FISHING REPORT OVERVIEW
After a week of rain and windy conditions, it looks like we’ll get a decent weather window to get out on the water. With many lakes stirred up by the recent storms, we could see a very active feeding period as the lake waters clear. With Lake Okeechobee inflows remaining strong it may take a little longer for some areas to improve. Like always, search for the edges between the good and poor water quality conditions.
If you’re not a fishermen and you want to give it a try, this Saturday and Sunday is a License Free Fishing Day for freshwater venues. Every year the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) offers license free days for both freshwater and saltwater waterways to residents and non-residents. It’s a great opportunity for parents, grandparents and avid anglers to introduce a friend or child to fishing. This weekend is the last chance this year to fish freshwater venues without possessing a Florida fishing license so take advantage of this great opportunity.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
After a very warm, humid and wet week, this weekend should present favorable boating and fishing conditions. On Friday we’ll still have a 50% chance of rain with scattered thunderstorms but by evening the skies should clear leaving us with a two day window of nice weather. As skies clear, the winds will shift from the SW to the SE and then to the East and should be remain under 10mph. With summertime here, there is always a chance of a passing shower but these should be scattered. For the Highlands, morning lows will be around 70° and the high temperatures will be approaching the low 90’s. Near Lake Okeechobee the mornings will start a few degrees warmer, approximately 75°, and max-out a few degrees cooler in the afternoon. The barometer will continue to rise from Wednesday’s low and should peak on Sunday. Sunrise on Friday will be at 6:28am and set at 8:17 pm. The moon will rise at 11:58am and set at 12:17am and will be waxing at 34% reflectance. The next Full Moon occurs on Monday June 20th. The am:Major on Friday will occur at 4:49am while the pm:Major occurs at 5:13pm. Remember to add approximately 50 minutes to each period for each consecutive day. All-n-all, it should be a great weekend to get outside.
LAKE LEVELS
Lake Okeechobee: 14.41 ASL ↑ 0.01-ft, Last Year 12.56 ASL
Lake Istokpoga: 38.24 ASL↓ 0.06-ft
Istokpoga Canal S68: Head 38.25 ASL, Tail 31.91 ASL, Flow 1134 CFS
Arbuckle Creek @ DeSoto: 3.8-ft ↓ .01-ft Flow 450 CFS, spiked at 6.0-ft and 2000 CFS
Fisheating Creek @ US 27: 3.44ft ↓ 0.14-ft
Fisheating Creek @ Lakeport: 14.39 ASL Flow 207 CFS
Peace River @ Zolfo Springs: 8.38-ft ↑ 0.44-ft, Flow 695 CFS cresting
Kissimmee River @ S-65E: Head NR 20.88-ft, Tail 13.63-ft, Flow 4944 CFS
Caloosahatchee River
Moore Haven Locks S-77: Head 13.64-ft, Tail 10.90-ft, Flow 3772 CFS, 7-day avg 3,852 CFS
Ortona Locks S-78: Head 10.74-ft, Tail 4.03-ft, Flow 3709 CFS, 7-day avg. 3,522 CFS
W.P Franklin Lock S-79: Head 3.88-ft, Tail 3.07-ft, Flow 4182 CFS, 7-day avg. 4,737 CFS
Lake Okeechobee Locks
St Lucie Lock S-80: Head 13.84-ft, Tail 1.87-ft, Flow-1824 CFS, 7-day avg. 1,808 CFS
Port Mayaca Lock S-308: Head 14.40-ft, Tail 14.32-ft, Flow 1603 CFS. 7-day avg. 1,749 CFS
Lake Okeechobee South End
Slim’s Fish Camp, Belle Glade; 561-996-3844: Water conditions have been improving though the Corps continues to push water eastward. Bass have been pretty active with top water frogs being a favorite in the mornings. As for panfish Bluegills have been very active with crickets being the primary bait. With winds shifting to the SE and East this weekend, pockets of clear water should begin to reappear which results in better fishing conditions.
The Bait Shop at Harney Pond, Lakeport; 863-946-0170: Jonthan at the Bait Shop at Harney Pond reports Bluegills are still the primary story. Lots of Bluegill are being taken and they are full of roe. Anglers drifting from Turner’s Cove up to Cochran’s Pass have been picking up Bluegills in the scattered eel grass beds. With the water still being chocolate brown it’s hard to visually spot the beds but when you drift past one you pick up some nice sized fish. Shellcrackers are still a hit and miss fishery with few schools being reported. As for bass, despite the murky waters some nice bass are being taken. Though mostly smaller sized there are some 5’s and 6’s being boated. Fishing the eel grass in the mornings with white and mouse colored spinner baits seem to provide the best results. After the sun comes up. Working the out edges from Indian Prairie north to King’s Bar has also produced some nice sized fish.
Lake Okeechobee North End
Garrard’s Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-763-3416: Lief reports that all around the fishing has been good. Bluegill is the main panfish being taken with the Buckhead Ridge area out to Tin House Cove seeing lots of action as well as the Rim Canal. Recent windy conditions have provided some challenges to the bass fishermen but for the most part the morning bite has been producing good numbers while the afternoon flipin’ bite has brought the bigger fish to the boat. In the mornings the primary bite is on spinners, swim jigs and speed worms. The area SW of King’s Bar all the way down past Indian Prairie has been productive. This weekend’s break in the weather pattern should help stabilize the water conditions and improve the bass bite.
No Bad Daze Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-484-8126: Tyler reports the Bluegill bite has slowed down some over the last week. Could be due to the rains and the wind. The bass bite near Henry Creek and Taylor Creek have been steady with the morning bite still being the strongest. A few guides going out on shiner trips report good numbers are being caught though the size is somewhat small. There also has been a noticeable uptick in garfish being reported. It could be there time to come into spawn.
J&S Fish Camp, Okeechobee; 772-597-4455: Being on the eastern side of the lake, the wind direction and speeds have kept boaters off the lake. The winds brought floating vegetation back into the entrance of the lock which makes access to the lake very difficult. SFWM will need to clear the debris before boaters can comfortably use the locks. Those anglers getting out prior to the storm were finding Bluegill and some Shellcrackers in the trails north of the locks. Inside the locks, catfish and bluegills are being caught along with smaller sized bass. With the winds shifting to a more seasonable E to SE pattern, water and fishing conditions should improve this weekend.
Highlands County
Admiral’s Cove. Laker Placid; 863-465-0982: Ed reports these last few days the winds and rain have kept anglers off the lakes so there is little to report. Expect winds to shift and lighten up and fishing to return to normal summer patterns.
Performance Marine, Lake Placid, 863-465-2814: The deeper lakes have been roughed up but still in fishable condition. When the weather turns sour the fish go deep. Expect to see bigger bass come to the shallows in the early morning but leave as the water heats up during the day. For the next few days expect to see plenty of floating debris from submerge and floating vegetation broken apart from the recent winds.
Lorida Bait & Tackle, Lorida; 863-655-2323: Lake Istokpoga will need to have a few days to simmer down due to the recent winds. This shallow lake gets stirred up easily but does not clear as quickly. With little Hyrdilla in the lake, expect to find the bigger bass laying in the thicker patches and along reed line edges where you’ll need to flip jigs deep to get them. The spillway is open with a good flow so there should be plenty of fish attracted to the flow. Catfish in particular will be very active.
CAM Okeechobee Kayaking: Just before the storm arrived I took the kayak to Lake Damon in Avon Park. There I caught nine bass though nothing over 4-lbs. Unlike many of the local shallower lakes, water conditions where nice and clear. Working the submerged grasses I caught a few midsize bass. In the openings in the shoreline vegetation, only dinks were brought to the boat. My most productive lures were a Bomber Long A jerk bait and a Rapala silver minnow. In the weeds I picked up a few dinks pitching a swimbait and a crawdad creature bait. The storms started to build in the early afternoon so it was a short but productive day on the lake.
Caloosahatchee River
Mickey’s Bait & Tackle, Moore Haven; 863-946-3100: The recent rains have brought lots of runoff from the local farms and increased discharges from the lake. Water conditions make for tough fishing. If targeting bass use lures than make noise or vibrations. Bluegills are being taken in the eddies and slower parts of the river. The spillways remain active for snook, catfish and other fish favoring fast moving water.
IN-CLOSING
The recent storms have made water conditions somewhat of a challenge on the bigger waterways. Rivers are flowing strong and winds are stirring up the lakes which then produce murky conditions. With the prediction for lighter winds this weekend, the fisheries should become more active and have a strong feeding period over the coming days. For those wanting to give bass fishing a try, Saturday and Sunday are your last chance this year to fish freshwater lakes without a license, so thank advantage of it.
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