OVERVIEW
For the last few weeks, the afternoon rains have been pumping fresh water into our lakes and streams. Many of the smaller lakes have water levels reaching and even flooding over lower laying docks. With this much water, bass and bait are getting deeper into the grasses and pads. If you venture in after them be sure to beef up your line and rods. Mosquitos and other flying insects are also out in full force so be prepare to fend of flying hordes of these pests if you’re fishing early or in the pads. For those dads who want to take their kids out with them, Lake Okeechobee is alive with bluegills. The Harney Pond and the North Shore area has bedding blues everywhere.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
This weekend will be a continuation of our typical summer weather pattern, warm humid mornings followed by afternoon scattered thunderstorms with an occasional gully washer. Morning lows will be in the mid to upper 70’s with day time highs approaching 90°. Winds will be generally out of the SW to W and then shifting to the east on Sunday afternoon. The barometer will be falling through Friday and begin to rise by mid-day Saturday. If you’re planning outdoor activities, try to get them done by noon time. On Friday, sunrise will occur at 6:26am and set at 8:19pm. The moon will rise at 5:58 pm and set at 4:32am and it will be at 91% reflectance. The next Full Moon will occur on Monday. On Friday the am:Major activity period will occur at 9:42am while the pm:Major will occur at 10:05pm. For us in the center of the state, it doesn’t really matter whether the dominate wind is from the west or the east. We going to get afternoon showers no matter what direction the wind is blowing from. We just have to look to the eastern skies when the wind is out of the east and to the western skies when the winds are from the west.
WATER LEVELS: 06/16/2016
Lake Okeechobee: site down
Lake Istokpoga: site down
Istokpoga Canal S68: site down
Arbuckle Creek @ DeSoto: 5.8-ft ↑ 2.0-ft Flow 450 CFS, Peak 6.2-ft , Flow 1800 cfs, Receding
Fisheating Creek @ US 27: 6.34-ft ↑ 2.90-ft, Peak 6.8-ft , Flow 1,800 cfs, Receding
Fisheating Creek @ Lakeport: 16.79 ASL ↑ 2.3-ft Flow 2,860 cfs, Cresting
Peace River @ Zolfo Springs: 13.44-ft ↑ 5.06-ft, Peak 15.0-ft, Flow 2,000 cfs, Receding
Kissimmee River @ S-65E: site down
Caloosahatchee River
Moore Haven Locks S-77: site down
Ortona Locks S-78: site down
W.P Franklin Lock S-79: site down
Lake Okeechobee Locks
St Lucie Lock S-80: site down
Port Mayaca Lock S-308: site down
Lake Okeechobee South End
Slim’s Fish Camp, Belle Glade; 561-996-3844: The fishing has been excellent out on the southeast side of the lake. The water has been a mixed bag of clean and dirty water and you need to watch the direction of the wind to find the right water quality and current. Locate clean and moving water and you’ll find fish. The bass bite has been steady with lots of 4-7 lbs bass being taken. The artificial bite is a topwater bite in the morning with frogs, spinners and jerk baits. As the sun climbs higher you need to switch to swimbaits and jigs by afternoon. The shiner bite has been real strong and remains the best way to catch the larger sized bass. As for panfish the main story is bluegils, they’re everywhere. Those targeting specks and shellcrackers are having some luck though not limiting out. For bluegils, crickets and worms are the preferred bait. For specks, minnows and jigs remain the preferred bait. For shellcrackers, red wigglers seems to be doing the trick.
Roland Martin Marine Center, Clewiston; 863-983-2128: Fishing around Clewiston has been on the uptick. Some nice sized bass are being boated. The pre-dawn morning remains the best time to be on the water with topwater and spinner baits preforming well. After that it’s off to the pads and reeds for some flip’n and pitch’n. The shiner bite is strong and some big numbers quantity-wise are being reported by the anglers.
The Bait Shop at Harney Pond, Lakeport; 863-946-0170: Ed from the Bait Shop at Harney Pond says that despite the dirty water, the fishing has been excellent. On the bass front, guides and locals going out are reporting the return of the 8 & 9-lb class fish. Over the past week quite a few 9-lbers were brought in the bait shop for weigh-ins. This could be the result of the high volume of water flowing in from Harney Pond Canal and Fisheating Creek. Out towards the telephone poles offshore from Bird Island, schoolie sized bass have been showing up. When you’re out there, just follow the diving birds and they’ll lead you to the fish. Closer to shore in the eel and pepper grass there is a strong bite early in the morning with white spinner baits which shuts down between 8 and 9am. After that switch to soft plastic swim baits and then pitch’n and flip’n baits as the water heats up. If you’re into panfish, bluegill are thick just about everywhere. It’s not unusual to limit out within a few hours. Crickets are the primary bait.
Lake Okeechobee North End
Garrard’s Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-763-3416: Lief reports the lake is fishing well. The key is to get out there early and be fishing before the sun comes up. In the morning, spinner baits and top water baits are doing extremely well. As the sun rises, switch to swim jig and skinny dippers and then onto flip’n baits later in the day. The usual spots such as Horse Island, Bird Island and along the North Shore are doing well. Bluegill and catfish are also very active. Shellcrackers still remain a mystery.
No Bad Daze Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-484-8126: Tyler reports flip’n for bass has been the big thing for the last few weeks. With water levels up, the bass are deeper in the pads and you need to flip to get at them. The bass bite both in Taylor Creek and outside the lock has been steady. Nubbin Slough has a nice flow to it which attracts all kinds of fish including big catfish. Get out early and you could find a few hefty bass as well. Inside the Rim Canal, Oscars have been active and taking black jigs and bluegill have been taking worms and crickets. Towards J&S Fish Camp, this is probably the only area reporting any Shellcracker activity at all. Where are they this year?
J&S Fish Camp, Okeechobee; 772-597-4455: Fishing on the east side of the lake has been steady. This area is one of the few areas reporting any shellcracker activity and it’s a pretty active bite. As for bass, the grass lines and trails have been holding some nice sized fish along with quite a few 2-3 lbers. This past Sunday a local tournament had most of their big fish caught just outside the J&S Locks. Since then some anglers fishing with shiners report a great bite in the later afternoon period. Panfish in the Rim Canal remain a mixed bag with both bluegill and Oscars there for the taking.
Highlands County
Admiral’s Cove. Laker Placid; 863-465-0982: Fishing on the smaller lakes has slowed down some, probably due to the high water levels in many of the lakes. Fish are scattered in the shoreline vegetation in the morning and leave the heated water in the afternoons. Afternoon showers and thunderstorms keep boaters off the lake. Panfishing is slow but consistent.
Performance Marine, Lake Placid, 863-465-2814: Geoff reports some slow times on the deep water lakes. The shallows offer a very early morning bite but falls off after the sun comes up. Offshore the bass can be spotted on your electronics but they’re not interested in feeding. These days a 4 or 5 lb fish is a nice sized bass.
Lorida Bait & Tackle, Lorida; 863-655-2323: The water levels on Istokpoga have been going up and down. Right now Arbuckle Creek is flowing real strong so there is a good bite around the mouth of the creek. During the heat of the day, the bass are deep under cover and you need to go deep to get them. In the shallows you’ll only find 2-lbrs or less. The spillways are open and pushing lots of water so fishing around the spillway has been excellent.
Tale Tales Bait & Tackle, Avon Park: The lakes up in Avon Park have been active with small bass in the under 3-lb class. The shallow water grass and pad areas are harboring lots of small fry and other baits so you’ll find plenty of smaller bass in these areas. After the morning bite, look for the bite to move to deeper water where crank baits and jerk baits are produce fairly well. Square-billed crank baits that go down to 5 feet or so seem to be the big producers.
Caloosahatchee River
Mickey’s Bait & Tackle, Moore Haven: The Corps continues to push lots of water from Lake Okeechobee. In the flow near the spillways you’ll find snook and big catfish. Outside the flow you’ll find bass and smaller catfish. In the calmer areas you’ll find panfish and catfish. Catch the hint, catfish are everywhere. In Lake Okeechobee, bluegills are ever present. In July, if the water clears, you might be able to locate some specks in the canals and rivers.
IN-CLOSING
Summer time is here and the temperature and the fishing has been hot. In Lake Okeechobee, the bluegill fishing has been the best it’s been for some time. On the flip side shellcrakers have been scattered. Bass fishing remains an early morning bite though flip’n and pitch’n the pads and the reeds has also been productive. High water levels remain to be a major factor in locating fish and the rainy season is just getting on the way.
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