For more than three years this world famous fishing destination suffered from hurricane damage and the worst drought in South Florida history. These weather-related calamities caused a near collapse of Okeechobee’s $117 million sports fishing industry. Finally, the lake, also known as the "Big O", is coming back.
Water levels are currently 13.33 feet above sea level, and rising steadily with daily summer rains. Fly-fishing and bass fishing are especially good once again on Lake Okeechobee. “Fifty fish days are not uncommon right now and there are some real nice bass from six to ten pounds being caught almost every day,” says Lake Okeechobee fishing guide, Mark King who guides at the Roland Martin Marina.
Bass Bedding In Bulrushes Once More
Bass fishing is good all year round when lake conditions produce the aquatic vegetation that the fish need to thrive. Hurricanes and drought had killed off immense acres of vegetation, but it is growing again. “Fishing is looking very good,” says Captain Chris Chesley, a veteran Coast Guard licensed charter boat captain. He has guided fisherman on Lake Okeechobee for 40 years.
“Bulrushes are growing again providing great habitat for large mouth bass to bed in. There is a resurgence of peppergrass, and hydrilla, and the eelgrass is growing again. There’s more baby bass this year than I’ve seen since 2003,” says Capt. Chesley. "Shellcrackers are plentiful and people are catching them with the phase of the moon.”
Fish Beds Destroyed by Hurricane
National headlines in 2007 bemoaned a dying Lake Okeechobee. The first catastrophe was the aftermath of hurricane Wilma. The lake was hammered and the results were hideous. Winds stirred up the lake bottom sediment locals call “muck” and it created a brown-brackish soup impossible to see through. Anglers could not see lake bottom, many boaters ran aground, breaking up their hulls or expensive motors. They got stranded on muck.
Worse, sunlight could not penetrate. Without sun the ecologically important submerged flora and fauna of the lake died, and fish lost their habitat in which to bed.
Drought Crippled Sports Fishing Industry
Then a three-year drought from 2006 to 2008 caused the lake to drop to 8.82 feet in 2007, the lowest recorded water level in history. Lightening caused fires on the lake that burnt off the dried up vegetation that was once a safe haven for large mouth bass and shell crackers. People were able to walk on lake bottom where they had never done so before.
In many towns around this 730-square mile lake, numerous boat ramps and boat launches were high and dry, locks that permitted boat access were closed. Many marinas, boat yards, bait stores, guide services, outfitters, fish camps and RV parks, restaurants and motels went belly up. The reputation of Big O was hurt and tournaments were cancelled. It was an economic catastrophe for the towns around the lake. These calamities coincided with one of the nation’s worst economies.
Famous Fishing Spot Healthy Again
Captain Mike Shellen is a 10-year Okeechobee fishing guide who has seen the rebirth of the lake. “The water where we are fishing is aquarium clear and there are so many bass there you can literally see them swimming ahead of the boat. It has been quite some time since Okeechobee has been this hot for this long!” writes Shellen in his online fishing report. Crappie and blue gill, not to mention catfish, are also biting.
“To the fisher man who knows the lake they will be thrilled to see the improved clarity of the water, and the healthy vegetation in and around the unsprayed aquatic vegetation,” says Capt. Chesley.
Conservation Practices Affect Fishing
There are many anglers who know Big O intimately and who are not always happy with the governmental decisions regarding lake management. The Lake Okeechobee Habitat Alliance is a group founded by Chesley. The alliance is not pleased with the state’s spraying of vegetation. It maintains that much of the important vegetation that fish like is being senselessly eradicated and water quality is degraded as a result.
Issues of water quality and plant habitat are complex and differing views can be studied at the Alliance website and/or those of the managing agencies. They are: South Florida Water Management District, U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers (Jacksonville Dist.), and the Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission.
New Beacons Protect Anglers
One improvement praised by the Alliance is the installation of new channel markers with their more reliable solar-powered beacons. The lake can be very dangerous. Choppy waves from violent storms have been compared to waves on an ocean. Many boaters have been lost and drowned at night on the approximately 30-mile wide and 36-mile long lake. Boaters can’t see the land from the center. These taller navigational markers are more reliable than the aged battery powered lights that blew over in the hurricane. Replacing them with solar lights not only guides night anglers, but alligator hunters, frog giggers and avid air boaters who skim the lake in the moonlight.
References
Lake Okeechobee Habitat Alliance. Okeechobee, Florida. Lake–o-habitat.org
South Florida Water Management District. West Palm Beach. Fl. my.swfmd.gov/okeechobee
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (Jacksonville Dist).saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/Operations/Branches/InvSpecies/index
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Tallahassee. Fl. MyFWC.com/fishing
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