Okeechobee Bass Bonanza: Late Fall Fishing Heats Up on the Big O

What this episode covers

Good morning, anglers—Artificial Lure here with your Lake Okeechobee local fishing report for November 21, 2025. Sunrise was at 6:41 a.m. and you’ll see sunset at 5:32 p.m., giving us plenty of prime daylight. The weather’s shaping up mild with easterly winds around 5 to 10 knots and just a bit of chop on the water per the National Weather Service, so most spots should be accessible and comfortable to navigate. Water temps are cooling off, but still perfect for that late-fall bite. There’s a First Quarter moon in play, and today’s major feeding times are 5:36–7:36 a.m. and 5:56–7:56 p.m., according to FishingReminder. Lake Okeechobee’s famous bass bite is holding strong, despite some blue-green algae warnings reported by DOH-Palm Beach—so keep an eye on water color and avoid any neon-green slicks, especially with kids or pets around. Bass-wise, things have been heating up—just last week, local angler Tanner Seabolt pulled in a monstrous five-bass bag tipping the scales at 31 pounds 9 ounces in the Phoenix BFL event, including a near 9-pound kicker. Ben Harris boated a 10-pound, 4-ounce lunker, showing big fish are still on the prowl. The word around most marinas is that fish are relating to cattails, joint grass, and deeper reeds, particularly on the north and west sides. If you’re working the grass or pitching to beds, most pros have been tearing it up with classic Okeechobee soft plastics. The Gambler Fat Ace in black and blue or JB blue, and the Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in hematoma or black, fished Texas-rigged with 3/8 to 1/2-ounce tungsten, have been go-to’s. For working those sparser reeds and holes, try slower presentations like a worm or stickbait rigged weightless or with just enough brass to get it down. When you want to cover water, don’t overlook the Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in black/blue, golden shiner, or ghost baby gill. These vibrating jigs are still absolute top producers, especially if the water’s off-color from recent wind or algae blooms. Pair with trailers like a Gambler Little EZ or a Komodo. Swim jigs in black/blue or bruised green pumpkin with a soft swimbait trailer also get hawgs to bite around buggy whips and isolated grass. Early morning frog action between those tussock mats can be productive—try a Gambler Walking Frog if the lily pads are dense and bass are shy. Live shiner fishing is still delivering steady results, especially for those targeting specs (crappie) and for folks keeping younger anglers busy. Reports from recent mornings say South Bay and the Monkey Box are holding decent numbers of decent panfish and the odd bonus bass, if you bring your bucket of lively shiners. Some local hot spots to check out: - **North End cattails** near Captain Bills Fish Camp and Eagle Bay; these stretches produced the winning tournament stringers and offer consistent bed and staging action. - **West Wall** for those ChatterBait or swim jig presentations; Parker Knudsen mentioned it held big ones t This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.

PodParley-generated summary based on available episode metadata and transcript content.