Lake Okeechobee Bluegill Fishing
Lake Okeechobee bluegill has an attitude for their size and fights better than any other freshwater species of panfish. Okeechobee Bluegill fishing is fun and catching them are second to none in the frying pan. Catching a mess of big bluegill is a common event throughout the spring, summer, and early fall on Lake Okeechobee.
Bluegill, Redear and Crappie fishing will be at its best during the spring. Redear should be well into their spawning season by April. Much depends upon the weather at that time. Start looking for spawning areas within five days before and after the new and full moons. Areas to check this spring will be the mouth of the Kissimmee River and the northeast edge of King’s Bar near Okeechobee, the outer edge of Observation Island near Lakeport, and the outer edge of South Bay near Clewiston. Most Redear are taken on live worms and crickets. Bluegills usually start their spawning season a little later than Redear. Look for the bluegill bite to start picking up in April/May.
Best areas will be the rim canals for Lake Okeechobee bluegill fishing, the numerous canals leading to the lake. Kissimmee River and areas mentioned above for Redear. Beetle spins and crickets are the preferred baits for bluegill fishing although fly fishing can be a lot of fun as well. During the spawn, the large male bluegill “bull” or “copper head” as they are called locally because of the copper band that runs across their dark head is highly vulnerable to being caught easily.
Okeechobee Bluegill Fishing Spawn
Bluegill during the spawn is at full coloration – dark lateral bars down their sides and a deep red chest. The male Okeechobee bluegill after establishing their nesting area which is usually the same spawning sites year after year will become very aggressive. They will in fact strike at anything that intrudes into their nesting territory. Although we talked about the months of spawning we also mentioned that the weather had something to do with it. Bluegill spawning will occur when the lake water is between 70 – 75.
That could be as early as March and last as late as September. The male bluegill begins building a dish-shaped nest that generally is around sandy depression that is 2 – 4 inches deep and from 8 – 24 inches wide. Bluegills gather in large colonies during the spawn. In most cases, there are dozens of nests side by side in an area of 50 – 100 square feet. Bluegill spawning activities also cycle around the full moon periods. The 5 day period before and after the full moon is a great time to catch a limit of fish.
Worms and crickets are the preferred live bait. Crickets top the list as the best live bait for bluegill. Anglers can purchase worms and crickets from local Lake Okeechobee marinas.
Why Fish Okeechobee Bluegill
LakeOkeechobeeBassFishing.com is the considered the largest & busiest guide service on Okeechobee, we have three main locations on the lake and service many other locations. Okeechobee is one of the hottest fishing lakes in
Florida for largemouth bass, crappie, and bluegill. Also the most famous lake in the state for catching quality and quantity of fish. We are located directly near Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Naples, Ft Myers, Jupiter, Fort Pierce, Orlando, and Tampa. This makes the fishing on Okeechobee convenient and assessable for everyone.
When fishing Okeechobee, it is done by everyone…but only a few do it right. Our Professional Staff, with nearly 400 years of combined angling experience fishing Lake Okeechobee are second to none. Whether you fish with live bait which is one of the most popular ways for many, are prefer artificial lures which can range your next trip. No other guide service can provide you with the proven success record that we have accomplished.
No other Florida fishing guide service can supply you with the amount of information, fishing skill, fishing experience and/or history to ensure you an outstanding Florida fishing trip. Our Lake Okeechobee bluegill fishing guides will meet your expectations no matter if you are going fishing for trophies with one of our pros. Fly fishing with one of our instructors or just looking for technique lessons with one of our touring professionals. Some Guide Services talk about Customer Satisfaction – we back it with our award-winning “No Fish – No Pay Policy.