OVERVIEW
This weekend, June 24-26, is Operation Dry Water, a national crackdown on boating under the influence. As the summer boating season takes off, so too does the number of boating accidents and fatalities associated with boating under the influence. The FWC Law Enforcement Division will be ramping up its enforcement efforts this weekend as part of a national crackdown and education program. In the State of Florida, it is illegal to operate a vessel with a BAC Level of 0.08 or higher. Expect to see an enhanced law enforcement presence on and near the waterways. It’s also advisable to make a quick check of your life safety equipment onboard your boat prior to taking off for a day on the water just in case you are stopped by a FWC Law Enforcement Officer.
As for the fishing this weekend, a steady weather pattern has established itself over Florida’s heartland which should bring consistent fishing over the next week. Light to moderate winds from the east to southeast should make this a great boating weekend. Each afternoon there will be a chance for rain and thunderstorms so as the clouds build during the day, take advantage of the overcast skies to target areas of transition where the bass come out of their deep dark homes under the pads and mats for a quick snack.
QUICK REMINDER: This Saturday is the Dean Palmo Charity Bass Tournament on Lake Istokpoga. The tournament is being presented by Highlands County Bass Club and is a fund raiser for Dean Palmo a 15-year old Lake Placid community member battling cancer. The tournament is out of Windy Point and runs from Safe Light to 2:pm. Entry fee is $ 60.00 which includes Big Bass. Contact Norman Lee of Lake Placid Marine (863-465-2335) or Chris Taylor, President of Highlands County Bass Club (863-414-6627). Lunch will be available after weigh-ins and spectators can buy tickets for a raffle as well as lunch. Come out for some fun and a good cause.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
This weekend’s weather is a return to a more summer like pattern with increasing humidity and chances of late afternoon storms and thunderstorms. Through-out the area winds will be predominately out of the East to Southeast and under 10-mph except near thunderstorms. Morning lows will be in the low 70’s in the Highlands and in the mid 70’s near Lake Okeechobee. Day time highs will approach or exceed 90-degrees for most of the weekend. The barometer for this period will be relatively steady though on a downward trend. By mid next week another low pressure front will push through the area with the barometer bottoming out early Wednesday evening. Sunrise on Friday will be at 6:41am and set at 8:17pm. Being June 20th was the Summer Solstice and the longest day the year, we’ll begin to start losing a minute or two of sunlight everyday now until Dec 21st which is the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year. On Friday, the moon will rise at 10:20pm and set at 9:17am. Coming off a Full Moon weekend, the moon will be on the wan and at 91% reflectance on Friday. Overall it should be a good weekend to get out early and catch some fish.
WATER LEVELS: 06/22/2016
Lake Okeechobee: 14.91-ft ASL
Lake Istokpoga: 38.20-ft ASL
Istokpoga Canal S68: Head 38.20-ft, Tail 31.72-ft, Flow 2,852 cfs
Arbuckle Creek @ DeSoto: 5.1-ft ↓ 0.7-ft, Flow 1000 cfs, Week’s Peak 6.2-ft, Flow 2100 cfs, Receding
Fisheating Creek @ US 27: 5.68-ft ↓ 0.66-ft, Flow 811 cfs, Week’s Peak 6.8-ft, Flow 2200 cfs, Receding
Fisheating Creek @ Lakeport: 15.91 ASL ↓ 0.88-ft Flow 1640 cfs, Receding
Peace River @ Zolfo Springs: 8.96-ft ↓ 4.48-ft, Flow 822 cfs, Week’s Peak 14.5-ft, Flow 2,200 cfs, receding
Kissimmee River @ S-65E: Head 21.12-ft, Tail 14.68-ft, Flow 5,176 cfs
Caloosahatchee River
Moore Haven Locks S-77: Head 14.62-ft, Tail 10.87-ft, Flow 4721 cfs, 7-Day Avg 4,339 cfs
Ortona Locks S-78: Head 10.52-ft, Tail 3.57-ft, Flow 5551 cfs, 7-Day Avg 5,496 cfs
W.P Franklin Lock S-79: Head 3.15-ft, Tail 1.14-ft, Flow 8580 cfs, 7-Day Avg 8,848 cfs
Lake Okeechobee Locks
St Lucie Lock S-80: Head 13.99-ft, Tail 1.98-ft, Flow 1847 cfs, 7-Day Avg 1,854 cfs
Port Mayaca Lock S-308: Head 14.79-ft, Tail 14.59-ft, Flow 1808 cfs, 7-Day Avg 1,627 cfs
Lake Okeechobee South End
Slim’s Fish Camp, Belle Glade; 561-996-3844: Charlie took over. Bass fishing has been good though the sizes are down. The key is to read and react to the changing winds and current. When the wind is blowing, look for areas where the water is pushing down the trails and canals and into openings or junction points. Morning topwater bite has been good with frogs, spinnerbaits, and jerk baits producing well. The panfish bite remains good. Lots of bluegills and sunfish on the beds. There is a nice spotted sunfish bite going on since they are on the beds. These fish, also called stumpknockers may be small in size but they are thicker than a normal sunfish so they produce a nice fillet. Fishing with ultra-lite tackle with a beetle spin or a small Mepps or Fox inline spinner makes for some fun fishing and great eating.
Roland Martin Marine Center, Clewiston; 863-983-2128: Bass fishing has been steady but nothing to note. The morning bite remains the best bet as well as those cloudy periods. Most of the bass have been under 5-lbs. Bluegills remain a very strong bite especially this past weekend with the full moon.
The Bait Shop at Harney Pond, Lakeport; 863-946-0170: Jonathan from the Bait Shop reports the bass fishing has slowed down some. Guys are still catching fish but the numbers and sizes are down. The larger bass are in the 3-4 lbs range with plenty of smaller ones in the mix. Swim baits have been producing better than the topwater baits. The slowing bite is probably due to the eastwardly direction of the winds and the continued high flow rate of Fisheating Creek. The bluegill bite has also slowed down somewhat. Catfish remain active and ever-present.
Lake Okeechobee North End
Garrard’s Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-763-3416: The north end of the lake has been steady though the sizes are somewhat smaller. Lots of 2-4-lbs bass are for the taking. The morning bite with topwater frogs and spinnerbaits are consistent producers. The shiner bite also remains pretty good but again the 8-10lbs fish are pretty scattered. Bluegill fishing has dropped off some but there are still plenty to be taken. The bluegill beds can be hard to spot by using a search bait like a beetlespin will help you locate the fish. Once you find them, crickets are the preferred bait.
No Bad Daze Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-484-8126: The NE end of the lake continues to produce bass and plenty of bluegill. The bass have been of smaller size but they are aggressive feeders. Getting out early is the key to the first bite of the day.
J&S Fish Camp, Okeechobee; 772-597-4455: It’s the off season at the fish camp so few anglers are reporting back to Terri. However on the lake the fish don’t care about that and they are probably there waiting for someone to feed them. This weekend the winds will be out of the east and southeast which should produce excellent water quality. The early morning topwater bass bite should be good in the trails and along the grass edges. As the day grows longer, it’s time to move into the grass for some pitch’n and flip’n. If the winds pick up and get the water in the trails moving, look for places where this moving water enters and open area or joins another trail. Bass should in the clearing or along the edges. Two weeks ago shellcrackers and bluegills where on the beds and there is no reason with these eastwardly winds that they are not still there.
Highlands County
Admiral’s Cove. Laker Placid; 863-465-0982: Fishing the shallower lakes has slowed down some. The morning bite remains the best bite though it can be short lived. You can have a great 20-30 minutes and then it shuts down and moves elsewhere. There is plenty of high water so bass remain scattered in the deeper grasses. Topwater in the morning, swimbaits in the late morning, and deeper crank baits and jigs in the heat of the day is the norm.
Performance Marine, Lake Placid, 863-465-2814: The deeper lakes such as Lake Placid and Lake June are fishing in transition now. The water temperatures are in the mid 80’s and the bass are off the shallows but not quite deep enough to be on the brush piles that are down in 20-feet of water. Bass can be located on the ledgers, shell piles and near schools of bait in the 8 to 15-ft feet of water. Deep diving crank baits, Carolina rigs and drop shot rigs should be used to get you baits deep enough to be near the fish. On the shallows, there is usually a quick early morning bite but these are inconsistent. Once the lake warms up a few more degrees, the bit will shit to the deep brush piles where the bass will be holding.
Lorida Bait & Tackle, Lorida; 863-655-2323: Lake Istokpoga continues to produce fish though in a random pattern. Changing wind patterns and the continued influx of fresh water has fishermen guessing. The south end seems to be more active than the north end where Arbuckle Creek is flowing heavily bringing in unwanted nutrients and cooler waters. The morning topwater bite can be good one day and non-existent the next. The spillways are releasing water so look for bass to be looking for opportunities to feed on bait as it flows pass them in the current. With the spillways open, catfish and panfish are very active. Use nightcrawlers for catfish and red wiggles for the panfish.
Tale Tales Bait & Tackle, Avon Park; 863-452-2248: Tall Tales is planning to reopen at a new location come July 1st. They are teaming up with Underwater Pressure Sports and GS Outdoors to provide a new outdoor adventure store in northern Sebring. In addition to diving and paintball sports, the expanded operation will carry fishing tackle and live bait, kayaks and kayak accessories and in the fall archery and hunting supplies. As for fishing in northern Highlands County, the small deeper lakes remain active for bass. As the water continues to warm up, deep diving crank baits and drop shot presentations will get you to where the fish are at.
Caloosahatchee River
Mickey’s Bait & Tackle, Moore Haven: Not much has changed on the river. Recent rains continue to run-off into the river and with the Corps releasing for the Big ‘O’, the river continues to maintain a strong current and turbulent conditions. You can locate bass along the river shoreline when there is vegetation or structures entering the river. Otherwise back waters and oxbows are a good place to find some fish. The catfish and panfish bite remains good.
IN-CLOSING
Depending on your targets species, the recent full moon either help you or it slowed your fishing. Guys fishing for panfish had an active week and the bass bite was scattered at best and the fish were on the small size. Again for bass, it’s mostly a quick morning bite followed by lots of working casting and retrieving before your next hit. Soon the big mats will be here and pitch’ and flip’n will be the normal for all hours of the day.
