By Don Norton
For years, underwater vegetation in Lake Okeechobee has been disappearing, but now it’s making a comeback!
Last December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started a “recovery” schedule for Lake Okeechobee, with the goal of getting the lake below 12 feet for 90 days or below 11.5 feet for 60 days. The lower lake level is needed for sunlight to reach the lake bottom and new submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) to sprout.
Lake Okeechobee level was 12.08 on April 13, 2025, which was 2.82 feet lower than a year ago. By April 15th, the lake fell below 12 feet above sea level.
At the June 5 meeting of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board, scientists were hopeful the lake low would stay below 12 feet for the full 90-day target. If the water rises faster than the plants can grow, new plants could be damaged or lost.
Then, by June 22, 2025, the official Lake Okeechobee elevation was 10.99 feet.
Last year, on the same day, the lake was at 13.37 feet. And the year before that? A whopping 14.33! Even the historical average for that time of year (1965-2007) was 13.24 feet. That meant we were sitting about 2.25 feet below average.
What did that mean for you, the angler? Well, lower water levels can concentrate the fish, making them easier to find…sometimes. But even more importantly, you have to be extra careful navigating those shallower areas.
I don’t normally fish Lake Okeechobee, but thanks to Capt. Robin Clegg and his late summer YouTube videos, I ventured down to the “Big O” a couple of times and had a great time catching bass.
Launching at C. Scott Driver Park, I took Capt. Clegg’s advice and made the short trip to King’s Bar, and for the next couple of hours, caught bass after bass on a wide variety of lures. The key was to be there at first light!
The water was still pretty low, but as long as you fished the outside reeds, there was plenty of water (and bass).
Capt. Clegg, by the way, works out of Garrard’s Bait and Tackle, located at 4375 US Highway 441 in Okeechobee, just a couple of miles from the boat ramps.
As I write this article in mid-September, the water level is back up to 12.85’ thanks to all the rain we’ve received, and the fishing is still excellent! And the new plants are doing well.
Don Norton is a former Co-Publisher of The Angler Magazine’s Okeechobee edition. Contact him at donorton13@gmail.com