The Florida Fishing Experts
Specializing in Florida Bass Fishing on all of the Florida Freshwater Lakes.

Well the fish are starting to come back to the grass from the main lake. All ready having some spawning action starting but the best is yet to come. Fishing this month had its highs and lows, with a couple of cold fronts those days were tough but the rest month made up for it.

 We had signs of schooling fish and some good old worming opportunities. I sure enjoyed all the people I fished with this month, we did a little of every thing from live bait, topwater, worming even some flippin. The next couple of months will bring some good fishing opportunities with the spawn getting better every month. All the big catches last year of 2 to 5 ponders, we should see a lot bigger and better catches this year.

 Water levels this year will be a little different and can make for better fishing opportunities than last year. All of these changes should make for some great Okeechobee fishing adventures this year. The spawn success over the last couple of years has brought this fishery back, super strong and with all the new vegitation it will get stronger.

I’m sure looking forward to seeing everybody this season and meeting some new folks to enjoy Okeechobee with!

Customers Testimonial for November:

Excellent day on the water with Mark on Nov. 22^nd.

Thanks for your assistance.

Bill

William H. McCoy III, M.D.

_________________________________________-

Thanks Doc!

Till next time tight lines and good fishing….
From Staff Writer Capt Mark Shepard
BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS

 Wow what a month of fishing on the big O (Lake Okeechobee) with huge numbers fish of all sizes some on the beds during the full moon phases,  some schooling bass and cruising bass every were. This month started with my friend Allen of Hilton head, SC… he fished 6 days in a row and has fished with me for many years. Allen has been on many adventures with me and tells me often that Lake Okeechobee is the best he has ever seen it in the many years he has been fishing it. We averaged 50 to 100 plus fish a day on top water baits,  crank baits, frogs and plastics of all kinds. We also were flipping and site fishing on days that permitted it. This years spawn was awesome, with all the new grass on the lake, it has kept the water very clear and you can see fish all over and of all kinds.

This month has made fishing fun for everybody of all ages and skill levels. We  have used no live bait, 100% artificial lures on our guide trips. It has made for some good opportunities to teach the basics to many, while it has let others learn new techniques to add to there angling talent. I would like to thank the Alderman family Pete Scilla and friends Ed Romanoz and all the others for having the opportunity be part of there fishing adventures.

Good fishing and God bless,

From Staff Writer Capt Mark Shepard (marks@bassonline.com )
BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS

Well, a lot of good thing’s going happening on Lake Okeechobee this past week. Every year the FLW comes to the lake bringing the best fishermen in the world. I am blessed to have fished with these guy’s for a long time, in both the BASS and FLW events.

When fishing is tough on a lake these guys find a way to catch them and open the minds of the local fisherman that sets the trend for the season. Before last week the fishing was tough and it did not take a lot of weight to win any tournament and numbers of fish caught were low. The FLW Pros had a four day practice and the first three days was tough coming out of a cold front, everybody was crying the blues.

But, the water warmed up quickly and on the last day of practice the fish showed up in a lot of places. The sudden change made for a monster of a weight-in, the fishing was great. Most of the fishing were caught using swimbait and frog baits.

This is proof about the migrations of fish in the lake they have about 730 squar miles of lake to hide in. But when it is time to spawn they come to the grassbeds. These last couple of years the water was low and made for a pore spawn. This year the magic is happening there are beds everywhere and the bass are having great success. You can see baby bass everywhere, the fishing this month will be great but you will have to slow down when it is cold. With the cold weather we are still catching some slow worming and on shiners.

Till next time tight lines and good fishing….
From Staff Writer Capt Mark Shepard (marks@bassonline.com)
BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS

Lake Okeechobee

Today Capt Mark Shepard and I took the day to prefish and reflect on what has changed on the world famous lake over the years.

To reflect, you first have to phantom the size of this lake. It’s second largest body of freshwater in the United States, but only second to the great lakes that covers three states. The lake is an incredible average 9ft deep, the shallow depth we are fishing today on Lake Okeechobee are 2 to 4 feet. Okeechobee known for it’s vast region of spectacular freshwater bass fishing for a variety of reasons and species of fish. The lake unfortunately supports commercial use, which always has a way of being politically attached to most conversations when discussing the life of Okeechobee. While both of us agree, commercial interest have been a part of the long term present conditions of the lake. We both could not argue the point, that the hurricanes changed the lake more then man or industry could do so. The beauty that we both see in front of us today, was clearly created be a power larger and more powerful then we could imagine.

The sport fishing or tournament industry has help this lake become worldly renowned as one of the best fishing lakes in the world. Lake Okeechobee is nationally recognized for not only the quality but the quantity of its large mouth bass. In this outing you could not proved that to us, we both a well aware of the history on Okeechobee. That as famous as it is, fishing is still pure and not all days on the water are about the fish you catch. While we were out fishing today, we tried several patterns, flipping, top-water, plastic worm and Senko style baits of coarse. In the heavy grass, we covered lots of water with spoons, buzz-baits and spinner baits in the grass flats.

We could list many areas where we fished on Lake Okeechobee today, but as any true fisherman knows the big bass live in the water. While bass are comfortably in the there domain they only know of the true good fishing areas. Lake Okeechobee has been talked about a lot in the past few years, and rightfully so. Between Everglades restoration, Big Sugar buy outs and let’s not forget about low water conditions over the years. The media, as Sara Palin found out, does not always write things with there eye’s open. It seems to become a shaded deception of the truth or a partial denial of the facts. In some cases, it’s just a political benefit of someone or something.

Directly from our eyes today, there differently not seeing what we see. To understand the condition, the beauty and character of this lake you must first understand what diversity it has faced, the comebacks it has make and relate to the millions of happy fisherman it has entertained!

Till next time tight lines and good fishing….

From Staff Writer Capt Todd Kersey (todd@bassonline.com) – BassOnline.com / 888-829-BASS