Largemouth Patterns:

     Bass fishing is excellent throughout the lake. The lake boasts endless miles of reeds. Casting spinner baits along reed edges and points is a proven tactic for catching aggressive largemouths. Flipping jig and pigs, plastic worms and lizards along the base of reeds or into pockets is also very productive. Fishing back into a reed bed in the heaviest cover can produce some hawgs.

     By far the best technique for monster bass is balloon fishing with large shiners. This technique involves using a small balloon tied to the line floating a large shiner about 1 ft of the bottom. The shiner is then cast near the reed beds, usually in open water along a reed point or edge. Big bass moving in and out of cover can't resist this easy meal. Patience is the key with this type of fishing but it can be very rewarding, with fish weighing 8-10 lb not uncommon.

  Crappie Patterns:

     Crappie fishing on Lake Okeechobee can be fantastic, with large slab crappie in the 1-2 lb range caught annually. Minnows fished under floats around reed beds or pockets in submerged vegetation can produce heavy stringers of keeper crappie.

    Jigs fished the same way, can also be hot, with white, pink and smoke being the colours of choice. On dark days the whites and pinks are productive, whereas on sunny and clear days, smoke and natural colours produce consistent catches. For more information on crappie fishing visit www.FishingCrappie.com