By: Capt. Angie Douthit
What’s biting now fishing on Lake Okeechobee? Bass and Bluegill. The crappie bite ended in the latter part of April and was another stellar season for both quantity and quality specks and bass. The bluegill are spawning in the shallows and will continue throughout the summer months into early fall, so if you do not want to fish in the heat and avoid afternoon rain showers, October is a great time to book a trip for bluegill, crappie, and bass.
I provide all tackle for all variety of species and my new fully rigged Caymas bass boat can accommodate 1-3 anglers. If you are waiting to book a trip for crappie “specks” I would suggest booking several months out to get your preferred date(s).
The crappie and bass spawn happen during the winter and early spring months, and it is also the busiest time of year to fish the big O. Areas out on the lake to try now are Kissimmee River; Tin house; 2nd to 4th Point; parts of Indian Prairie; parts of Horse Island and the Dyess Ditch area; some areas in the Monkey box and Shoal and the north/west side of Dupree bar. If you are fishing the east side, try the areas around Nub N Slough, Hendry Creek and around J & S back in.
Bass lures to consider are worms; swim baits/swim jigs; shallow jerk baits (hard/soft); some top water; flipping/pitching (isolated cover); and shallow crank baits. Color schemes are shad; bluegill; crawdad and tilapia and live crickets/worms when pan fishing. The boat ramp to launch is Scott Driver located on the Kissimmee River in Okeechobee and Harney Pond canal located in Lakeport and is closely located to the Big Water Bait & Tackle store for all your fishing needs.
To book your next exciting and fun day fishing Okeechobee call 863-228-7263 or log onto www.southfloridabassfishing.com where you can find more trip information, customer reviews, pics, rates, etc. A big thank you to my sponsors: Toho Marine; Mercury; BnM Poles; Real Magic; Lews; Bullet Weights; Gene Larew; Pradco Brands; Mid-South Tackle; Maui Jim; Gill and Rapala.
