CTFishTalk.com: Lake Okeechobee, FL 02/21 - Connecticut Out of State Reports ( CT Out of State Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

My daughter wasn't feeling very well last night, so my father-in-law (aka Joe) and I headed out without her very early this morning to meet our guide, Captain Mickey Maynard (aka Captain Mick), at Lake Okeechobee. We met up at the Alvin L. Ward Sr. Memorial Park boat launch ramp on the Herbert Hoover Dike, just ouside the town of Moore Haven, FL. We saw the sun rise at 6:30 am and were on the water before 7:00 am. It was slightly foggy and a cccold 50 degrees, but we could tell that it was going to be less windy than it was yesterday. An osceola tom turkey that was perched in a tree across from the ramp saw us off. We headed up a rim canal on the western side of the lake:

After a 30 minute run to the area we were going to fish, we began fishing in vast beds of pads next to a channel. The water was heavily tea stained, but clear down to the bottom, which was never more than 3-1/2 feet down. Shocked

Yes, the lake is really THAT shallow in the entire area that we fished. We spotted a lot of large empty spawning beds on the bottom. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the air quickly warmed up:

It wasn't long before Captain Mick boated the first fish, which was a nice three pound, four ounce largemouth bass:

It took an hour before I boated my first bass, which was just a short:

However, just 15 minutes later, I boated a three pound, 13 ounce bass:

We each caught several bass, although most were small. My theme of the day was missing fish. I missed more than I boated. I threw a bullfrog colored Zoom Horny Toad every once in a while, but missed several strikes. I missed what probably would have been my best fish of the day when I set the hook on a bass that created a huge wave behind the frog before hitting it and the 15 pound PowerPro braided line broke right at the eye of the hook. Mad

That's why I use 40 pound test or better, Stephen! I also threw a spinnerbait for a little while. A couple of casts after I got a "Thump, thump!" miss, I hooked into a small bass that was able to leap free of the trailer hook. The air temperature eventually hit a high of 78 degrees under mostly sunny skies. As the temperature rose, clouds of tiny black flies appeared and covered us. It got so bad that every little breeze we got was greatly appreciated. On the bright side, at least the flies didn't bite. Rolling Eyes

The only other negative thing about our day was the nearby spraying of herbicide by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, using noisy airboats. The herbicide they used smelled like your typical lawn fertilizer with weed control. We tried to stay upwind of and as far away from the spraying as we could. Now, although I booked an eight hour trip with Captain Mick, I have to say that he was gracious enough to keep us out on the water for A LOT longer than that. The reason I mention this is that I had the lunker until 4:24 pm, when Joe thought he got hung up on some lily pads (again Rolling Eyes

), but soon realized that he actually had a fish on. And it was one heck of a fish:

Yeah, that's a 24 inch long, seven pound, one ounce POST-SPAWN bass. After boating a couple of more small bass, we stopped fishing at 5:45 pm in order to get back to the ramp before dark:

We arrived back at the ramp as the sun began to set and were greeted by the same osceola tom turkey that saw us off at sunrise. We finally got off of the water at 6:15 pm, after 11-1/2 hours! Shocked

All told, we boated over 20 largemouth bass, including the two three pounders and the seven pounder. We also spotted several large gars and a bowfin.

Thanks for another terrific outing, Captain Mick! http://www.luckycharter.com/ We'll see you after you get back up to Lake Champlain for the Summer. http://www.angelfire.com/home/lake/fishing/lake.html
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DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice report, Phil! That is a beast of a fish your father-in-law caught. So I just have to ask...how many senkos did you throw?

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi DD,

Heck! I'm waiting for that 10 pounder for Phil to catch! Shocked

If he does? -> Whooo Hoooo! Very Happy

SeaDog1

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I didn't throw any wacky Senkos, Dawg, but can't claim the thought never crossed my mind. There's just too much vegetation on Okeechobee to do that very much. For most of the day, a slowly twitched and retrieved weedless soft plastic bait was the way to go. Captain Mick is always right about what to throw and how to throw it. Wink

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BassRican · Joined: 21 Mar 2011 Posts: 116 Location: Meriden

Oh Man! Your pictures bring back memories! Did you see any gators? We would throw texas rigged senkos or use wacky hooks with a weed guard. I'm sure the suggestions from your guide were perfect because he wants you to catch fish. Glad you had a good time. 15 lb braid is definitely too weak, especially for Lake O. Thumbs Up

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chud059 · Joined: 29 Mar 2011 Posts: 413 Location: Manchester

your hat is one of the funniest hats I've ever seen!!!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

BassRican - When we headed back to the ramp on the first day, we saw a dozen large gators sunning themselves on the sunny side of the rim canal. Shoot 'im, 'Lisbeth!

chud059 - What do you mean by "funniest"? Cool

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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

Great post Phil and wow is that a fish!!!
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and standing on the shore like an idiot!

Elixir · Joined: 30 May 2011 Posts: 288 Location: Danbury, CT

Great Report as always Very Happy

way to go! Super congrats to your father-in-law for the monster he pulled up! Very Happy

MarkO · Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 330

Awesome post Phil. Thanks for taking the time, especially the photos!

Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Great report and good fishing!