Is it worth fishing Lake Okeechobee today?

7 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 4:44 AM–6:44 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.

What time should you fish Lake Okeechobee?

Today's major windows run 4:44 AM–6:44 AM and 5:08 PM–7:08 PM, with minor windows at 12:09 PM–1:09 PM and 11:01 PM–12:01 AM. Sunrise is 6:56 AM and sunset 7:57 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.

What is the water temperature at Lake Okeechobee?

No gauge on Lake Okeechobee measures water temperature. US reservoir gauges report height, not temperature — so rather than estimate it, this page leaves it out and leans on the windows and the pressure trend instead.

What is the water level at Lake Okeechobee right now?

10.98 ft above NGVD-29, read at 4:00 AM from the Lake Okeechobee gauge run by the USACE. Over 24 hours it is down 0.01 ft.

Can you eat the fish you catch in Lake Okeechobee?

That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. Florida Department of Health publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where most Florida freshwater fish are fine to eat, and a mercury threshold triggers the advisories you can look up by water. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.

Do you need a licence to fish Lake Okeechobee?

Yes. A Florida fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. FWC sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What size fish can you keep in Florida?

It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: red drum (redfish), spotted seatrout (speckled trout), king mackerel, hogfish. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Waters · Lakes · FL · Tue, Aug 18

How's the bite at Lake Okeechobee today? Biting — get there by six.

Worth a cast.

Built from solunar, pressure, level, wind. This water has no live gauge for every reading — see the sources below.

7/10

Biting

Today's bite windows

12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM

10Peak 9 8Strong 7 6Good 5 4Slow 3 2 1Dead

Major

4:44 AM–6:44 AM

Moon underfoot

Minor

12:09 PM–1:09 PM

Moonrise

Major

5:08 PM–7:08 PM

Moon overhead

Minor

11:01 PM–12:01 AM

Moonset

Sunrise 6:56 AM · sunset 7:57 PM · tomorrow's first major 5:31 AM–7:31 AM · windows on every water

Solunar · computed updated 5:19 AM

Conditions right now

Water level

10.98ft

-0.01 ft in 24h

USACE Lake Okeechobee updated 4:00 AM

Pressure

30.01inHg

steady · 0 hPa/12h

NOAA KOBE updated 4:55 AM

Wind

0mph N

NOAA KOBE updated 4:55 AM

Moon

36% waxing

Solunar · computed updated 5:19 AM

What this means

Largemouth bass, Crappie, Catfish

This gauge reports level but no water temperature, so depth calls stay open. Read the windows and the pressure trend instead.

Lake Okeechobee water level today

10.98 ft above NGVD-29 down 0.01 ft in 24 hours

That sits 29% of the way up the band it has held over the last 8 days, between 10.93 and 11.1 ft. Over the week it is down0.05ft.

08-10 10.93–11.10 ft 08-18

USACE Lake Okeechobee updated 4:00 AM

The week ahead

Wed	7	Biting
Thu	7	Biting
Fri	7	Biting
Sat	6	Biting
Sun	6	Biting
Mon	6	Biting
Tue	6	Biting

Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.

Lake Okeechobee boat ramps and public fishing access

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lists 25 public access points on Lake Okeechobee. These are the 8 closest to our gauge — the farthest one the agency lists sits 19 mi away.

City of Pahokee Marina and Boat Ramp 12 mi

Stand Alone Ramp · Palm Beach County

Launch lanes: 2Fee: NoRamp surface: ConcreteDock: Both Launch and Staging Dock
Canal Point Public Boat Ramp 12 mi

Stand Alone Ramp · Palm Beach County

Launch lanes: 1Fee: NoRamp surface: Concrete
Indian Prairie Canal Public Boat Ramp at State Road 78 13 mi

Stand Alone Ramp · Glades County · listed under Indian Prairie Canal Lake Okeechobee

Launch lanes: 1Fee: NoRamp surface: Concrete
Lake Okeechobee - Chancey Bay Boat Lock (S-135) Public Boat Ramp 14 mi

Stand Alone Ramp · Martin County · listed under Lake Okeechobee Rim Canal

Launch lanes: 1Fee: NoRamp surface: ConcreteDock: Launch Dock
J & S Marina 14 mi

Boat Ramp Within Marina · Martin County

Launch lanes: 4Fee: NoRamp surface: Concrete
Uncle Joe's Motel and Campground 14 mi

Stand Alone Ramp · Glades County · listed under Lake Okeechobee - Mayaka Cut

Launch lanes: 1Fee: YesFee amount: $5Ramp surface: ConcreteDock: Staging Dock
Hoover Dike Road City Ramp 14 mi

Stand Alone Ramp · Hendry County

Launch lanes: 2Fee: NoRamp surface: ConcreteDock: Both Launch and Staging Dock
Okee-Tantie Recreation Area Marina and Boat Ramp 14 mi

Boat Ramp Within Marina · Okeechobee County · listed under Lake Okeechobee - north shore

Launch lanes: 3Fee: NoRamp surface: ConcreteDock: Both Launch and Staging Dock

This inventory carries the agency's own vintage of 2009. Lanes, docks and fees can have changed since — call ahead if a detail decides your trip.

Access data from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Distances are straight-line from our gauge, not driving distance.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission · public access inventory

Before you go

A Florida fishing license covers this water — $17 a year for residents. FWC sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What it costs, and who is exempt →

Nearby waters today

7 Biting Tampa Bay FL · 201 km
5 Picky Key West FL · 284 km
7 Biting St. Marks River FL · 493 km
7 Biting Lake Somerville TX · 1578 km
9 On fire Lake Winnebago WI · 2020 km

Questions people ask about Lake Okeechobee

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Lake Okeechobee.

Is it worth fishing Lake Okeechobee today?: 7 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 4:44 AM–6:44 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.
What time should you fish Lake Okeechobee?: Today's major windows run 4:44 AM–6:44 AM and 5:08 PM–7:08 PM, with minor windows at 12:09 PM–1:09 PM and 11:01 PM–12:01 AM. Sunrise is 6:56 AM and sunset 7:57 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
What is the water temperature at Lake Okeechobee?: No gauge on Lake Okeechobee measures water temperature. US reservoir gauges report height, not temperature — so rather than estimate it, this page leaves it out and leans on the windows and the pressure trend instead.
What is the water level at Lake Okeechobee right now?: 10.98 ft above NGVD-29, read at 4:00 AM from the Lake Okeechobee gauge run by the USACE. Over 24 hours it is down 0.01 ft.
Can you eat the fish you catch in Lake Okeechobee?: That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. Florida Department of Health publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where most Florida freshwater fish are fine to eat, and a mercury threshold triggers the advisories you can look up by water. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.
FDOH fish consumption advisory
Do you need a licence to fish Lake Okeechobee?: Yes. A Florida fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. FWC sets the rules and is the one that counts.
What a Florida license costs, and who is exempt
What size fish can you keep in Florida?: It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: red drum (redfish), spotted seatrout (speckled trout), king mackerel, hogfish. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.
Red drum (redfish) limits · Spotted seatrout (speckled trout) limits · King mackerel limits · Hogfish limits · Check a length against the rules

Where these numbers come from

Solunar computed 5:19 AM
NOAA KOBE Okeechobee County Airport 4:55 AM
NOAA MFL gridded forecast 4:16 AM
USACE Lake Okeechobee SAJ:Okeechobee-8Station 4:00 AM

Okeechobee is too big for one gauge, so the Corps of Engineers averages eight of them around the lake — that eight-station figure is the number the lake is managed by, and it is the one here, measured against NGVD 29. No temperature sensor, so the depth calls stay open.

No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.