came down to catch this Okeechobee giant on a spinner-bait on an early beautiful morning!
By Capt. Nate Shellen Contributing Writer
Lake Okeechobee continues to churn out great catches of bass, for those anglers who get on the water at first light. The first several hours of each morning is a golden time, bass are actively chasing baitfish in and around the Kissimmee grass exploding on the bait pods that are attempting to feed and hide in the thick cover. A shad look-alike topwater bait worked tight to the cover will draw vicious strikes from bass as they aggressively attack anything they perceive as part of the food chain. Spinnerbaits and swim jigs thrown deep into the grass on heavy braided line are the only bait you may need on some morning, particularly if there is a little cloud cover. Gold blades, silver blades or copper blades they all have a place and time for catching bass, The skirt colors we use vary from white, white/blue, white/chartreuse, gold and even solid black, they all work. Depending on the thickness of the grass a more heavily weighted bait may be necessary in order to get the bait to sink into the grass, 3/8-ounce to ½-ounce By Capt. Nate Shellen Contributing Writer
Lake Okeechobee continues to churn out great catches of bass, for those anglers who get on the water at first light. The first several hours of each morning is a golden time, bass are actively chasing baitfish in and around the Kissimmee grass exploding on the bait pods that are attempting to feed and hide in the thick cover. A shad look-alike topwater bait worked tight to the cover will draw vicious strikes from bass as they aggressively attack anything they perceive as part of the food chain. Spinnerbaits and swim jigs thrown deep into the grass on heavy braided line are the only bait you may need on some morning, particularly if there is a little cloud cover. Gold blades, silver blades or copper blades they all have a place and time for catching bass, The skirt colors we use vary from white, white/blue, white/chartreuse, gold and even solid black, they all work. Depending on the thickness of the grass a more heavily weighted bait may be necessary in order to get the bait to sink into the grass, 3/8-ounce to ½-ounce will handle most situations.
There are many anglers who love fishing with plastics, rubber worms, etc. The sheer numbers types and styles of plastics these days are staggering. Tackle shops cannot begin to carry all of the variations of colors/styles that are available from a myriad of different companies. Yet many anglers get stuck fishing the same color or type of worm that worked for them before. I have been guilty of this until a customer from the frozen North pulls out an obscure piece of plastic and proceeds to catch bass after bass, putting a whipping on the other non-believing anglers in the boat. It is very important to have confidence in whatever bait you are using, fishing it without purpose and confidence does not work. It can be difficult to target exactly what the bass are eating at this time, many times though just being aware of what the fish are eating right now can lead you in a direction that will reward your efforts with great catches of bass. There are numerous tackle shops around the lake and the guys behind the counter receive a lot of input into what is working and what areas are putting out bass, ask some simple questions and the results may surprise you. It’s very difficult these days to keep your fishing both simple and productive, at times going back to square one can be all that is needed to get you mojo going.
Capt. Nate Shellen
Shellen Guide Service
Okeechobee Bass Fishing Guides/Charters
(863) 357-0892 • sjmike7@aol.com