anyone ever fish lake okeechobee?

Im planning a possible spring trip to this lake.... truth be told, the research i have done, it seems pretty intimidating on the boating side of things. If anyone has any info they could pass on it would be great.

thanks

Drown big wild shiners or get a guide. The lake is huge and it all looks the same (grass)!

It's almost 1/2 million acres

I would get a guide

and that... what scares the cr@p out of me.

Giant version of Caddo. Just got back and everything main lake looks the same there also. Bucket list though!

It was not a fun lake when I went. Big cold front shut it down. A guide will make it much more enjoyable.

I have been twice, years ago.

First time without guide. It is tough, everything looks the same.(cover, depth...)
Second time we got a guide. Had a blast pitchin' the grass. Wore ourselves out catching some nice fish.

Find clear water and penny wart (looks like little lilly pads. Best if mixed in with other vegitation and normally is as lake is full of it. Do not waste your time if water is off color keep looking.

Thank you everyone! It looks like ill just get a guide.

Next question... better to leave the boat at home and use their gear?

I took mine and had two other fishermen with me. We paid extra for the follow boat. Then we went out and tried to duplicate what we did with the guide the next day. Its a big lake and hard to find the right places. The most important electronics is a gps. depth not much of an issue. Its like a big shallow bowl.

January and February full moon if no big front predicted.

I lived there for 6 months is a very hard lake to figure out and I did best staying in the canals the main lake if very rough most of the time and unless you have a big big boat stay in the canals. I went out of Roland Martins Ramp.It has some huge fish but very temperamental with fronts. Just watch for the lake levels and stay in the canals and glades and have fun.FYI the west side in Money Box is a great area to play in

I lived in Wellington for a few years and fished it at least once or twice a week, then Stick Marsh Farm Pond 13 the other 2-3 times a week. #1 bait time after time at O was weightless (Swivel only 18 inches up) watermelon seed Fluke with dipped chartreuse tail. There's a small minnow in the lake that looks identical to that. The other bait was a watermelon Seiko, same weightless.

Lots of great information..... thanks!!

Years ago I had an Aunt who lived there with a canal in her back yard. I fished them several times and caught fish up to 10 lbs on a regular basis. As many have said the lake is shallow and loaded with grass that all looks the same. I would advise NOT going out or at least not very far without a good GPS unit. You can get lost very easily there!