Safety on Okeechobee (Questions of course!)

Pat, Lamar, Moe... I'd like some questions answered about Okeechobee please.

1: At what point does the winds speed begin to really make the lake nasty?
15mph? 20, 25?
2: I noticed some places *on my map* where the water went to about 2', kinda
out in the middle of no-where. Is this something to worry about, or will we
be fine running on plane pretty much anywhere there is open water?
3: How many gators are there really? I mean, are they something that we'll
have to be continually aware of, or should we just ignore that possibility?
4: How deep are the rim canals and are they mainly used for boating traffic?
5: How deep is the Kissimmee River channel, and how far up is navagational?
6: Buoys?

Please fell free to add to this list, thing we really need to know.

My main concern is bottoming out on one of those shallow areas. How can I
avoid that?

--
Charles B. Summers
Secret Weapon Lures
http://www.secretweaponlures.com

1: At what point does the winds speed begin to really make the lake nasty?
15mph? 20, 25?

At 15mph the lake is fishable just about anywhere but you may see some whitecap
action and have a rough ride.

At 20 mph, open water may not be fishable. Plan on a longer ride to and from
your fishing location. Whitecaps and 2 to 3 footers in the open water.

At 25 mph, plan on fishing out of the wind. Rough water will make long runs
dangerous for smaller boats and slow larger ones to a crawl. Rollers to 5 foot
are possible.

At 30 mph, let me know how the fishing was.

2: I noticed some places *on my map* where the water went to about 2', kinda
out in the middle of no-where. Is this something to worry about, or will we
be fine running on plane pretty much anywhere there is open water?

I don't believe you will run into any 2' water Charles, unless you work your
way back into the grass areas. You need to be careful exiting the river as a
bar runs the mouth to the channel poles. The paths are clearly marked and there
are several visual landmarks for those who do not use a GPS unit.

3: How many gators are there really? I mean, are they something that we'll
have to be continually aware of, or should we just ignore that possibility?

Thousands and they love Tenn. meat. You may or may not encounter a gator.
Gators are not aggressive. Leave them alone and they will leave you alone in
most cases. Do not and I repeat, do not feed the gators. I have never had one
try to enter the boat although, I have put a couple in the boat myself. They
are protected so your best bet is to leave them alone. You may encounter
manatees too, also known as seacows. They are friendly and will play with you
at times. They too will not harm you. Also protected, so just look and enjoy.
By the way, if a manatee moves through your fishing area, move -- the fish have
lol

4: How deep are the rim canals and are they mainly used for boating traffic?

The rim canals average 18 foot in most cases with humps coming up to 6 feet in
areas. The Kissimmee River is around 22 foot deep and you can lock all the way
to Lake Kissimmee and then lock to Lake Toho in the Orlando area. It is about a
9 mile run from the launch to the first lock north. Fishing in the river and
rim canals can be excellent at times. In fact, the 2001 BASS was won in one of
the canals cranking and worming.


5: How deep is the Kissimmee River channel, and how far up is navagational?

See above.


6: Buoys?

The channels are marked with post or buoys, however there are few true channels
on Okeechobee -- see me or Lamar before you decide to make a long run. We will
point out any hazards in your flight plan.


--
The most precious thing we have is life, yet it has absolutely no
trade-in value.
Good Fishing - Moe
Moe's Guide Service (Lake Okeechobee) - http://moebassguide.com
Outdoor Frontiers http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com/index

Moe pretty much said it all. The only thing that I might add is that there are
rocks (boulders) on the edge of the rim ditch in places. Many of them are not
visible at the current water level and one should exercise care in fishing the
edges. Treat fishing the edges of the rim ditch much as you would fishing
rip-rap - just don't get too close. The rock does not present any problems
while running on plane in the rim ditch.

There are also some places out in the lake where rocks can be a problem at low
water. I have never had a problem personally but the Big O has claimed a
number of lower units. I'm not sure where all these areas are as I always have
fished the vegetation around the edges. Moe can probably be more specific
about any areas in the lake that should be avoided.
Lamar Middleton
Winter Haven, FL

Boy, a safety question from sombody who is going to play with thier
laptop while towing a boat...%}

pat

Charles Summers wrote:
Pat, Lamar, Moe... I'd like some questions answered about Okeechobee please.

1: At what point does the winds speed begin to really make the lake nasty?
15mph? 20, 25?
2: I noticed some places *on my map* where the water went to about 2', kinda
out in the middle of no-where. Is this something to worry about, or will we
be fine running on plane pretty much anywhere there is open water?
3: How many gators are there really? I mean, are they something that we'll
have to be continually aware of, or should we just ignore that possibility?
4: How deep are the rim canals and are they mainly used for boating traffic?
5: How deep is the Kissimmee River channel, and how far up is navagational?
6: Buoys?

Please fell free to add to this list, thing we really need to know.

My main concern is bottoming out on one of those shallow areas. How can I
avoid that?

--
Charles B. Summers
Secret Weapon Lures
http://www.secretweaponlures.com

Well, I gotta finish my Call of Duty game before I get there... or else I'd
be distracted from fishing!


"pat gustafson" wrote in message
...
Boy, a safety question from sombody who is going to play with thier
laptop while towing a boat...%}

pat

Charles Summers wrote:
Pat, Lamar, Moe... I'd like some questions answered about Okeechobee
please.

1: At what point does the winds speed begin to really make the lake
nasty?
15mph? 20, 25?
2: I noticed some places *on my map* where the water went to about 2',
kinda
out in the middle of no-where. Is this something to worry about, or will
we
be fine running on plane pretty much anywhere there is open water?
3: How many gators are there really? I mean, are they something that
we'll
have to be continually aware of, or should we just ignore that
possibility?
4: How deep are the rim canals and are they mainly used for boating
traffic?
5: How deep is the Kissimmee River channel, and how far up is
navagational?
6: Buoys?

Please fell free to add to this list, thing we really need to know.

My main concern is bottoming out on one of those shallow areas. How can
I
avoid that?

--
Charles B. Summers
Secret Weapon Lures
http://www.secretweaponlures.com

Geez and I'm still working on the Mafia game
"Charles Summers" wrote in message
...
Well, I gotta finish my Call of Duty game before I get there... or else
I'd
be distracted from fishing!


"pat gustafson" wrote in message
...
Boy, a safety question from sombody who is going to play with thier
laptop while towing a boat...%}

pat

Charles Summers wrote:
Pat, Lamar, Moe... I'd like some questions answered about Okeechobee
please.

1: At what point does the winds speed begin to really make the lake
nasty?
15mph? 20, 25?
2: I noticed some places *on my map* where the water went to about 2',
kinda
out in the middle of no-where. Is this something to worry about, or
will
we
be fine running on plane pretty much anywhere there is open water?
3: How many gators are there really? I mean, are they something that
we'll
have to be continually aware of, or should we just ignore that
possibility?
4: How deep are the rim canals and are they mainly used for boating
traffic?
5: How deep is the Kissimmee River channel, and how far up is
navagational?
6: Buoys?

Please fell free to add to this list, thing we really need to know.

My main concern is bottoming out on one of those shallow areas. How
can
I
avoid that?

--
Charles B. Summers
Secret Weapon Lures
http://www.secretweaponlures.com