Overview
The word for this weekend around Lake Okeechobee and south-central Florida is HOT. Consecutive days of near record heat has slowed the pre-spawn feeding of the bass and forced them to move back into a summertime pattern. This means the bite is real early in the morning with wild shiners being the best bait and artificial lures falling off the pace. Fortunately there appears to be some relief on the way and conditions should return to a more typical fall pattern in the coming weeks.
Weather
Across the region, this weekend’s forecast calls for the continuation of summer-like conditions. Morning lows will be in the low 70’s and highs in the mid 80’s to low 90’s. The barometer will be trending downward and winds will continue to have an east to southeast component. Wind speeds will be light during the mornings and increase to 10-15 mph during the heat of the day. Expect to see thunderstorms forming in the afternoon with the chance of rain at 50% on Saturday afternoon and increasing to 80% on late Sunday afternoon. Sunrise on Friday is at 6:35am so for tournament fishermen first light take-offs will be just after 6:00am. The waning moon will rise in the morning around 2:13am and will be quite dark since the New Moon is coming this Tuesday. The AM-Major for Friday is at 7:14am and the PM-Major is at 7:35pm. Add roughly 40 minutes per day for determining the Saturday and Sunday Majors. All-in-all, it should be typical summer like boating, make it an early morning trip and keep an eye out for building afternoon storms.
Water Levels
- Lake Okeechobee: 14.51-ft ASL ↓0.07-ft
- Lake Istokpoga: 39.27-ft ASL ↓0.11-ft
- Arbuckle Creek @ DeSoto: 4.04-ft ↓0.23-ft
- Fisheating Creek @ US 27: 3.77-ft ↓ 0.54-ft
- Peace River @ Zolfo Springs: 6.08-ft ↓ 0.45-ft
- Kissimmee River @ S-65E: Head 20.98-ft, Tail 14.29-ft, Flow 1456 CFS
- Caloosahatchee River
- Moore Haven Locks S-77: Head 14.39-ft, Tail 10.91-ft, Flow 918 CFS
- Ortona Locks Head S-78: 10.77-ft, Tail 2.82-ft, Flow 270 CFS
- W.P Franklin Lock S-79: Head 3.01-ft, Tail 1.90-ft, Flow 214 CFS
- Lake Okeechobee Locks
- St Lucie Lock S-80: Head 14.43-ft, Tail 0.43-ft, Flow 0.00 CFS
- Port Mayaca Lock S-308: Head 14.34-ft, Tail 14.34-ft, Flow 0.00 CFS
Lake Okeechobee South End
Slim’s Fish Camp, Belle Glade (561-996-3844): Jim reports that despite the summer-like temperatures the first wave of bass are coming onto the beds. Though not in full force yet and perhaps running a month late, they are starting to show up. For these bass, sight fishing with flipping baits is working well. An early morning start will be best for these easily spooked fish. As for Specks and Shell Crackers, late evening bites have been good with minnows and crickets being the preferred bait. For the panfishermen, Jim also wanted to mention the arrival of Gambler’s jig series to his tackle shop. Thankfully the fall fishing spectacular is showing signs of life.
Roland Martin Marine Center, Clewiston (863-983-2128): Mike Krause reports the bass have retreated from their pre-spawn staging areas in search of cooler waters and shade. They’ve also gone back into their summertime pattern of feeding in a reactionary mode as opposed to a pre-spawn aggressive mode. So expect to find fish along the outer walls and in weeds and structure off the deeper channels. Getting on the lake early is key to success with the bite falling off in the late morning and remaining slow throughout the afternoon. Being that you’ll be fishing in deeper waters, crank baits and swim baits will help you cover more water.
The Bait Shop at Harney Pond, Lakeport (863-946-0170): Ed from The Bait Shop at Harney Pond reports the FWC conducted a prescribed burn in the Moonshine Bay area to control the spread of cattails. It’s an area north of Cochran Pass and south of the Monkey Box. Though this area has limited fishing access, this burn will impact duck hunters later this month since this is prime hunting grounds. Fishing in the Harney Pond area has been slow but steady. Finding clear water remains the key for the eastwardly blows have pulled up patches of cattails and other vegetation which has muddy the water. Crappie are still being caught in good numbers but the big slabs have yet to arrive. Catfish can be found just about everywhere.
Lake Okeechobee North End
Garrard’s Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee (863-763-3416): Lief reports wild shiner fishing remains strong though artificial fishing has been tough. Due to the heat, pre-spawning bass have moved back into the cover and deeper water and have become less aggressive. Early mornings are a must if you want to be successful for bass. Specks continue to school and drifting or trolling in the open water with minnows or jigs are producing well. In the Kissimmee River, Speck-fishing remains good especially where water flow is good such as bridge pilings, spillways, etc .
No Bad Daze Bait & Tackle, Okeechobee (863-484-8126): Tyler reports the recent heat wave has slowed down the bass bite and scattered many staging fish. Fishing seems to have fallen back into the summertime pattern with early morning top water baits being the most productive. Once the sun comes up and the day heats up, the bite falls off. Wild shiners continue to produce throughout the day and some nice size bass are being caught. Nice numbers of small sized crappie are still being caught on the drift or troll over open water. As the New Moon approaches, the late evening bite should be picking up so stock up on your live minnows before the bait shop closes for the evening. . With Henry Creek Lock being closed for repairs, access to the lake shifts either eastward towards J&S Fish Camp or to Taylor Creek and points west.
Highlands County
Admiral’s Cove, Laker Placid (863-465-0155): Ed reports the bass bite in south Lake Placid area has slowed down though crappie remain active though small. For bass, live bait still remains the most productive and red colored plastics seem to be the preferred color as of late. The afternoon air temperatures have been hot so most fishermen are getting off the lakes early.
Lorida Bait & Tackle, Lorida (863-655-1781): Scott from Lorida Bait reports bass have retreated back into their summertime patterns and have scattered a bit. Early mornings with live shiners remains the best bet to catch a nice sized bass. Crappies are being caught in greater numbers and taking both jigs and minnows.
Performance Marine Bait & Tackle, Lake Placid (863-465-2814): The folks at PMB&T report Lake Istokpoga is producing some nice size Specks, in the 1-3/4 to 2-lb range. Guys are not limiting out on them but they are getting enough to make an evening trip worthwhile. On the bass front, for the shallower lakes nice sized bass are continuing to be caught and their typical fall patterns have been modified by the warm temperatures. In the deeper lakes like Lake Placid and Lake June, bass that started to enter the shallows have retreated to the deeper waters. They’re not as deep as they would be in the height of summer but they’re holding in temperature thermoclines of their liking.
Tale Tales bait & Tackle, Avon Park (863-452-2248): Rob at Tall Tales reports slow summer-like conditions this past week. With noon-time temperatures reaching the low 90’s, either the fish are laying low or the fishermen are laying low. Those venturing out for bass are finding the early morning bite to be the best. Speck and catfish fishermen have also been in short supply these past few days.
Caloosahatchee River, Miller’s Bait & Tackle, LaBelle (863-342-8264): The folks at Miller’s report bass fishing remains steady with some nice sized fish showing up. Big bass for this past week was an 11-pounder. On the upper river, Lake Hicpochee is producing fair numbers of fish and the oxbows downstream are still your best bet. Crappie fishing has slowed for this week. A nice surprise has been the increased numbers of Snook being taken near the dams and spillways. With Snook, always look for moving water.
In closing, whether this heat remains or not, with daylight getting shorter, Mother Nature will force the fish onto the spawning beds whether they like it or not. In deeper lakes they might be able to wait for the temperatures to drop but in the shallow lakes, it’s the call to duty that will prevail. With fish attempting to move near or onto the beds, pay close attention to the underwater structure of the lake or river you’re fishing. Concentrate on areas than channel fish from the deep water to the beds.
If you found this week’s fishing report useful, please support us by sharing it with your friends on Facebook! Thanks for reading!
