| In this article I am going to discuss two excellent | | | | ways. I prefer sometimes to suspend my bait |
| places in Florida to fish for Largemouth Bass. One | | | | under a bobber while allowing the boat to drift. |
| is the largest and most well known lake in the | | | | When fishing with a bobber often the indication of |
| state, the other an overlooked hotspot I have | | | | a pickup is the bobber moving to the left or right. |
| fished with great success. They each require a | | | | I like to set my hooks quickly when I have a |
| different style of fishing. One offers the best | | | | pickup. These are big bass with very tough |
| chance for landing a very large bass, the other | | | | mouths. You need to have a rod with some |
| offers a chance to catch many bass from shore. | | | | backbone to it. I recommend a medium/heavy |
| Lake Okeechobee in my opinion is hands down | | | | action rod. You also need to be firm in setting |
| the best Largemouth Bass lake in the United | | | | your hooks. Keep the hooks sharp and don't be |
| States. It is a large lake, in fact of all the lakes | | | | afraid to make a stiff hookset. |
| completely within the borders of the United | | | | Fishing with artificial baits is of course a much |
| States only Lake Michigan is larger. It is also a | | | | more sporting method of fishing. Okeechobee has |
| very shallow lake. Most of the water you will fish | | | | many weeds and is best fished with weedless or |
| is between three to six feet deep. It is a very | | | | semi-weedless lures. Spinnerbaits are an awesome |
| weedy lake and in my opinion very easy to fish. | | | | lure to use. I have caught many fish by finding a |
| If your main objective is to catch Largemouth | | | | section of the lake with water depth of 4-6 feel |
| Bass the surefire method of success is to use live | | | | with submerged weeds with 1-2 feet of the |
| shiners. You want to use "wild shiners" caught | | | | surface. I cast my spinnerbait either directly over |
| directly from the lake, they are much more | | | | the weeds or make my retrieve slower and allow |
| productive. Finding fish is not very difficult. Look | | | | the bait to glide through the tops of the weeds. |
| for weedy areas and areas that offer some kind | | | | Sometimes I will allow the lure to drop into |
| of cover. In a shallow lake like Okeechobee you | | | | pockets of the weeds. |
| can often scan an area and see where the fish | | | | You can of course fish this type of area with |
| are. | | | | other baits as well. Top water baits can offer a |
| When using live shiners generally the larger the | | | | great deal of excitement. I like to use a topwater |
| bait the larger the average fish you will catch. | | | | bait when there is little or no wind. A worm rigged |
| Sure you can catch a monster on a small shiner. | | | | weedless is another good choice. Stay away from |
| In the long run however a fisherman using eight | | | | crankbaits or traditional spinners. |
| inch long shiners will catch bigger fish than another | | | | Equipment choice is a major factor in fishing this |
| fisherman using five inch shiners. Keeping your bait | | | | lake. You often are faced with many places a |
| lively is very important. An aerated livewell puts | | | | hooked fish can wrap the line around. I prefer a |
| you at a big advantage in this regard. Pay careful | | | | rod in these situations that is pretty stiff. You are |
| attention to how you hook your shiner. Use a | | | | much less concerned in these circumstances with |
| hook that is appropriate to the size of bait you | | | | feeling bites so a sensitive rod is not a priority. |
| are using. If hooking through the lips you need to | | | | You need to be able to horse a fish around |
| be careful casting that you do not throw the bait | | | | obstructions. A medium to heavy action rod with |
| off the hook. I prefer to hook shiners through the | | | | a powerful reel is the ticket in these situations. |
| upper back. When doing this make sure not to | | | | A final suggestion for fishing Lake Okeechobee is |
| impale the fish too deeply in the body where its | | | | investing in a good pair of sunglasses. You would |
| organs are. An appropriate size hook through the | | | | be surprised at how many bass you can spot |
| shiner's upper back is the way to go. | | | | with them and subsequently target. |
| You can fish your live bait in several different | | | | |