FISHING REPORT OVERVIEW
Lake Okeechobee, Lake Istokpoga and the lakes of Highlands County have been providing some nice bass fishing. The weather has been warm and sunny with little to no rain. That’s all about to change as a low pressure front moves through this weekend. Though temperatures won’t go crazy and fall off the deep end, the winds will be a factor in where and how you fish. But as they say, nothing ventured – nothing gained, some of the best fishing occurs on windy days. So if you go out, just be safe and make sure you wear your life vest in rough waters.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
This weekend will be highlighted, or low-lighted, by another low pressure system moving through the area with rain and possible thunderstorms starting Thursday evening and continuing through Saturday evening. Besides the rain it wind bring steady winds and strong gusty winds during pasting thunderstorms. The first showers should arrive by Thursday afternoon and then pick up on Friday with anywhere from a 70-90% chance of rain. Morning temperatures for the weekend should be in the mid to upper 60’s with the highs falling from the mid 80’s to the mid 70’s by Sunday.
The winds will do a 360° round-about as the front moves through. In Highlands County the winds on Friday will start from the ESE and work their way to the S and then the SW and finally the W by late evening. Winds should be less than 10 mph except during periods of storms. By Saturday morning the winds will start off light from the ENE and increase in intensity to 15-25mph by mid-afternoon. Sunday will be a repeat with the morning winds remaining steady at 10 mph and then increase to 20 mph. Around Lake Okeechobee Friday’s morning winds will start light from the ESE at less than 10 mph and then shift to the SE by afternoon and then make a full turn to the SW and onto the ENE during the night. Saturday morning the winds will start from the NE at less than 10 mph and rapidly increase to 15-20mph out of the ENE. They will stay steady at 10 mph during the night and pick back up to 15-20 mph from the ENE throughout Sunday. As for the barometer, Thursday and Friday will be low at 29.89 mbar, on Saturday it will begin to rise and peak on Monday at 30.23 mbar. On Friday sunrise will occur at 6:58am and set at 7:47pm. The moon will rise at 2:26pm, set at 3:01am on Saturday, and will be 66% reflective. We are about a week away from the next full moon so activity periods are relatively weak. Friday’s AM:Major will occur around 7:27am and the PM:Major will occur 7:51pm. Add approximately 50 minutes per day for the next day’s activity periods. In review, Friday seems to be the best day of the weekend to get out there with Saturday and Sunday providing a bumpy ride.
WATER LEVELS: 04/13/2016
Lake Okeechobee: 14.83 ASL ↓ 0.23-ft, Temp 80°
Lake Istokpoga: 39.20 ASL↓ 0.05-ft
Istokpoga Canal S68: Head 39.20 ASL, Tail 31.99 ASL, Flow 0 CFS
Arbuckle Creek @ DeSoto: 3.80-ft ↔ 0.00-ft
Fisheating Creek @ US 27: 1.62-ft ↓ 1.02-ft
Fisheating Creek @ Lakeport: 14.79 ASL ↓ 0.52-ft
Peace River @ Zolfo Springs: 6.04-ft ↓ 2.92-ft
Kissimmee River @ S-65E: Head 20.87-ft, Tail 14.67-ft, Flow 3385 CFS
Caloosahatchee River
Moore Haven Locks S-77: Head 14.25-ft, Tail 11.13-ft, Flow 3438 CFS, 7-day avg 3702 CFS
Ortona Locks S-78: Head 11.02-ft, Tail 3.23-ft, Flow 2722 CFS, 7-day avg. 2,980 CFS
W.P Franklin Lock S-79: Head 3.24-ft, Tail 1.37-ft, Flow 3286 CFS, 7-day avg. 23,528 CFS
Lake Okeechobee Locks
St Lucie Lock S-80: Head 14.09-ft, Tail 0.28-ft, Flow 1456 CFS, 7-day avg. 1,390 CFS
Port Mayaca Lock S-308: Head 14.78-ft, Tail 14.50-ft, Flow 1368 CFS. 7-day avg. 1,121 CFS
Lake Okeechobee South End
Slim’s Fish Camp, Belle Glade; 561-996-3844: The bass bite is on fire at the south end! Numbers are coming in that haven’t been seen in quite some time. How does 300 fish in 3 days sound to you? It sounds darn good to me. Guides going out with shiners report when casting their shiners, the cork doesn’t even have time to hit the water before a bass is onto the shiner. What’s creating this fury of action? It’s a combination of stable weather, warm clear water, lots of bait, and a fresh wave of spawning bass. Yes the spawn is still on and large females are present. Besides the shiner bite being hot, plenty of fishermen are catch bass on artificials. Rattle traps and top water buzz baits are doing well as well as swim baits in the submerged grass beds. As for panfish, Brim and Bluegills are also on the feed in the Rim Canal and interior canals. Crickets are the primary bait for the Bluegills. So if you’ve been waiting for the Big ‘O’ to turn on, now is the time to get a line wet.
Remember the Pahokee Rotary Club will hold their Annual Kids Fishing Tournament on Saturday April 23rd at the Pakokee Marina and Fishing Pier from 9:am to 12 noon. The tournament is open to Pahokee kids from the ages of 5-17 years old. Kids get a free rod & reel combo, bait, food and fishing lessons. For past participants, they are asked to bring their own fishing poles if available. This is a great community event for both young and old so come on out and help the kids fish.
Roland Martin Marine Center, Clewiston; 863-983-2128: Lake Okeechobee bass fishing has steadied out with the help of some consistent weather patterns. Most bass seem to be in the post spawn stage and are feeding up on the plentiful supply of baitfish. Crank baits and swim baits are producing well over submerged grass beds and fish are staging just outside the channels leading out into the lake. Where they are staging will depend on the direction of the wind and wind driven currents. Panfish such as Bluegills and Shellcrackers are becoming more prevalent near the grass edges.
The Bait Shop at Harney Pond, Lakeport; 863-946-0170: Bass fishing in the Harney Pond area up through the north shore has been real good. Some are finding school bass that range through 5-7lbs. These fish can be caught drifting through the patches of eel and pepper grass beds. Besides shiners these fish are taking artificials such as white and silver spinners, light colored swim baits, and some crank baits. In the thicker vegetation topwater frogs and buzz baits are also producing some nice sized fish. Besides the bass Bluegills are coming in good numbers and size. Crickets are the primary bait for these panfish. Specks are also being found but the sizes are dropping so you’ll need to catch 3 to each keeper. Shellcrackers have yet to show up in force and this could be contributed to the steady east to northeast winds blowing in turbid waters off the lake. The catfish bite has also been going strong through the last few weeks. Unless you’re targeting these fish, keep your shiners off the bottom less they fall prey to a hungry catfish. The Beck Hardware & Harney Pond Bait Shop Speck-aton has finally concluded. This year’s Big Speck was a 2lb 3oz slab.
Lake Okeechobee North End
Garrard’s Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-763-3416: The Garrard’s Team Tournament Series was held this past Saturday and it took the team of Chris Crow and Ken Karol just over 25.-lbs to win. The Big Bass was 8.37-lbs caught by the team of Mike Holland and Kermit Russel and it was accompanied by a lot of brothers and sisters in the 6-8 lbs range. Needless to say, fishing on the north end is doing well. Lake levels and temperatures have stabilized and the bass are responding well. The morning top water bite continues to improve with plastic frogs, buzz baits, and swim baits producing nice sized fish. As the sun rises then change up to worms and creature baits. As for panfish, Crappies are still hanging in there those daily limits are getting hard to catch. Bluegills are very active now.
No Bad Daze Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-484-8126: The Rim Canal continues to produce Oscars, Bluegills, and a few Specks. The bass bite on the northeast side of the lake from Nubbin Slough to J&S lock is picking up nicely. In the mornings fish the outside edges with swim baits, spinners and crank baits and move into the grass fields and change to worms and creature baits on a slow retrieve as the day heats up. Shellcrackers are also beginning to be taken from Government Cut through J&S locks.
Highlands County
Admiral’s Cove. Laker Placid; 863-465-0982: The bass fishing in the lakes of south Highlands remains steady. Consistent weather has allowed the fish to reacquire their typical seasonal patterns. Top water baits in the morning and evenings are producing some nice sized bass. Panfish activity has shifted more toward Bluegills and Shellcrackers though Crappie are still being caught.
Performance Marine, Lake Placid, 863-465-2814: The deeper lakes of central Highlands are producing some nice Trophy Bass in the 8-10lb range. The last of the spawn is coming near and there are plenty of post spawn fish feeding just outside the shallows. With warming lake temperatures, it won’t be long before they begin to develop their summer patterns of shallows in the morning and late evenings and back onto the deeper ledges and brush pile during the day. On the deeper lakes you’ll need to depend on your electronics to locate quality bottom structure or roaming schools of bait fish.
Lorida Bait & Tackle, Lorida; 863-655-2323: Lake Istokpoga has been producing some quality bass fishing over the past few weeks. Finding clear water remains the key and with the wind constantly shifting over the past few weeks, finding clear water appears to be the key. This past weekend there were a quite a few bass tournaments on the lake and some really nice fish were boated and most of the winning teams did well in cleaner water. There is a new tournament series in Highlands County called the Workhorse Team Tournament Trail which will fish twice a month through November. The boat entry fee is $ 40 per event and they will fish a variety of lakes throughout Highlands County. Contact Nick Tidwell and (863) 414-1247 for more details.
Caloosahatchee River
Miller Bait & Tackle, LaBelle; 863-342-8264: The Corps continue to release water into the river which is keeping the snook action lively. Panfish such as Bluegills and Brim are very active with the Bluegills feeding on crickets. The bass bite has been steady and catfish are everywhere.
IN-CLOSING
It’s springtime fishing at its best in many of the local lakes and Lake Okeechobee. Get in your licks before the summer heat arrives. If you found this week’s Okeechobee Fishing Report useful, please support us by liking and sharing on Facebook!
