As we head into the month of January, we are in the middle of some of the best bass fishing Okeechobee has to offer, and arguably the greatest in the country. From now till the end of April the bass will be on the move from open water toward shallow water and the traditional spawning areas all around Lake Okeechobee. If you have ever wanted to catch a trophy bass of a lifetime, now is the time to be here on the lake.
My name is Capt Mark King and I am a full time guide here on Lake Okeechobee guiding out of the world famous Roland Martin’s Marina and Resort in Clewiston Florida. I will be bringing you the latest fishing reports and tips from the south end of Lake Okeechobee where bass fishing is a way of life. January is really the start of the spawn here even though we have already had fish in and out of the bedding areas for the last couple months. The water has cooled off and the bass are on the move from out in the open water toward the shallower more protected waters, and one of the most important things clean water. The bass here on Okeechobee usually won’t spawn in dirty muddy water unless they have too, so finding clean water goes right along with finding bass.
THE BASS FROM NOW TILL AT LEAST THE END OF APRIL WILL BE IN PRE-SPAWN, SPAWN, AND POST-SPAWN, SO THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF BASS TO CATCH FROM OPEN WATER TO THE SPAWNING FLATS, IT’S JUST A MATTER OF WIND AND WEATHER CONDITIONS.
During January the live bait fishing is great if you like fishing with wild shiners to catch bass, but artificial lure fishing will be just as good. Yes there will be days when one or the other will be better and usually it’s live bait, but there just isn’t anything more fun then watching a monster Lake Okeechobee bass come up on a Gambler Big EZ swim bait and crush it on the surface. During this time of the year I will concentrate on fishing areas like the East and West Walls, Coots Bay, Long Point, Grassy, and this year I think Pelican Bay should be really good. One key to finding good spawning areas here on the lake is to look for hard bottom areas and again, good clean water.
The key to live bait fishing here on the south end of the lake is to fish as close to the outside grass line as the wind and dirty water allow. I do like the water to be a little stained and not real clear, but being in a staging area just outside the spawning flats is the most important piece to the puzzle.
You can also fish these areas with artificial lures like pitching a Gambler Why Not in the isolated reed heads and even throwing a lipless crank bait up next to the grass in open water. But I have my best luck getting back in these spawning flats to fish. In these areas you can throw a swim bait or frog to start the morning and then go to pitching a worm or fluke in the grass and open pockets. When the sun gets up and you can see the beds and hopefully fish on the beds, then you can target these bass with a lot of different lures. Generally I use lizards, tubes, flukes, craws, and worms to mention just a few. The key to finding bass on the beds is to go slow with the trolling motor and have a good quality pair of polarized sunglasses. It’s best to look for beds when the sun is up high and there isn’t too much wind blowing on the water.
The bass from now till at least the end of April will be in pre-spawn, spawn, and post-spawn, so there will be plenty of bass to catch from open water to the spawning flats, it’s just a matter of wind and weather conditions. If you have ever thought about fishing Lake Okeechobee then now is the time to get down here to south Florida where the weather is great and the bass fishing is even better. Till next month good
luck, tight lines, and I hope to see everyone on the water soon.
