FISHING REPORT OVERVIEW
First a reminder to set your clocks forward by 1-hour on Saturday night or Sunday morning. This will mean first light will be an hour later on Sunday for those fishing any of the tournaments this weekend. Will this improve the fishing? Well that depends if whether you’re an early morning fishermen or an evening fishermen. Generally when water temperatures are cool, the bass will wait until the sun warms up the shallows before becoming active. That gives the later afternoon fishermen a bit of an advantage for the sun will set an hour later. With the days getting longer and the day time temperatures rising it won’t be too long where the morning bite will return to the prefer time for both the fisherman and the fish. Summer comes quickly to south-central Florida. It also appears the Corps is starting to moderate the flows coming out of the lake. All discharge points have seen a noticeable drop it the rate of water being released. Hopefully they’ve turned the corner on the high water level and flows will begin to return to normal. This recent dry spell has helped out tremendously. Still, if you’re on the receiving side of this water it is still too much and for too long.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
The weather outlook for this weekend calls for warm temperatures, moderate winds and a chance of passing showers on Saturday and thunderstorms on Sunday afternoon. Starting Friday the barometer will begin to fall with a front passing through on Sunday afternoon. Friday should be partly cloudy with winds out of the ESE in the 10-15mph range. Temperatures will start in the mid 60°s and peak in the low 80°s. On Saturday the morning low should once again be around 65° and the high getting into the mid 80°s. Winds will begin to shift to the SE and be in the 15+mph range. For Highlands County and the northern edge of Lake Okeechobee there is a 35% chance of a passing shower in the morning hours but as noon time approaches the possibility of rain should diminish. However after this rain passes the barometer will begin a steady decent as the Sunday front approaches. On Sunday we’ll wake up to temperatures in the mid 60°s with highs approaching 85° and the winds will begin to shift from the South to the SouthWest and increase to above 15mph and stronger in the thunderstorms. If you’re planning an afternoon of grilling & BBQ, have an Option B ready as the rains should arrive around 4pm and last through 10pm. On Friday sunrise will be at 6:36am and set at 6:29pm while the moon will rise at 8:32am and set at 9:35pm. The moon will be coming off a Wednesday new moon and will have 10% reflectance though you’ll probably won’t see it as it tracks across the daytime sky. For Sunday with the new time period, sunrise is at 7:34am and sets at 7:30pm. Friday’s AM:Major occurs at 1:00am and the PM:Major occurs at 1:28pm. With warming temperatures, a steady wind with a southerly component and a falling barometer, the bass bite could be very strong this weekend. Just be careful of the possibly Sunday afternoon storms.
WATER LEVELS: 03/09/2016
Lake Okeechobee: 15.61 ASL ↓ 0.22-ft, Temp 72°
Lake Istokpoga: 39.29 ASL ↑ 0.02-ft, Temp 72°
Arbuckle Creek @ DeSoto: 4.0-ft ↓ 0.2-ft
Fisheating Creek @ US 27: 4.75-ft ↓ 0.67-ft
Fisheating Creek @ Lakeport: 16.0-ft ↓ 0.10
Peace River @ Zolfo Springs: 6.79-ft ↓ 0.75-ft
Kissimmee River @ S-65E: Head 20.93-ft, Tail 15.40-ft, Flow 2,155 CFS
Caloosahatchee River
Moore Haven Locks S-77: Head 15.26-ft, Tail 10.94-ft, Flow 4091 CFS, 7-day avg 4,526 CFS
Ortona Locks S-78: Head 10.54-ft, Tail 2.95-ft, Flow 3470 CFS, 7-day avg. 3,878 CFS
W.P Franklin Lock S-79: Head 2.96-ft, Tail 1.16-ft, Flow 4713 CFS, 7-day avg. 5,249 CFS
Lake Okeechobee Locks
St Lucie Lock S-80: Head 13.62-ft, Tail 1.79-ft, Flow 1870 CFS, 7-day avg. 2,657 CFS
Port Mayaca Lock S-308: Head 15.53-ft, Tail 14.33-ft, Flow 1727 CFS. 7-day avg. 2,412 CFS
Lake Okeechobee South End
Slim’s Fish Camp, Belle Glade; 561-996-3844: Jim is reporting great fishing over the past week for Bass, Crappie, and Bluegills. The warmer water temperature has been a great help in energizing the bite. The east to southeast winds has helped to clear the water and those anglers that have been venturing out are having good success. Bass sizes have been running in the 4 to 6 lbs range with a few 8’s and 9’s in the mix. Boy Scout Cut is seeing plenty of action with the wind driven current attracting many nice sized bass. Wild shiners remain your best bet for a trophy fish and though supply can be spotty, right now there are plenty in the tanks. Crappie are taking minnows and jigs while the Bluegill are taking red worms and night crawlers. When it comes to fishing with worms, generally the anglers go with what they are comfortable with as oppose with trying something different. With warm steady temperatures, a falling barometer, and south to west winds this weekend, the south end of the lake maybe the place to be.
Roland Martin Marine Center, Clewiston; 863-983-2128: The bass fishing has remained steady and the early morning top water bite is improving. With strong winds out of the east and southeast, locate clean water on the lee side of Ritta Island, Grassy Island and inside Coots Bay. The morning twilight top water bite is a nice change of pace with frogs, horny toads, and paddle swimmers producing nice results. After the sun climbs into the sky, switch to your flipping stick and slow down your presentation.
The Bait Shop at Harney Pond, Lakeport; 863-946-0170: The Bait Shop at Harney Pond reports the Speck bite has seen a reduction in the numbers and size of the Specks. Partly due to the recent winds which have stirred up the lake and driven the fish off their normal haunts. The bass too have slowed down and have scattered in search of cleaner water. There are still plenty of 3-4 lb fish around but the bigger fish have moved out. With the winds expected to remain out of the SE to South until Sunday, dirty lake water will continue to be pushed into the bay. Wild shiners continue to be in short supply though there are plenty of domestic shiners available. Bluegills are beginning to show up and are taking crickets. Like specks earlier in the season, these Bluegills are big. Best place to catch them is near the spoil islands and inside Harney Pond area.
Lake Okeechobee North End
Garrard’s Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-763-3416: Lief reports fishing has been so-so. Bass are being caught but the catch rate is down. Wild shiners remain the best option for the larger fish but both the shiners and large bass are in short supply. The bite in the morning twilight is improving with top water baits producing some nice results though the window of opportunity is very short. After that its swim baits and then flipping as the day gets longer. Specks around Kings Bar and Little Grassy Island remain active though the south to southeast winds makes it harder to fish. Bluegills are also showing up though not in large numbers and crickets are the preferred bait.
No Bad Daze Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee; 863-484-8126: Tyler reports the Speck fishing is starting to simmer down just a bit. Guys are catching them though not in the numbers they were earlier. Minnows and jigs are still producing. In the drainage canal just outside the lake at Taylor Creek, Oscars and Bluegill are being taken. Catfish have been prevalent near Nubbin Slough and some Bluegill are being taken as well. For Bass fishing, the bite has been improving as the water temperatures start to rise. There is even a pre-sunrise top water bite being reported. With the warmer nights, bass have been taking top water frogs and other baits skimmed over the lily pads very early in the morning, but once the sun comes out the bite turns off. After that flipping and pitching dark colored baits have been produced some nice fish.
Highlands County
Admiral’s Cove. Laker Placid; 863-465-0982: Ed reports the warming temperature is producing nice results in the shallow water lakes in south Highlands County. Bass are returning to the shallows to finish their spawn. Specks remain active though the bite is quieting down. Should be a great weekend if the wind cooperates.
Performance Marine, Lake Placid, 863-465-2814: The recent warm weather have pushed the bass back into the shallows for perhaps the last spawning runs of the season. In the deeper lakes like Lake Placid, look beyond the first line of vegetation and fish areas where the shoreline has a combination of submergent and floating vegetation. Shiners are the most productive baits for the bigger bass but plastics are also doing well. For the shallows, dragging a frog or toad across the floating vegetation is working during warm mornings, and plastic worms and swim baits pitched into the weed lines are working as the day gets longed. Offshore look for drop-offs and brush piles that may hold post spawn fish. Depending on the depth, crank baits, Carolina rigs and drop shot plastics are being productive. Specks remain active in both the shallow and deep water lakes with minnows the preferred bait but jigs tipped with a tasty morsel are also producing some nice sized specks. March is a great time of year to be fishing the local lakes.
Lorida Bait & Tackle, Lorida; 863-655-2323: Winds have kept many anglers off the lake this week. The Xtreme Bass Series tournament was held at Istokpoga Park and the team of Donny Bass & Dave Anderson 20.63-lbs won the tournament with a 5-fish limit weighing 20.63-lbs. Big Bass was 6.09-lbs. Though not a particularly heavy weight day there were quite a few 5-lb fish weighed in and most females appeared to have been spawned out. Specks still remain plentiful and taking mostly minnows. Bluegills have been taking crickets and catfish have been taking night crawlers. With winds out of the south, Windy Point boat ramp might be your best bet to stay out of the wind and waves.
Caloosahatchee River
Miller Bait & Tackle, LaBelle; 863-342-8264: Water releases from Lake Okeechobee are starting to drop from highs of 6,200 cfs to below 4,000 cfs this week. This is a good sign for the river and points down stream. Hopefully the trend will continue and fishing returns to normal spring time patterns.
IN-CLOSING
This warming trend over the past week has improved the bass bite in the shallows. Hopefully it will continue through-out the weekend. Just be mindful of the wind direction as it shifts this weekend and fish accordingly.
On a personal note, last weekend I joined FWC’s Trophy Club with a 10.20-lb bass taken from Lake Placid in Highlands County. I was fishing from my Hobie kayak when the lunker slammed my Gambler Big Ez in about 4-feet of water. After a few minutes of running through vegetation and dodging a few brush piles I was able to boat and photograph the fish and release her for another day. It was a pretty cool experience to land my first 10-pounder.
