31 August 2025
Lake Okeechobee Fishing Report: Largemouth, Crappie, and Bluegill Bites Hot on a Late Summer Morning
Lake Okeechobee Florida Daily Fishing Report
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Artificial Lure here with your fresh Lake Okeechobee fishing report for Sunday, August 31, 2025, and it’s a hot, sticky late summer morning—the kind locals know means big bass moving early and crappie stacking up in the channels.
First light hit us at 6:46 am, and you’ve got until about 8:05 pm to work the water. Weather’s classic Florida: southwest winds running 5 knots early, shifting west as the sun gets high. Lake waters are smooth by all accounts, but keep an eye on the sky—afternoon storms are likely, along with scattered showers and the usual lightning risk. By sunset, winds will mellow out with just a light chop, so if you’re out late, it’s easy going. Water temps are solidly warm, pushing those oxygen levels but keeping the fish active right at daybreak and again before dusk, especially with today’s minor tidal fluctuation. Tidal currents will stay gentle, since the tidal coefficient today is 34 to 39, meaning there’s not too much movement—keep your eyes on sheltered weed lines and canal mouths.
Fish are biting—Lake Okeechobee’s notorious largemouth bass are main event this week. Anglers fishing mid-day in this hundred-degree weather report decent numbers of 2- to 5-pounders, with a few pushing 7 pounds coming off outside grass lines and under shady cattails. Most success came early and late, as midday heat drove them deep. Crappie action is warming up for fall—with pre-season scouting showing steady limits for those fishing slip-cork rigs around the shell beds and in deeper holes near Harney Pond and Tin House Cove. Bluegill remain active, particularly near Structure X and the Rim Canal, with most stringers running hefty. Recent trips also picked up a few catfish on stink bait down by the Clewiston channel.
If you’re looking for numbers, the local tackle shop owners had solid counts: average boat pulling in 10-12 keeper bass, half limits on crappie, plenty of bluegill for the pan, and some bonus channel cats. No reports of trophy peacock bass this week, but you might luck into them on a fast retrieve up by Taylor Creek.
Best lures right now: for bass, nothing beats a **black-and-blue creature bait** or a classic **Senko Texas-rigged**, worked slow along reed edges—stick to shaded water and skip it under the mats. If there’s chop or storm clouds, go noisy: try **white and chrome chatterbaits**, or burn a crankbait like Hunter Shryock’s all-seasons selection with a tight wobble for reaction strikes. Early risers should toss **hollow-bodied frogs**; fish are busting live bait but matching the hatch is best. For crappie, the **slip-cork rigged with minnows** out-fished plastics all week, though a bright chartreuse Bobby Garland jig got bites when the sun was high. Bluegill are hitting live crickets and redworms, especially around submerged brush.
Hotspots this morning: Clewiston Channel’s outer grass beds are holding both bass and panfish. Second pick is Tin House Cove—crappie and bluegill are stacked over the submerged shell beds. Don’t skip Harney Pond if the wind stays low; those bass’ll cruise up shallow when the weather dips before a storm. If you want solitude, Rim Canal east of Belle Glade is worth a paddle.
Quick note for boaters—no new marine hazards posted, just regular warnings for sudden summer squalls, so leave early and watch for rolling clouds after lunch.
That’s all for this Sunday! Thanks for tuning in to your Lake Okeechobee fishing report. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss the bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
First light hit us at 6:46 am, and you’ve got until about 8:05 pm to work the water. Weather’s classic Florida: southwest winds running 5 knots early, shifting west as the sun gets high. Lake waters are smooth by all accounts, but keep an eye on the sky—afternoon storms are likely, along with scattered showers and the usual lightning risk. By sunset, winds will mellow out with just a light chop, so if you’re out late, it’s easy going. Water temps are solidly warm, pushing those oxygen levels but keeping the fish active right at daybreak and again before dusk, especially with today’s minor tidal fluctuation. Tidal currents will stay gentle, since the tidal coefficient today is 34 to 39, meaning there’s not too much movement—keep your eyes on sheltered weed lines and canal mouths.
Fish are biting—Lake Okeechobee’s notorious largemouth bass are main event this week. Anglers fishing mid-day in this hundred-degree weather report decent numbers of 2- to 5-pounders, with a few pushing 7 pounds coming off outside grass lines and under shady cattails. Most success came early and late, as midday heat drove them deep. Crappie action is warming up for fall—with pre-season scouting showing steady limits for those fishing slip-cork rigs around the shell beds and in deeper holes near Harney Pond and Tin House Cove. Bluegill remain active, particularly near Structure X and the Rim Canal, with most stringers running hefty. Recent trips also picked up a few catfish on stink bait down by the Clewiston channel.
If you’re looking for numbers, the local tackle shop owners had solid counts: average boat pulling in 10-12 keeper bass, half limits on crappie, plenty of bluegill for the pan, and some bonus channel cats. No reports of trophy peacock bass this week, but you might luck into them on a fast retrieve up by Taylor Creek.
Best lures right now: for bass, nothing beats a **black-and-blue creature bait** or a classic **Senko Texas-rigged**, worked slow along reed edges—stick to shaded water and skip it under the mats. If there’s chop or storm clouds, go noisy: try **white and chrome chatterbaits**, or burn a crankbait like Hunter Shryock’s all-seasons selection with a tight wobble for reaction strikes. Early risers should toss **hollow-bodied frogs**; fish are busting live bait but matching the hatch is best. For crappie, the **slip-cork rigged with minnows** out-fished plastics all week, though a bright chartreuse Bobby Garland jig got bites when the sun was high. Bluegill are hitting live crickets and redworms, especially around submerged brush.
Hotspots this morning: Clewiston Channel’s outer grass beds are holding both bass and panfish. Second pick is Tin House Cove—crappie and bluegill are stacked over the submerged shell beds. Don’t skip Harney Pond if the wind stays low; those bass’ll cruise up shallow when the weather dips before a storm. If you want solitude, Rim Canal east of Belle Glade is worth a paddle.
Quick note for boaters—no new marine hazards posted, just regular warnings for sudden summer squalls, so leave early and watch for rolling clouds after lunch.
That’s all for this Sunday! Thanks for tuning in to your Lake Okeechobee fishing report. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss the bite. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn