are
getting. The bass are still biting it has just not been all that
easy to go out and catch a boat load of them. My clients and I
have been catching more bass on artificial lures than on wild
shiners the past couple weeks, even though Kay Donnely of
Nashville Tennessee did catch a nice eight pound bass on a
shiner last week. Most of the bass that I have been catching are
in the one to three pound range, just haven’t been getting a lot
of them at any one time. I have still been catching most of my
bass on a Giggy Head jig with a Lake Fork Ring Fry in
watermelon-red and blue bruiser colors. Some of the other lures
that have been working are a Gambler Ace and Sweebo worm rigged
wacky style with the hook in the middle of the worm, a Pop-R
topwater bait and a jerkbait like a Rapala Husky Jerk or a Lucky
Craft Pointer Minnow. While the wild shiner bite has been
extremely slow at best, there are still a few places to catch
some bass on them as long as you are patient enough. The main
channel from Clewiston out to the water tank is still holding a
few fish but not like it was, I believe these bass have
scattered out looking for bait. The islands along this main
channel have been holding some bass in between them early in the
morning and then they just disappear. The rim canal around Uncle
Joe’s Fish Camp has been producing some smaller bass along the
rocks, this is a place that works all day long and if you use a
Giggy Head jig and a new Gambler Big Stick in junebug you
shouldn’t have any trouble catching some. The Football Field and
the other dynamite holes south of Clewiston have a few bass
roaming around in them, the key is to try and find the some bait
moving around.
The HT3 Executive Bass Tour
made its final stop in Clewiston last week and local angler
Harlan Griggs walked away with a cool $6000.00 for a two day
total of 17.40 pounds and second place went to Tim Fellers with
15.76 pounds for a $3500.00 check. The HT3 Tour is a great
tournament trail with good paybacks and is run like most of the
larger tournament trails but is affordable for most to fish.
Another tournament that is coming to Clewiston is the Super
Bucks Tournament on September 22nd and 23rd
with a guaranteed $10,000.00 for first place. More information
on these tournaments and others coming to the area can be found
at Roland Martin’s Marine Center in Clewiston.
My best bets for this week
would be the islands along the Clewiston channel early in the
morning, I would start with topwater
and than move on to a jerkbait and finish up with a Lake Fork
Ring Fry on a Giggy Head jig as the sun got up overhead. I would
then move to the Rim canal and fish the rocks on the dyke side
from Uncle Joe’s toward Clewiston with a Gambler Giggy Head and
Big Stick. From here I would try the dynamite holes and the
mouth of any cuts that go from the rim canal to the lake, try a
Carolina rigged worm or Rat-L-Trap. Good luck and tight lines.
The water continues to rise and
the bass are scattering everywhere on the Big “O”. The water is
coming up slowly from the rain and what water they are letting
in the Kissimmee river, Harney Pond
canal, and Fisheating creek, the level is at 9.54 feet above sea
level as of August 20th. The fishing has been a lot
tougher the last week as the bass are moving around more chasing
bait into new areas that did not have much water in them two or
three weeks ago. The shoal islands along the main channel going
out of Clewiston have been holding a few bass that can be caught
on topwater early in the morning, I have been using a LIL’
RICHARD made by Sam Griffin and a Japanese pop-r type bait
called a Rico made by Lobina Lures. Some of my clients have also
been catching them on jerkbaits like a Lucky Craft Pointer or
Rapala Husky Jerk. After the sun gets up some of
these bass move back to the channel
and can be caught on a worm, I have had good results on a Lake
Fork Trophy Lures “Baby Ring Fry” and a Gambler Ace both in
watermelon-red or green pumpkin color. The key to fishing this
area is to try and find the bait and that is where you will find
the bass and with the water level coming up a little the bait is
moving out of the channels and roaming around more. The rim
canal from Clewiston up to Moorehaven is looking real good and
clients that I had last week did pretty good throwing a Gambler
Ace on a ¼ ounce Giggy head jig and
a Lake Fork “Baby Ring Fry” rigged texas style with
an 1/8 ounce sinker. One thing that I
will suggest that you do is to use a good quality fluorocarbon
line like the new Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line that I’m using.
Fluorocarbon line is almost invisible underwater and with the
strength of fluorocarbon line you can drop back in line size so
that the fish will not be able to see it in the clear water.
Since we are not fishing in the grass at the present time you
should be able to back down in line size to ten pound test and
not have any trouble landing most bass. The Football Field and
the other dynamite holes south of Clewiston have been producing
some two and three pound bass on worms, the Giggy Head jig has
been working best for me with either the Gambler Ace or the new
Gambler Big Stick that is a larger version of the Giggy Stick.
Fishing with wild shiners has
also slowed down some, but is still worth your while to try.
Most of the bass that we have been catching on the wild shiners
have been in the two to four pound range with an occasional five
pound fish being caught. I have still been doing my best on
shiners in the main channel between Clewiston and the water
tank. Just anchor your boat about a casting length distance from
the channel and cast a shiner under a cork to the edge of the
channel and let the shiner swim around till a bass decides to
grab them, be patient it has been slow. Another area that I have
had reports of some of the guides from the north end of the lake
fishing is the rim canal from Moorehaven up to sportsman’s cut,
this part of the rim canal has a rocky bank in many areas and
the water has been fairly clear. I would try a 7A Bomber in
firetiger color, Lucky Craft jerkbait, Spro Aruka Shad in blue
shiner color, and if none of these work switch to a worm like a
Gambler Ace or a Lake Fork Baby Ring Fry in watermelon-red
color. Some of the better areas will be the points especially if
the have rocks on them.
The
bluegill are still being caught around the Clewiston
area, but most of the bluegill fishermen are being pretty tight
lipped about where they are getting them. I do know they are
catching some in the dynamite holes and the rim canal but I
think that there is a better concentration out in the lake
around the water tank and toward the lakeside of Uncle Joe’s
Cut. Crickets and Beetlespins are both working. It summer time
and extremely hot out there on the water so don’t forget to
bring and use a good quality sunscreen like the brand I use
called Smartshield and bring and
drink lots of cool water throughout the day.
Clewiston-----Finally the water is
starting to flow into Lake Okeechobee and the water level has
rose to 9.45 above sea level and still rising. With the water
coming up and the water temperature at near 90 degrees everyday
the fishing has gotten a little tough. Even though the water has
only come up about six inches it has the fish swimming for areas
that they previously could not get to. Some of my clients are
still catching them good on wild shiners in the main channel out
from the locks at Clewiston but the fish have been a little
smaller with two to three pound bass being the norm. There is
still some schooling fish out here swimming around and if you
happen to be close enough when the come up feeding almost any
topwater or crankbait will catch them. I have been using the
Lake Fork Trophy Lures new 3 ½” “Live” Magic Shad in the golden
shiner and magic shad color, the new 3 ½” size is close to the
size bait that these bass are chasing and these baits have so
much action that they really do look like they are live. I’m
still catching a some bass on the
Spro Aruka Shad and a 200 series Bandit crankbait in the
Clewiston channel when the wind blows and gets the bait fish
stirred up. Now that the water level is rising the bass seem to
be spreading out and are not so concentrated in the channels.
Faster moving baits will cover more water to locate these bass
and then you can slow down and catch them on worms and other
soft plastics. I have also been catching a few bass in the
Football Field and the other dynamite holes south of
Clewiston, a Gambler Ace rigged on a
¼ ounce Giggy Head jig has been working great for me in
bluegrass and watermelon-red color. One of the keys to fishing
soft plastics this time of the year when the water temperatures
get so hot is to fish as slow as you can and then fish even
slower, the bite will be real subtle with most times you will
just see your line moving off slowly.
If this water continues to rise
and we do pray for that the bass will continue to move toward
areas that now have grass growing in them, when this happens the
fishing will continue to improve daily. Even though a lot of the
water that is flowing into Lake Okeechobee is the water that we
refer to as black water or water that is run off water from the
agricultural industry at this point it is better than no water
at all and if it flows in slowly the lake should be able to
withstand this inflow of highly nutrient water without getting a
bad algae bloom. The bluegill are still biting in a lot of
different areas including the rim canal, Bare Beach, and many
other areas south of Clewiston, with most being caught on
crickets and Beetle Spins. My next door neighbor who is also a
guide, Joe Payne reported a great day catching a good number of
bluegill and crappies yes I said crappies last week.
I just returned from Hot
Springs Arkansas where the FLW Championship was held last week,
winner Scott Suggs from Bryant Arkansas pocketed one million
dollars for first place. This is the first bass tournament in
history to pay out one million dollars to the winner and you
could really tell from the intensity from both the anglers and
the fans in the stands. FLW Outdoors named after Ranger Boat
founder Forrest L Woods said that they would be stepping it up
even more next year, can you even imagine fishing for over a
million dollars. There were a number of new products at the FLW
outdoor show that I will be reviewing for you in the next few
weeks.
Clewiston----- The summer rains
are finally starting to put some water into Lake Okeechobee even
if it is just a little at a time. The lake level is at 9.19 feet
above sea level and ever so slowly creeping up. The fishing here
at the south end of the lake continues to be good for both bass
and bluegills, with early morning being the best time to be out
on the lake. The wild shiners are still your best bet to catch
bass in the two to five pound range and a few bigger ones up to
ten pounds still being caught from day to day. My suggestion to
catch a few bass on wild shiners would be to get a couple dozen
at least and go out the Clewiston channel toward the water tank
and anchor your boat just out of the channel and throw a shiner
about two and a half feet under a cork float out into the
channel. One of the keys to catching these bass is to be patient
as they are just moving around from the flats to the channel
looking for bait and they will find your shiners if you just
wait for them. We have been keeping plenty of good healthy
shiners at Roland Martin’s Marina along with any other fishing
supplies you might need. As far as catching these bass on
artificial lures it has slowed down some with the water
temperature up over 85 degrees, but if you get out early there
has been some schooling bass chasing bait in the Clewiston
channel. My clients have enjoyed catching some of these
schooling bass on topwater baits like a Heddon Torpedo and a
Spro Dawg, crankbaits have also been working great on these
schooling fish. As far as plastic baits that have been producing
for me the last couple weeks the Magic Shad swim bait made by
Lake Fork Trophy Lures in any of the natural colors and a
Gambler Ace in watermelon-red color. Clients have also been
catching a few bass on 8” worms like a Charlie Worm in red shad
color and a Lake Fork worm in blue bruiser color, both of which
are fished with an 1/8 ounce bullet sinker and a 4/0 Owner “J”
hook. Be sure to fish the plastic worms as slow as you can and
then slow down some more, the bite will be real subtle and most
times you will just see your line moving off in a different
direction slowly. Some other areas that you might want to try
are the dynamite holes and the mouth of any of the cuts that go
into the lake south of Clewiston. The Rim canal north of
Clewiston has also been producing some bass on a regular basis,
try running a crankbait like a Bomber 7A in firetiger color
along the rock ledges toward Moorehaven and north of there, this
is also a great place to fish a Gambler Giggy head jig with a
small straight tailed worm.
The bluegill have been being
caught from the dynamite holes south of Clewiston, the rim canal
and out on the lake around the Bare Beach channel and on the
pipe line that runs from the water tank to Clewiston. Crickets
would still be your bait of choice but Beetle spins have also
been working well. I would like to congratulate Jim Medlin and
John Supley on there win in the Bass Busters Gold Tournament on
July 22 with a winning weight of 17.20 second place went to some
good friend of mine Kenny McAuther and Mark Baldel with 16.33
pounds, good job to all. Bass Busters will host a two day
tournament in September on the 22nd and 23rd
that will pay the winner $10,000.00 for more information contact
Chris Fickey at 941-232-9539. The condition of the lake
continues to improve daily with water slowly rising, the water
conditions real good, vegetation growing and some of the lake
being dredged to get rid of the muck that is on the bottom. As
long as we keep getting some rain and the lake keeps rising I
believe that Lake Okeechobee will be back at the top of the list
for Best Bass Lakes in the United States soon.
Clewiston-----Well were finally
getting some of the desperately needed rain to the Lake
Okeechobee region and the lake level is slowly going up with the
level at 9.03 feet above sea level. The other great news is that
with the low water level and the water clearing up so good that
we are starting to see some shrimp grass growing here on the
south end of the lake and hopefully the eel and pepper grass
will follow. Mother nature has
started the healing processes here on the Lake and hopefully it
will fill back up slowly and let the habitat for the fish grow
back slowly and the water quality will continue to improve. The
bass fishing continues to be great with twenty to thirty fish
days being the norm especially on wild shiners. With the water
being so clear an early start in the morning is a must if you
want to have a better chance to catch some bigger bass. Most of
the guides have been using up five dozen shiners in about four
hours and than you can still catch a few on artificial lures
until the sun gets up overhead and then the fishing slows down
fast. Most are still fishing the same areas like the main
channel from the locks at Clewiston out onto the lake, the rim
canal both north and south of Clewiston and the dynamite holes.
The main channel has been the best area to catch some nice bass,
only we are fishing farther out from Clewiston as the water
continues to get clearer. Some of the lures that have been
working good for me the past couple weeks are a Spro Topdog
topwater lure, Gambler Super Stud in watermelon-red color, and a
Gambler Ace in both watermelon-red and bluegrass color. I have
been rigging the Super Stud and the Ace on 4/0 Owner “J” hook
and an 1/8 ounce bullet sinker.
Another lure that has been working good
for me is the Lake Fork Tackle “Live” Magic Shad swimbait, just
throw it up in the shallow water and reel it slowly back toward
the channel and hold on. Try them in a couple different colors
and I think you will see why I like them so well. The Rat-L-Trap
bite has slowed down quite a bit, but I think this will change
and they will start hitting them again soon. I have seen a lot
of baitfish swimming around me the last couple weeks and this
just reinforces what I’m saying about mother
nature taking care of the lake in her own way. I have
also been catching some schooling bass that have been feeding on
this bait, if you see them feeding on the baitfish just throw a
topwater close to them and it won’t be long before you will
catch a bass. The key to fishing the main channel out to the
water tank is to work your baits along the edge of the channel,
once the sun gets up high in the sky most of the bass will
position themselves in the deeper water right at the edge of the
drop off.
I would like to congratulate
Val Osinski and Byron Childers on there win in the Bass Busters
Super Bucks Tournament out of Clewiston where there two day
total of 38.01 pounds was good enough for a check worth
$5000.00. Val is the owner of Gambler Lures and Byron is the
national sales rep. It’s no surprise that they used Gamblers new
Giggy Head jig with a black Sweebo worm.
Till next time good luck and tight lines.
Clewiston-----Summer and the
fishing continue to heat up on the Big “O”. With temperatures in
the 90’s and the water temperature almost the same, the bass
fishing is heating up almost daily. On most guide trips the past
two weeks the bass have been eating wild shiners as fast as you
can throw them in the water, and the artificial bite has been
equally as good. Most bass have been in the three to five pound
range with a few big one mixed in like the 9.1 caught Saturday
by Scott Gallerani from Boston Mass. With the rain that we have
been getting the lake level has been staying steady around 8.91
feet above sea level, which is great to not have the lake going
down more everyday. Most are still fishing out the main channel
from Clewiston toward the water tank,
one thing to keep in mind is with the wind not blowing as much
the water is cleaning up more each day. And as you go out toward
the water tank you will want to key in on water that is a little
stained. Usually the farther out you go toward the middle of the
lake the dirtier the water is so look for the areas where the
dirty water is mixing with the clear water. The channel has been
working so well because these bass can lay
in the deeper water then go up on the flat to chase bait when
they are hungry. My choices for artificial baits for a couple
weeks now have been a Berkley 7” worm in tequila sunrise color
and a Gambler Ace in bluegrass color both fished on a 4/0 Owner
wide gap hook and a 3/16 ounce tungsten weight. The key to
fishing these worms is to fish slow
and I mean real slow. My next lure choice would be a Spro Aruka
shad in blue shiner color and a Lake Fork Tackle “Live” Magic
Shad swimbait, both of these lures have been producing great
when the bass are up on the flats feeding. I have been very
impressed and pleased with the results from the Lake Fork
swimbait, it is about as real
looking and swimming as you can get and the bass have been
eating them up here on Okeechobee and at the Everglades. Some
other areas that you might also want to try are the dynamite
holes south of Clewiston, the Football Field, the Bare Beach
channel and the rim canal north of Moorehaven. Some baits other
than the ones I have already mentioned that you may want to try
in these other areas are a crankbait, Carolina rigged worm, a
shaky worm rig and a topwater like a Zara Super Spook or a
Heddon Torpedo. If you decide you want to fish with wild shiners
take at least five dozen and that will only last a couple hours.
Whether fishing with live bait or artificial lures you will want
to try and get out as early as possible because by noon the
fishing slows down and the heat is more than most can bear. The
bluegill fishing has still been pretty good around the Bare
Beach channel and around the shoal islands along the Clewiston
channel, be sure to take along lots of crickets. Remember during
these hot summer months to be sure and take lots of cold water
to drink and a good sunscreen like Smartshield Sunscreen to
avoid that nasty sunburn. Yes the ramps in Clewiston are very
usable since they dredged out the canal to the locks. Tight
lines and hope to see you on the lake.
Clewiston-----I have a lot of good
news to report on the conditions of Lake Okeechobee at
Clewiston, first we have been getting enough rain almost
everyday that they are not pumping much water out of the lake
for the surrounding agriculture. The lake level is at 8.96 feet
above sea level and has been staying close to this level on a
daily basis the next good news is that the city of Clewiston has
dumped some stone on the ramp that is on the inside of the dike
and have made it good to use for now and the South Florida Water
Management District has dredged the channel from the main ramps
in Clewiston out to the locks to a depth of five or six feet.
Now everyone should be able to get there boats in the water to
take advantage of some of the great fishing that the few of us
that have been able to get our boats in the water have been
enjoying. I know I have said some things in the past about South
Florida Water Management but my hat is off to them for getting
in here and taking care of this channel that was in desperate
need of some dredging.
The wind has finally let up and
the areas that we were fishing a month ago are starting to clean
up great, another week of little to no wind and the water will
be back to being clear again. Some areas to concentrate on are
the main channel from Clewiston out to the water tank, the rim
canal south to South Bay and north up to Moorehaven. When
fishing the rim canal some of the key areas that I look for are
rocks and where the rocks end and it turns to sand, this change
in structure will usually hold bass. These areas are great areas
to throw a crankbait, some of the ones that have been working
for me and my clients are a Bomber 7A in firetiger color and a
Spro Aruka Shad lipless crankbait in gold shiner color. A couple
other places that have been good are the football field and the
dynamite holes south of Clewiston, these have been great areas
to get out the wind and still catch good sized bass all day long
on both wild shiners and artificial lures. A few other baits
that I have been using are Zoom Super Flukes in watermelon-red
color and the Gambler Ace in bluegrass and watermelon-red color.
I have been fishing both of these lure weightless with a 4/0
wide gap hook and the key is to fish them as slow as you can
stand it. I do have another lure that I want to mention and that
is a new custom crankbait by Gambler lures, I have been catching
some nice bass since I received a few of these baits from Val
Osinski owner of Gambler Lures and was very impressed with the
fact that they are hand made and hand painted from balsa wood
with a bill made from circuit board material. You need to get a
couple of these crankbaits and give them a try. The bluegill
fishing has been still going strong both here on the lake and
down at Holiday Park in the Everglades. The Bare Beach channel
and the rim canal around the cut that goes out the Bare Beach
channel are the areas that I am hearing that have been pretty
good and don’t forget to take lots of cricket for bait.
Bass Busters will hold it’s
Silver and Gold Series team bass tournaments on June 16 and 17
with the Super Bucks tournament being held on June 30 and July 1
and this tournament has a guaranteed $5000.00 1st
place. You can contact Chris Fickey for more info at (941)
232-9539.
Clewiston----- What a great couple
weeks we have had here on Lake Okeechobee. The fishing has been
the best it has been for over six months, and the lake level
just continues to go down. With the water level being so low it
has concentrated the bass in areas that have deeper water such
as channels and dynamite holes. I have been using up to ten
dozen wild shiners and still coming in early on guide trips this
past two weeks and the artificial bite has been just as good.
Most of the bass have been good sized with three to five pound
fish being the norm and quite a few seven and eight pound bass
being landed all week long. Most of
the bass that clients have been catching on artificial lures
have been caught on chrome and blue Rat-L-Traps, Gambler Super
Studs in watermelon-red color and a Gambler Ace rigged on a jig
head like the ones I use from Gambler Lures called a Giggy Head.
This is called a shakey head rig and has been winning
tournaments all over the United States, the key to this rig is
to let it settle to the bottom and move it real slow and just
shake the rod ever so slightly and the bass will pick it up and
swim off with it, most strikes are light and you will just see
the line moving. Another key to fishing this shakey head rig is
to fish it in clear water it doesn’t work real well in stained
or dirty water. Some of the areas that you will want to
concentrate on are the dynamite holes south of Clewiston and the
main channel from Clewiston out to the water tank. Try to fish
the drop offs in both the dynamite holes and the channels and if
you can find any structure you will want to concentrate on these
areas. The channel out to the water tank has also been the place
to throw shiners, try to find a drop off along the channel and
look for anything different like rocks or a small cut and these
will be the best areas to set up and shiner fish for bass, try
to use floater rigs if the wind allows. The water on most of the
lake including the areas that I have mentioned has been clear to
slightly stained when the wind blows,
which is perfect for shiner fishing.
Now on to the biggest problem
we have right now and that is with the water level at 9.34 feet
above sea level and still dropping we are running out of places
to launch our boats fast. The main ramp at Clewiston has just
enough water to get your boat in and idle out to the
locks, that is if the wind isn’t out
of the south or they are not pulling water out of the lake
through this channel at a fast rate or you may not get through
this channel with your boat. The city of Clewiston started to
dig this channel out two weeks ago but were
told to stop by the South Florida Water Management District. We
need help to try and get this channel dug out so that we can use
these boat ramps, this not only effects the guides and our
clients but also there will not be any tournament in town which
will affect all businesses in town including gas stations,
restraints, motels, marinas and tackle shops. If anyone has any
suggestions on how we can get South Florida Water Management to
let us fix our ramps and canals out to the lake this would be a
great help to the community and everyone who enjoys beautiful
Lake Okeechobee and it’s waterway.
Most all of the guides including myself are still working and
catching good numbers of bass almost everyday, if you want to
fish the lake and are afraid to bring your boat let one of us
take you out for an enjoyable day on Lake Okeechobee.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler working out of Roland Martin’s
Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake
Okeechobee region for Florida Fishing Weekly. You can contact me
at 863-983-9950 or
www.markkingfishing.com
May 01, 2007
Clewiston----- The water keeps
getting lower and the fishing keeps getting better here on the
Big “O”. With the lake level at 9.66 feet above sea level almost
every area that you can get into has pretty clean water and lots
of bass. The bass seem to be getting use to the water being low
and have moved to the channels and deeper water and if you can
find some structure in the deeper water you will have a ball
catching bass till you get tired of catching them. Some of the
cuts and dynamite holes south of Clewiston are still producing
some nice bass along with the Football Field. It’s easy to see
now with the water low that this dynamite hole looks like a
football field. I’m still catching most of the bass that I catch
on artificial lures on Rat-L-Traps and Gambler Super Studs
a bait that resembles a Zoom Super
Fluke, chrome with a blue back color for the Rat-L-Trap and
watermelon-red color for the Super Stud. Some of the better
fishing this past week for me has been out the main channel from
Clewiston out to the water tank. You should try to fish the drop
off on either side of the channel where it drops from two feet
down to deeper part of the channel. Most of the hits are right
on the edge of the drop off. These areas have also been great
places to throw wild shiners and if you can find some structure
along this channel you can sit there and catch dozens of bass
with some real nice ones being caught almost daily. Uncle Joe’s
Cut is also still producing a few quality bass the only trouble
up here is that the fishing pressure has been great and the bass
are a little harder to come by than they were. Overall I would
say the fishing the past couple weeks has been better than it
has been all winter and it seems to be getting better every day.
Another area that deserve some attention is the rim canal I have
had reports from guides and a few
local anglers that I have talked to say that they have been
catching bass from Moorehaven to Southbay . I know the low water
level has been scaring off a lot of folks but as long as you
stay in the channels and rim canal when you are running the
outboard motor you shouldn’t have any trouble. I did talk to Sam
Griffin a lure maker from Moorehaven and he said that the ramp
at Moorehaven has plenty of water to get your boat in and he
also said that the middle ramp will be the one to use through
the drought. The only thing that you really should be mindful
of is the wind, if we get a strong
south wind it pushes the water north and can drop the water
level in the Clewiston area up to six inches. The bluegill
fishing here on the south end of the lake has been good with
good numbers coming in every day. Most are being caught in the
rim canal on crickets.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin’s
Marina and Resort in Clewiston and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Mark can be contacted at
863-983-9950 or
www.markkingfishing.com
April 23rd, 2007
Clewiston-----This week we are
going to concentrate on the low water level on Lake Okeechobee,
with the current level at 9.85 feet above sea level. The low
water conditions are not a bad thing like I keep hearing from
outside sources that are not around the lake on a daily basis.
With the water low it is letting the lake bottom recover from
the past high water levels and from hurricane Wilma’s damage.
The water is getting clearer every day and the lake bottom will
start to grow back some of the grasses that this lake so
desperately needs. I have talked to some of the locals including
former guide Jim Wells that were around back in 2001 when the
water level was low and tried to get a little insight to pass on
about how the lake was, where you could fish and how it helped
the lake. Everyone I talked to said that the fishing was great
and this only stands to reason that the bass will be more
concentrated in deeper areas that are accessible to fish. Some
of these areas will be the main channel running across the lake,
the rim canal and any of the dynamite holes. I have also been
told that the fishing was great in 2001 out from shoal around
Turners Cove area but out in the lake at least a mile from the
grass line, this will be a tricky place to get to but I have
been told the rewards are well worth it. The Clewiston channel
has already been giving up some big bass and the water is still
pretty dirty this will only get better with the water level
going down and the wind should also slow up a bit which will
help this water to clean up also. I’m sure the low water level
will affect the guide and tourism business in the Lake
Okeechobee region and I wish there was a way to let everyone
know it’s not a bad thing that is happening to the lake and the
fishing will continue to be great and get even better in years
to come after the water level comes back up. Some of the
tournament associations will be apprehensive about having
tournaments here with the low water level but give this some
thought, for the last month and a half it has taken over thirty
pounds to win tournaments on the Big “O” and that is a five bass
limit. I can’t see anyone saying the fishing is bad with the
water being low and weights like that coming in. Our biggest
problem is going to be places to launch our boats, the main ramp
at Clewiston has plenty of water but the canal from the ramp to
the locks is getting real shallow and the ramp on the inside of
the hurricane dike at Clewiston is not in very good shape. If we
could get the Army Corp of Engineers to let the city try and fix
some of these issues I don’t think we would have trouble fishing
right through this low water time, but they don’t seem to want
to cooperate and give us the break we need.
The fishing this past week has
been great and getting better each day, my client had thirty and
fifty fish days and some good ones from five to eight pound
thrown in to make a great fishing trip even better. Both
artificial lures and wild shiners are working equally well. My
pick this week for artificial lures would be lipless crankbaits
with my favorite being the Spro Aruka Shad but the Rat-L-Trap
brand is also working well. Shaky head jigs with finesse worms
are also catching some good bass, my favorite being the Gambler
Giggy Head jig and the Giggy Stick worm this worm is has a
hollow inside and floats upright from the jig head and really
entices the bass to bite. The wild shiner bite this past week
has also been great with most full day trips using six to eight
dozen wild shiners, I have been
catching most of my bass on floater rigs. Some of the areas you
might give a try are the dynamite holes and all of the cuts onto
the lake south of Clewiston, the Clewiston channel from the
locks to the water tank, and Uncle Joe’s Cut out as far as the
clean to stained water allows. My advice this week on running on
the lake is if you are not sure about the water depth or the
bottom just idle, a bass is not worth destroying a boat or
motor.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin’s
Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake
Okeechobee region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Contact Mark at
863-983-9950 or
www.markkingfishing.com
April 16th, 2007
Clewiston-----Wow the Big “O” is
back to producing good numbers of bass on almost every guide
trip, Thank God. The weather has been great this past week and
the fishing has really reflected on this, with bass being caught
on wild shiners and artificial lures just as well. All of the
areas that we have been fishing the past few weeks are the
places to be like the Football Field, the 94 Hole, Uncle Joe’s
Cut and the main channel from the Clewiston locks out onto the
lake. Don’t leave home without a Rat-L-Trap or my favorite the
Spro Aruka Shad which seems to produce better for me and my
clients. Another bait that is working good
is a shallow running crankbait made by local angler Sam Griffin
called a Lil’ Katie, they are working great to crankbait the
edges of the channels and dynamite holes. As far as plastic
baits a Gambler Super Stud in watermelon-red and just plain
watermelon has been working good to fish slower than the
crankbaits when the bite slows down some, I have been fishing
them on a 4/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus hook and Berkley 15# Big Game
line. The bass have been eating up the wild shiners as fast as
you can throw them in the water, with most of them being good
solid three to four pound fish with an occasional one around
seven pounds. Something else I would like to share with my
reader is that I have started using circle hooks for shiner
fishing the last couple weeks and have not deep hook but a
couple bass. I would suggest anyone bass fishing with wild
shiners give them a try, I have been using Owner 4/0 Mutu Light
Wire hooks and love them. Just think how many bass that we have
all deep hooked in the past and wondered if the would live, give
these hooks a fair try I think they will work for you to.
A few words on the lake level,
it is still going down but not as fast with the level at 9.99
feet above sea level as of yesterday and most of the area that I
talk about are getting smaller but most are deep enough that the
bass are holding in these areas. The only problem is that they
are getting a lot of fishing pressure since there are so few
places to fish. Please be courteous to other anglers fishing
close to you, I’m sure they wouldn’t be fishing so close to you
if there was somewhere else to go and if everyone can give just
a little there are plenty of bass to catch. There
has been a few bluegills and Oscars
being caught on Okeechobee but if you really want to catch them
you will want to head down to Holiday Park area of the
Everglades where most are catching all they want. The bass
fishing has also been good out of Holiday Park I was down with
clients a couple times last week and caught over seventy five
bass each time, most are small from one to three pounds but they
are sure a lot of fun for kids to catch. Take lots of Gambler
Super Studs and Aces both in watermelon-red color. Next week
will be doing a special edition on the low lake level on Lake
Okeechobee, if anyone has any info they would like to share
about the last time the lake was low please e-mail me.
Till next week God Bless and good fishin.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina
and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Contact Mark at 863-983-9950
or
www.markkingfishing.com
April 9th, 2007
Clewiston-----It’s been a good
week on the Big Lake with the bass hitting both artificial lures
and wild shiners. I know I’ve been reporting about the lake not
being all that good but it has changed a lot in the past week,
the water is cleaning up as the wind has calmed down some and
with the lake level dropping the bass are really starting to
move into the areas with deeper water. The lake level is down to
10.09 above sea level and if you have not been on the lake for a
while it will really surprise you with the way it looks, there
are rocks and shallow mud flats in most areas. The channels and
dynamite holes are your best bet if you want to catch some nice
bass. I have had several bass over six pounds this week on guide
trips and several three to five pound bass both on shiners and
artificial lures. On several trips this week we caught bass all
day long on Spro Aruka Shad lipless
crankbaits and Zara Super Spook topwater lures. Some of the
areas that were producing best were the channels like Uncle
Joe’s Cut and the Clewiston channel, the key was to fish in the
clear and stained water not dirty water so you will have to keep
an eye on the wind and fish accordingly. A few
area that you may want to try with
wild shiners are cuts and dynamite holes south of Clewiston off
the rim canal. With the water temperature in the mid to upper
70s you will have to weed through the mud fish and gar but you
will catch some nice bass in between. There are also some good
sized bass out in the open water, you will want to be careful
fishing out in the lake try to key in on water that is clear to
stained and throw out a couple free swimming shiners on floats
behind the boat and start throwing Rat-L-Traps or Spro Aruka
Shads in a gold color in front of the boat.
I also guided a couple days at
Holiday Park last week and caught over fifty bass a day on
artificial lures up to five pounds. Gambler Super Stud in
watermelon-red color and Zara Super Spooks accounted for most of
my clients fish but we also did good
on Senkos. The key is fish the cuts that go out onto the flats
and lily pads on the side of the canal that is closest to the
sawgrass or Everglades side. The
Bluegills and Oscars have been hitting great on crickets in most
areas of the Everglades.
I would like to take a minute
to thank everyone who reads my weekly article to everyone who
has taken the time to say hey at the boat ramps, marinas, and
boat and sports shows. Thanks for all the e-mails and kind
words, I will try to continue to give you the best and most
accurate information on Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades as
possible. Any comments will be greatly appreciated and answered.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina
and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Mark can be contacted at
863-983-9950 or
www.markkingfishing.com
April 2nd, 2007
Clewiston-----The
lake has continued to improve this
past week even though the water level is still dropping to a
level of 10.39 feet above sea level. The wind has given us a
little reprieve and the water is cleaning up in most areas if
you can get to them. The great South Florida weather has been
showing itself this past week with warm temperatures and no
rain, I have had numerous families the past couple weeks
enjoying spring break and the fishing on the Big “O”. The bass
fishing with wild shiners has been good all week with most all
of the guides reporting that the bite has improved throughout
the week. Some of the places that you may want to try and catch
bass with wild shiners are Uncle Joe’s Cut, the Football Field,
and most of the dynamite holes south of Clewiston. Another area
that should start to be good is the Clewiston channel from the
locks out to the water tank, although this will depend a lot on
the wind and water clarity. We are still getting some good
shiners at Roland Martins Marina and George plans to keep bait
all summer long for us. The bass bite on artificial lures has
improved a lot over the past few weeks with Rat-L-Traps and
Carolina rigs being the main players. The cuts that go from the
rim canal out onto the lake are some of the better places to
start and than you will want to work on any canals or main
channels out to the lake. Crankbaits
like the 200 series Bandits and Rat-L-Traps in chrome and black
color are great search baits to locate bass and than you can
slow down and probe the area with a Carolina rig or a Senko to
catch more fish. As the wind slows down and the lake starts to
clear up you should be able to drift out in open water up to a
mile or more off the grasslines and catch bass on any structure
or differences in the bottom contour and on Okeechobee that can
be a small ridge a ledge that may only be a six to twelve inch
difference in bottom and water depth but these areas will hold
the fish, you should also look for any holes in the bottom
especially out on the reefs or shoals for they will also hold
bass. Another factor that you will want to consider is bait, if
you see birds diving on bait out on the lake this will be a
great place to possible catch some schooling bass so keep a
Rat-L-Trap or swimbait handy for these occasions. The Everglades
is still producing some nice bass at both Holiday Park and
Sawgrass Recreational areas, try
throwing a Super Fluke or Senko and if the bass seem aggressive
try a Super Spook topwater lure. The bluegill bite has been on
fire at Holiday Park with over a hundred boats a day out
catching large numbers of bluegills on crickets.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin’s
Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake
Okeechobee region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Mark can be
contacted at 863-983-9950 or
www.markkingfishing.com
March 26th, 2007
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.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina
and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Contact Mark at 863-983-9950
or
www.markkingfishing.com
March18th, 2007
Clewiston-----Shallow water and hard
north winds continue to make the fishing on the Big “O” a little
tough. The water level is at 10.79 feet above sea level and still
dropping at a fast rate. In another week or two you will want to be
extra careful as the water level will start to be at a dangerous
level, especially if you like your boat in one piece. The areas
that we are able to still fish for bass are starting to dwindle with
a lot of the areas that we were fishing almost inaccessible by boat.
You will want to be careful that you have enough water if you go
from Uncle Joe’s Cut up to Cochran’s Pass, if you get in close to
the grass line there is a good chance that you might get in water
too shallow to float your boat. This is the same in most of the
areas that I talk about every week like the West Wall , Coots Bay
and Pelican Bay, they are for the most part too shallow now to get
into or be able to fish them the way that they should be.
If the wind doesn’t have the water churned up in
the Football Field, the dynamite hole at the 94 marker and any of
the cuts south of Clewiston you can catch some nice sized bass in
these areas. Capt. Ron Stevens, Capt. Jerry Wares and Capt.
Fred Baraks all had bass over eight
pounds with clients last week, they are all guides working out of
Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort. Wild shiners are still the bait
of choice to catch bass even when the fishing is tough. Rat-L-Traps
or SproAruka
Shad and Carolina rigged worms are a couple artificial lures that
are working good on a daily basis and if you can get in close enough
to the grass line in most areas a Gambler Cane Toad will produce
some real nice bass. The crappie bite is still fair with good
numbers being caught in the Rim canal south of Clewiston and in
Uncle Joe’s Cut, minnows are still the
bait of choice.
I took some of my clients to the
Everglades last week and had great time catching bass from three to
five pounds all day long on artificial lures. We caught them on
topwater lures and Gambler Ace’s a Senko
type bait and swimbaits. You can also
catch them on wild shiners but most of my clients would rather catch
them on lures. This is a great option to fishing on Lake Okeechobee
since the water level is low and the wind has been blowing hard
almost every day. There is a lot of wildlife including alligators,
birds and otters that you will get to see while fishing in the
Everglades. This is also a good area to catch
Oscars and crappies, you can catch them almost anywhere and
in good numbers. Most of my clients find it to be
a very enjoyable day fishing in the
Everglades.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin’s Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee region
for Florida Fishing Weekly. 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
March 12th, 2007
Clewiston-----As the lake level
hovers at just over eleven feet (11.01) above sea level the
fishing continues to be tough on some days and good on others. A
tournament over the weekend put on by HT3 brought in over
seventy anglers to Clewiston with Brain Reeves from north of
Atlanta Georgia winning $2250.00 with a winning weight of 18.45
pounds in a three fish limit, congratulations to who
participated. So as you can see we still have plenty of nice
bass to be caught here on the big lake. With the lake level
being low a lot of the areas that myself and most of the other
guides have been fishing are now almost impossible to get to,
including Coots Bay , the West Wall, and a lot of the shoal up
to Cochran’s Pass. Now with just the right amount of wind you
can get into some of these area but
be careful you might not be able to get back out. I’m still
catching some nice bass at Uncle Joe’s Cut, the Football Field
the dynamite hole at the 94 mile marker south of Clewiston and
if the water cleans up just a little bit more we should be able
to fish in the main channel out of Clewiston. Wild shiners are
still the bait of choice on most guide trips to catch both the
most and usually the bigger bass. As far as catching bass on
artificial lures your best bet would be to throw a Rat-L-Trap
and a Carolina rigged worm like a Senko or a Gambler 10” worm.
Some of the places that you might want to try are the cuts into
the lake south of Clewiston on the rim canal, Uncle Joe’s Cut
out into the lake as far as you can go and still be in water
that is clean, this is also true up on the shoal the fish have
started to move out into the lake and seem to be following the
clean water out from the grass line. As far as the crappie bite
on the lake I know it has slowed down and that the few diehards
that are out everyday are still catching some but they aren’t
saying to much. Some of the areas that crappies are still being
caught are south of Clewiston in the rim
canal and in Uncle Joe’s Cut.
The Everglades has still been
going strong with Sawgrass being one of the better areas
followed by Holiday Park and Alligator Alley, the Alley has
slowed down some but bass can still be caught all day long. Some
of the lures that you will want to try are wacky rigged
Senkos, Zoom Super Flukes and
crankbaits they can also be caught on topwater lures in the
morning before the sun gets up to high in the sky. While on the
topic of artificial lures I want to tell you about
a new craw type bait by Berkley
called a Chigger Craw that is 4” long and has the Berkley
Powerbait scent and flavor that makes fish hold on. This bait
has a nice thick body to hold a hook and claws that are thin
enough they wave as you move the bait forward in the water. I
used this bait at Lake Eufaula in Alabama last week in the Stren
Tournament for both flipping in heavy mats and also on a
Carolina rig and was very pleased with the results. Another way
that this bait will work good is to
use it like a swimming jig rigged with a screw in sinker. I will
definitely adding this bait to my fishing arsenal. With the lake
levels being low if you have any questions about where you can
and can’t go with a boat please e-mail or call me and I will let
you know what I’m seeing every day.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler that guides out of Roland Martin’s
Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake
Okeechobee region for Florida Fishing Weekly. 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
March 5th, 2007
Clewiston-----The fishing on the Lake
Okeechobee is finally improving by the day with catches of good
numbers of bass being reported by most guides and larger bass also
being caught on a regular basis. However the lake level continues to
drop with the current level at 11.16 feet above sea level and
getting more dangerous everyday to be out on it running around with
a boat. I will caution everyone to be extremely careful on the lake,
places that you might have went last week may not have enough water
over them to go there this week. A few areas that you will want to
be very careful around will be The East Wall, The West Wall, the
mouth of Indian Praire, the Shoal, Pelican Bay and anywhere that you
are not familiar with. Now to the fishing, bass have been being
taken around Uncle Joe’s Cut, Pelican Bay, the cuts and dynamite
holes south of Clewiston. Wild shiners are the bait of choice on
most guide trips as the artificial bite has been kind of tough for
the inexperienced angler. Capt. Scott Martin reported catching some
nice bass this week including a couple big bass on shiners. Some of
my clients this past week did catch some bass on Rat-L-Traps and
Hula Grubs made by Gary Yamamota baits, yea I had some of those
western anglers this week that just had to show me they could catch
Okeechobee bass on lures they use out west. Some areas that you
might want to try catching bass on artificial lures are the outside
grass line in Pelican Bay, the Football Field, Uncle Joe’s Cut and
the area around Cochran’s Pass. If the wind isn’t blowing to hard
you might want to try the area in front of
Coots Bay as this area is getting real shallow and these bass
will be moving out toward open water. This is also true with the
West Wall and out from Turners Cove as these bass will also be
moving out as the lake level continues to drop. I also spent a few
day guiding in the Everglades last week and had great time catching
bass all day long. We caught most of the bass in the Everglades on
Gambler Ace rigged wacky style with the hook in the middle,
watermelon-red and black-blue were the best colors. We also used a
drop shot rig to catch a good number of bass,
this rig has the weight under the hook about eight inches I like to
use a ¼ ounce weight. I fished the Sawgrass area, the Holiday Park
area and out on the Alley and all were
good with catches around fifty bass per day and a couple good ones
each day. There is also a lot of wildlife to watch while in the
Everglades, including alligators, birds and turtles it’s not
uncommon to see thirty or more gators a day. It is a great
opportunity to get some photos of a lifetime. The crappie fishing on
the lake is still fair with most reporting catching a good number of
crappies every day that they go out. Minnows are still working
great as are jigs.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin’s Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee region
for Florida Fishing Weekly. Contact Mark at 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
February 26th, 2007
Clewiston-----Tough bite on the Big
"O" continues as the water level goes down and the water
temperature starts to come up. With the lake level at 11.28 feet
above sea level and still going down daily the bass have been
hard to find and harder to get to bite. A few places that you
can still catch a some bass on wild shiners is the Football
Field and the dynamite hole at the 94 marker both south of
Clewiston. With the lake level going down the bass are looking
for deeper areas to move to. There are still a few bass still
hanging out in Uncle Joe's Cut, Harnie Pond Canal, and
Indian Prairie Canal these are also deeper water areas.
The Airport hole down by Pahokee has also been producing a good
number of bass as long as the wind doesn't have the water
muddied up. Most areas are really reliant on the wind right now,
if the wind blows water into areas like Coots Bay and the West
Wall you can get in to them and catch some nice bass but if the
wind blow out of these areas you can't even get a boat get close
to them to fish. If you can get into these areas a Zoom
Super Fluke in watermelon-red has been working great and also
a Gambler Flappin Shad with the tail cut and fished like a
buzzbait across the top of the water will get you a few nice
bass. A 10" worm has also accounted for some of the bass my
clients have caught this week, I like to use a Berkley 10" worm
in blue fleck color. Another bait that did work good for me this
week was a Rat-L-Trap in all the cuts that lead out into the
lake south of Clewiston, I like to use the 1/2 or 3/4 ounce size
in chrome with a blue back on sunny days and a gold with a black
back on cloudy days Big bass this week were few and far between,
but Capt. Jerry Wares and Capt. Jesse Allen who both guides out
of Roland Martins Marina reported having a couple good ones this
week on wild shiners. I spent a couple days with clients last
week down at the Everglades along Alligator Alley and had a
great time catching over fifty bass a day up to seven pounds
with two to three pound bass being the norm. I was using
a Gambler Ace in green pumpkin and watermelon-red colors rigged
texas style with a 3/16 weight. Most of the bass are right along
the edge of the grass and lily pads and at all of the cuts from
the canals out to the flats, you should also try all the bridges
they are holding lots of bass around them. I had one customer
this week that was using a drop shot rig and really catching the
bass that were in the deeper water and another customer catching
them on a Zara Spook, so as you can see almost anything will
work if you are where the bass are. The bass in the Everglades
are like the bass anywhere else in Florida the will hit good for
awhile and then slow down or almost stop but then start hitting
good again. The crappie fishing on the lake was a little slow
last week also with most not catch a limit or even close. Some
of the diehards were still catching them but reported having to
really work to find them. The Rim Canal south of Clewiston and
Uncle Joe's Cut are still your best bet to catch some crappies
and minnows are the bait of choice.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Contact Mark at 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
February 19th, 2007
Clewiston-----Wow has it been cold
the past week here on the big lake, but the fishing is still
hot. Most of the guides have been reporting having a couple good
days and then a slow day and then back to good days. I guess
these cold fronts have these Florida bass guessing if they
really are in Florida or in one of the cold northern states. The
water level has really dropped this week to 11.30 feet above sea
level and you can really tell if you go out onto the lake as
land and rocks start to show themselves above the water. Capt.
Ron Stevens and Capt. Jerry Wares both guides out of Roland
Martin's Marina reported catching bass over eight pounds last
week and Capt. Mike Balon had a couple good days in between cold
fronts. The West Wall is getting very shallow and hard to fish
if the wind is blowing out of this area, but the fishing
continues to be good. I'm not sure how much longer these bass
will be able to hold in this shallow water before they head out
into the lake where they will be a lot harder to locate and
catch. There is still some water up on the shoal and if they
wind isn't beating it to bad you can catch some nice bass on the
outside grassline and the grass points on wild shiners and
artificial lures. I have been using Zoom Super Flukes in
watermelon-red color and Gambler Ugly Otters in black-blue color
to catch some nice bass up to four pounds. The dynamite holes
south of Clewiston have been producing some nice bass as long as
the wind isn't churning the water up to bad, wild shiners are
the bait of choice but I have caught a few bass on Rat-L-Traps
in chrome/blue color fished parallel to the drop off. I have
also had reports of some nice bass being caught in and around
Pelican Bay, how far in you can fish really depends on the wind
direction and the bass seem to be moving in and out of this area
depending on the wind direction and depth of water. A lot
of weekend fishermen and folks that are not real sure about
running the lake with it being shallow are fishing in the main
channel outside of Clewiston and have been catching a few bass
on wild shiners without worrying about tearing up their boat,
these bass seem to be holding right on the edge of grassline
before it drops into deeper water. With the weather being not so
great last week quite a few of the guides out of Roland Martin's
Marina headed south to the Everglades for a day of fishing out
of the wind, most reported having good fishing all day catching
bass on both wild shiners and artificial baits. Some of the
areas in the Everglades to try would be Sawgrass, Holiday Park
and out on Alligator Alley, most of the guides from up this way
are going to Sawgrass and are catching a good number of bass up
to four pounds. I haven't heard to much from the crappie
fishermen this past week but I do know that they were out and I
did see them catching a few in Uncle Joe's Cut and south of
Clewiston in the rim canal. A quick follow up report on my
Garcia Revo Reels that I have been using the past two months, I
have had no problems and they cast and look like they did the
day I got them. I love the way they fit in my hand and how light
in weight they are, I would recommend them to anyone looking for
a high quality low profile baitcasting reel at an affordable
price.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin's Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Mark can be contacted at
863-983-9950 or at
www.markkingfishing.com
February 13th, 2007
Clewiston-----With the passing of
another cold front the bass fishing is once again picking up and
becoming fun again. The cold front the first part of last week
had everyone scrambling to find a warm coat and to locate some
bass that wanted to eat. But as the warm air and rain approached
the bass finally decided it was time to start eating both wild
shiners and artificial baits. The few bass that we did catch
earlier in the week were small with most under two pounds but
as the water and air temperature rose on Sunday the fishing
turned on as the day went on. The West Wall still has a few bass
roaming around on the outside grass line that can be caught on
shiners and there are a good number of bass in the Hog Pen area
that can be caught on Gambler Flappin' Shad in watermelon-red
color rigged with a 1/16 ounce screw in sinker and fished like a
worm back in the grass. The bass around Uncle Joe's Cut has been
fair on shiners but slow on artificial lures, but with the wind
we had a couple days last week this was one of the few places
that you could get out of the wind and still fish. A few other
places that we were able to fish with the wind blowing were the
dynamite holes south of Clewiston and up around Sportsman's Cut.
The water level is still dropping and is currently at 11.48 feet
above sea level which is making alot of the areas that we have
been fishing shallow and getting shallower by the day. The
outside grass line from Turners Cove up to the fourth pole north
of Cochran's Pass also has some bass that can be caught on
shiners and artificial lures like 10" worms and 4" craws,
junebug would be my color of choice. As this water continues to
drop and clear up in this area you may want to move out from the
grassline as this is what these fish will do, I would try using
a carolina rigged Senko and a lipless crankbait like a
Rat-L-Trap for a search bait to try to find these fish as they
move out to deeper water. Hopefully this weather will stabilize
and the cold fronts won't have so much affect on the bass and
they will be easier to locate and catch.
The Sawgrass and Holiday Park
everglades areas have been good for the past week producing good
numbers of bass and a few good ones now and then. These areas
are great if you want to catch numbers of bass and are not
concerned about catching a trophy bass, Senkos and Zoom Super
Flukes are a couple of the baits that I wouldn't go to these
areas without. There are also some beds along the edges and in
the lily pads, try a Gambler Ugly Otter in these bed and I'am
sure you will catch some of these bedding fish. The crappies are
still biting good in Uncle Joe's Cut and in the rim canal south
of Clewiston, most are being caught on minnows and limits are
being taken just not ever day but the size of the crappies are
making up for smaller catches.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. Mark can be contacted at
863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
February 5th, 2007
Clewiston-----The weather has
dictated another week that has been a little tough on the Big
"O" as cold fronts moved through the area. The fishing has been
hit or miss mostly dependant on how hard the wind blows, if you
can hold the boat so that you can fish you will be able to catch
fish. The bass fishing has been best on wild shiners this week,
one thing you can count on is catching a few bass on wild
shiners no matter what mother nature throws at you. The West
Wall, Coots Bay and Pelican Bay are some areas that are
producing bass if the wind will allow you to fish these areas if
not Uncle Joe's Cut and Harnie Pond Canal are a couple areas
that you can get out of the wind and still catch some nice bass.
While you are in Harnie Pond Canal you may also want to try
throwing a crankbait or Rat-L-Trap in the cuts that lead out
into the lake from the canal or a carolina rigged Senko dragged
from the edge out to the first drop in the canal. Some lures
that you may want to try are a Bomber 7A in firetiger color or a
chrome Rat-L-Trap, Senkos, Flukes and worms in junebug and
black-blue color. Try working the Senkos along the grass line
and fish it real slow, you might also try a 10" worm rigged with
an 1/8 ounce sinker that will make the worm fall slow and entice
bass to grab it on the fall. Coots
Bay and Pelican Bay are a couple of areas that have been
producing some bass on artificial lures like 10" worms and Zoom
Super Flukes and Gambler Cane Toads if the wind allows. The West
Wall is getting real shallow with the lake level at 11.59 feet
above sea level but if you are careful you can fish the outside
grass and catch some good sized bass, try a new Swimming Senko
or Super Fluke fished on fluorocarbon line like what I use
Berkley Vanish in 17# test, this water is very clear and these
bass are very spooky so you will want to make longer than usual
casts. The lake is starting to claim props and gearcases in this
shallow water, again I warn you to be careful and not run
anywhere that you are not sure about the water depth. Another
area you might want to try is from Uncle Joe's Cut up to
Cochran's Pass, if there wind allows you to fish this area there
has been some nice bass being caught on the outside grass line
mostly on worms and my favorite the Gambler Ugly Otter in
bluegrass color. You will want to throw back in the grass about
three to four feet and work your bait back out to the boat and
don't miss any of the holes in the grass as they seem to hold
bass like a magnet. Crappies are still biting good in Uncle
Joe's Canal, Harney Pond Canal, the rim canal at Bare Beach and
the Kissimmee River. Minnows and small crappie jigs are the bait
of choice both seem to be working good so you can use which ever
you prefer. The bass are also biting good at Sawgrass
Recreational area with Flukes and Senkos working best, Capt. Ron
Stevens who guides out of Roland Martins Marina and Resort
reported having a great day last week catching bass up to four
pounds and several other bass. I also heard that they are
catching a good number of bass at Holiday Park Recreational
area, both of these areas in the Everglades are a great place to
go to get out of the wind when it gets to blowing to hard.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
January 29th, 2007
Clewiston-----It was a busy week
this past week on Lake Okeechobee with the FLW Series tournament
finishing up on Saturday and pro angler David Dudley
of Lynchburg Virginia winning
$100,00.00 and $25,000.00 Ranger Boat bonus with a weight of 64
pounds and 2 ounces for four days. The winner on the co-angler
side was Ron Fabiszak of South Bend Indiana with a winning
weight of 31 pounds and 8 ounces good for $20,000.00 and
$5,000.00 Ranger Boat bonus, Florida Fishing Weekly’s own Scott
Martin finished fourth with 45 pounds and 9 ounces for a
$30,000.00 payday, congratulations to all. With another cold
front that moved through the area last week the fishing was
tough for most as we know the bass in south Florida do not like
cold temperatures and it can make them hard to catch. The bass
fishing on wild shiners was good as the week started with a fair
number of bass with a couple larger bass over six pounds being
caught on most guide trips. The West Wall, Coots Bay and north
up to the shoal have been the better areas last week but I also
heard that a few good bass were being caught around Ritta Island
and in Pelican Bay. The artificial bite was fair early in the
week even with two hundred FLW Series professional anglers out
practicing for their tournament, but slowed down as the cold
front moved through and the tournament started. Some lures that
were working was Rat-L-Traps, 10” worms and top water frogs like
a Gambler Cane Toads. The outside grass line seems to be the
best place to start and work your way to the inside fishing the
areas that have sparse grass and the holes in the heavier grass.
You will need braided line to get the bass out of the grass and
not loose them. The same areas that I have
been fishing with wild shiners has also been working good
for artificial lures. A few other areas that might work good is
the cuts from the rim canal out into the lake from Clewiston to
South Bay, these are great Rat-L-Trap places and you might start
to look for places on the rim canal to fish that look good like
points and areas that there is a good number of large rocks.
The water level is still dropping slowly with the water level
at 11.76 above sea level and as I keep stressing every week be
very careful going places on the lake that you are not sure
about the water level, it’s not worth getting hurt or tearing up
a boat and motor. The crappie fishing continues to be good with
limits coming in daily and the size of the crappies this year
have been large, not to say that there isn’t plenty of smaller
ones that you need to throw back in for next year. Minnows and
crappie jig are both working good, but the jigs seem to be
producing the larger crappies.
Capt. Mark King is a full time
guide and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina
and Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
January 22nd, 2007
Clewiston----- The bass fishing
continues to improve on Lake Okeechobee as the month of January
flies by with only a week left. With the FLW Series tournament
in town this week the lake and the boat ramps have been a very
busy place to be with two hundred more boats on the lake than
usual. There will also be lots of family fun from boat simulator
and seminars by fishing pros to the fun zone at Wal-Mart on the
finale day of the weigh in on Saturday. FLW is a very family
oriented organization that always has something for the whole
family not just the fishermen. I am still catching a good number
of bass on wild shiners in Coot Bay, The West Wall and around
Uncle Joe's Cut, I didn't go north of Uncle Joe's this last week
with fishing being as good as it was around the Clewiston area.
I did hear that a few bass were being caught from Cochran's
Pass north to the fourth pole and that this water was stained a
little and the bass weren't so skittish of boat traffic. Most of
the bass that I'm catching on shiners are on the outside grass
line, I believe these bass are starting to pull out of the
shallow water with the lake level dropping daily and the current
water level at 11.94 feet above sea. Most of the bass that my
clients caught this past week were from three to six pounds with
at least one over six caught almost every trip. The artificial
lure bite has also improved with good bass being taken on 10"
junebug worms and on frogs slowly reeled over the grass. Some of
the baits that have been working well for me are a 10" Berkley
worm in junebug color, Gambler Cane Toad in white and black
color, Zoom Hornie Toad in Okeechobee Craw color and Senkos in
black and blue color. We had a couple mornings last week that
the fog stayed down low on the lake until almost noon and the
frog bite was great until the fog lifted. Some of the areas that
have been good on artificial baits this past week are Pelican
Bay, Ritta Island, Coots Bay and the West Wall, the key was to
fish the areas that had stained water not dirty water or clear
water. Most of the bass that we caught in these areas are in the
scattered grass not the bigger patches of grass, these are the
perfect places to fish the Gambler Cane Toad across this grass.
The 10" worm works good fished in the open holes in this grass,
both the frog and the worm works best if you try to make
long casts and don't run the trolling motor any more than you
have to. Try to get up wind from the area that you want to fish
and let the boat drift over the grass and fish ahead of the boat
and than you won't have to run the trolling motor much. The
crappie fishing is still going strong both at Uncle Joe's Cut
and at the area around the bare beach cut, both minnows and
crappie jigs are working great.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martins Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
January 15th, 2007
Clewiston-----It was another one of
those weeks last week with a cold front coming through and
making the bass fishing slow for a couple days, but now it is
back to normal and we are catching good numbers of fish on every
guide trip. Wild shiners have been the bait of my choice with
these cold fronts moving through, if the bass are going to eat
anything it will be shiners before artificial lures on most
days. The West Wall has been pretty 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 Gambler Ribbontail that I fish
with a 1/4 ounce Gambler Florida rig weight and fifty pound
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.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin's Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly. 863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
Jan 8th, 2007
Clewiston-----What a week here on
Okeechobee with the Stren Series tournament finishing up on Saturday
and Glenn Browne from Ocala Florida winning on the pro side with
60-02 pounds that netted him $25,000.00 and a full rigged Ranger
boat, while on the co-angler side Chuck Webb from Sarasota Florida
caught 35-03 pounds to win $5,000.00 and a fully rigged Ranger boat
congratulations to both. The weights from this tournament should
prove to all that the Big "O" is in great shape and producing good
quality bass on an everyday basis. The lake level is at 12.11 feet
above sea level and has been staying at or around this level for
over two weeks now. The bass fishing on wild shiners has picked up
and on most days you can keep busy catching fish all day long with
most of the bass weighing in from two to six pounds and a few over
eight being caught. A few places to try catching bass on wild
shiners would be the West Wall on the outside grass line, around
Cochran's Pass on the outside grass points and also in Pelican Bay
concentrating on the outside grass line. The bass were on the beds
with the full moon we had last week and I did get to see a good
number of big bass while practicing for the Stren tournament, the
water in most areas that the bass had beds in is real clear and
these bass were very spooky if you run the trolling motor to much or
made shorter casts or pitches most of these fish were gone. Bass can
be caught on artificial lure almost anywhere the water is clean and
by clean I mean if you can see down in the water six inches to clear
water that you can read the newspaper on the bottom. Some of the
lures that were working for me this past week were a 10" worm in
junebug color, Zoom Fluke in watermelon-red color, and a Gambler
Cane Toad in junebug color. The key to most of the fish I caught was
to make mega long casts and my new Abu Garcia Revo reels aloud me to
make these long casts with 50# Spiderwire Ultracast and is light
enough that I was able to make hundreds of casts a day and not have
any hand or arm fatigue. Another trick is to let the wind push you
through the grass and not run the trolling motor any more than you
have to so that you do not scare these bass that are in this shallow
water. The area from Uncle Joe's Cut up to Cochran's Pass is still a
good place to catch bass on artificial lures as well as the area
from Horse Island up to Tin House Cove, all of these areas have beds
where these bass have been spawning. If you don't catch any fish in
the grass or out on the grass line than you will need to move into
the open water and start looking for these bass, a Rat-L-Trap is a
good search bait. Another thing to keep an eye on is birds diving on
bait and we all know if there is bait there is fish near by. The
crappie fishing on the south end of the lake continues to improve
daily with some of the locals catching limits almost everyday, Uncle
Joe's Cut is the place to be and minnows are the bait of choice. The
crappies seem to move in and out according to the weather when the
water is warm they seem to move out in the lake and when the water
cools off they move back into the canal where they are easy to
catch. Till next week good luck and please practice catch and
release so that our kids will have a great lake to catch fish in the
future.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide and tournament angler guiding
out of Roland Martin's Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida and
covers the Lake Okeechobee region for Florida Fishing Weekly.
863-983-9950
www.markkingfishing.com
Jan 1st, 2007
Clewiston----- It has been a busy
week here on the Big "O" with tournament anglers practicing for
the upcoming Stren Series tournament January 3rd through the 6th
with most good areas covered up with boats. The fishing is
improving by the day as the bass are on the move into prime
spawning areas. A good number of big bass were caught on guide
trips last week with Capt. Ron Stevens out of Roland Martin's
Marina weighing in a bass over ten pounds and Capt. Fred Baraks
also out of Roland Martin's Marina weighing in one over ten
pounds and Capt. Bryan Honnerlaw had a customer with one at
eight pounds. Wild Shiners are still producing the best but some
artificial baits that are working this past week were frog type
baits like the Berkley Gulp Batwing frog in green pumpkin color
and a 10" Gambler worm in bluegrass color and also the new
Gambler Loco Lizard in june bug color both the worm and the
lizard were fished on Stren 50# Super Braid line and a 3/16
ounce sinker. Some of the better areas last week were the Blue
Hole area, around the mouth of Uncle Joe's Cut, the West Wall
and the area north of Cochran's Pass. The water in these areas
is clean with the wind pushing in just a little stained water
which is good, the bass like to stay in these areas where the
water is just slightly stained and mixing with the clear
water the bass can wait to ambush bait in these areas. If the
wind does not dirty up the area from this side of Ritta Island
to the Football field you can catch bass on worms and Senkos,
both need to be worked very slow. Pelican Bay is another area
that has been producing a few bass but most are small with two
pound being the average size for these bass, most are reporting
of catching these bass on the outside grass line. From the Blue
Hole up to Cochran's Pass has been giving up some fair sized
bass along the grass on the outside but I have had reports of
some beds back in the grass. With this water being so clear back
in you will usually spook the bass off the beds if you get to
close, if this happens back off a casting distance and wait a
few minutes and than cast a Senko or a worm into the bed and let
it sit and it shouldn't be long before a bass picks it up and
moves off with it. This is a patience game but the rewards can
be great if you hook into a giant bass, while I'm on the subject
of giant bass and I know I've said this before PLEASE get a
quick picture and release these fish back into the water so that
they can still spawn and help the resources of this great
fishery. The crappie fishing has also turned on with good
numbers of big crappies being caught in Uncle Joe's Cut, with
the cooler temperatures we had last week the crappies are
starting to show up in good numbers from out on the lake and as
long as the water temperature stays cooler the crappie fishing
should improve daily. Minnows are still the bait of choice for
crappies but I know of a few guys that are using jigs and are
starting to catch just as many this way. Hope everyone had a
safe and happy New Years and looking forward to seeing you all
on the lake soon.
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler guiding out of Roland Martin's Marina and
Resort in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly.
www.markkingfishing.com
863-983-9950
Capt. Mark King is a full time guide
and tournament angler working out of Scott Martin's Anglers
Marina in Clewiston Florida and covers the Lake Okeechobee
region for Florida Fishing Weekly.
www.markkingfishing.com