So I'm headed to lake Okeechobee for the first time in juneand taking my own boat. Just want to get as much info as possible on places to avoid and how to navigate while running the lake. Thanks. And I know this is "Texas" fishing forum but I'm sure some of yall have fished lake O

Lake is HUGE......
Make sure you have a good Map Chip.

Yup... It's a HUGE shallow bowl... Nothing really hazardous to hit, except big gators. There a few rock piles, but they're all clearly marked on maps... Watch the weather, check the water level (yes the COE can control the water level), that'll tell you a lot about the fishing and where can run... I've never been there in the summer so I can't help there... Most impressive sight is leaving the Clewiston Lock and idling out into the canal and seeing nothing but water, reeds and the horizon... One of the most awe inspiring places on earth... Dan

One of my bucket list lakes. Please report back on this.

I did a half day guide trip last year for our anniversary. Did not catch a fish but was worth every penny. I remember my guide highlighting areas that were too shallow to run. Flipping reads in deeper water that borders the main like is probably a good pattern in mid summer.

Thank yall for the info. I'm pretty excited whether I catch anything or not lol

Monkey Box and Buckhead Ridge are two popular spots...there are what seems like 1000's of football fields of unproductive grass...find the clear/clean water in the backs of Buckhead and Monkeybox...also find the bass boats...if you find 10-15 bass boats stacked up somewhere go fish that area. The mouth of the creek of buckhead is productive... There can be a hundred boats in there but there are big fish. Just fish points and channels in the mouth of that. Its a good starting point.

There are huge Manatees and Alligators all over so be on the lookout. Try to fish towards shoreline..there are miles of floating vegetation fields to fish but many are unproductive. Find boat canals/channels that go to the back of coves that go up to land. Fish those and at intersections with flukes and senkos.

Chatterbaits, Spinnerbaits with Colorado blades thrown through the grass work well. Soft Plastics creature baits work too..
Also talk to anglers, Many will share spots with you if you let them know it your first time.
Also there are fish in front of the lochs..in the canals...I'm always able to snag a few good bites just fishing the canals on the north side of the lake. You can use any color you like as long as it's white... -Roland Martin.

Also if you get discouraged (which is easy to do, it's like fishing Fork, looks good but sometimes fishing is really tough) GO FISH Headwaters....that place is loaded with bass..you can catch 50 in a day and really good ones. Make sure you have an adjustable jackplate as its really a huge shallow farm field, and you can spin out a prop if you are not careful but there are tons of fish there and great flipping.

Good luck!

They love to fish live bait there for big bass. With vegetation, the visibility driving boats was fairly short and boats will be passing you closely at high speeds while you are fiahing. Always seemed dangerous so keep your head on a swivel.

So in other words: just do what everyone has always done on Lake Fork? Sorry, that was uncalled for and completely unhelpful. Jealous actually. Certain bass fishing “destinations” just hold a “mystique” about them and some with unreal scenery to boot. Lake Okeechobee, Lake Caddo, Mexico Lakes, Lake Champlain, Great Lakes, Lake Fork(once upon a time)……. Bucket list type of trip for sure. Jeff, have a great trip & enjoy!

Awesome thanks I'll definitely check those spots out

Thanks much I'll enjoy it whether I catch anything or not

Guide trip on O and zero fish, yikes, was it free?

I chose to only fish for big fish and was ok if I did not get bit. My guide had for sure baits for numbers.

Mine wasnt free. Had a cold front pass thru and they did everything they could to force me to use live bait (guide gets a cut of bait sales and what isnt used is returned to tank and sold to next fisherman). We didnt even stay for the full time. Guide called it off and returned to marina

Went with a guide last year for my one and only trip on "The Big O" in late February. We fished top water and weightless baits in cleaner water around floating clumps of reeds all day and left them biting. I was just fortunate to be there on one of those really great days....Huge lake, lots of tourneys and pressure, but from my one trip, a LOT of really good fish! If I were taking my own boat, I would go with a guide for a day and insist on using artificial just to try to learn what the fish are doing and to understand the tackle needed to get a big fish out of that stuff...Have a ball, it is a different world down there. BTW if you throw a top water next to a clump of weeds and the weeds grow a tail and start trying to kill your bait, reel very fast!!!