Marine Sales and service on 441just outside of Okeechobee

Boat Docks at Okeetantie Ramp near Okeechobee

Water level is almost to 18 feet. the concrete abutment on the lower right corner is the 18 foot level. The lake was only inches from the abutment, and the lake was still rising on the 7th of October when I left

Boats that were at the docks are now on the land.

Sunken Pontoon - House boat at the Okeetantie Marina

This area is about 1 mile in from the normal bank. In the background you can see some of the stripped foliage

We saw 4 alligators while we were out. Normally the gators stick to the areas near the inside bank / marsh areas, but their normal areas are now part of the lake. This gator stuck around for quite a while.

Mobile Home in Okeechobee

This is one of the canal gates near 441 on the East Coast. This canal drains Lake Okeechobee. You can almost see the white water and current generated at the lock. Normally you could get a boat under this lock.

Head of the lock above. Current at the lock was producing good fish, and the parking lot and bank areas were full of bank fishermen.

This is a picture of some of the damage and piles of vegetation that has not been removed as of yet from the banks of the lake.
More piles of trash along the banks of the lake.
This is another picture of some of the damage to the area. This particular area was almost a mile back in what is normally a marsh. You can see some of the current being generated by wind and rising water.

Butch Butler pulling in a feisty Lake Okeechobee Bass. The increased water has opened up large areas of the lake to fishing that are normally not accessible. Fish live in these areas and are a very black color. This particular fish was pale indicating that it had migrated into the area from the main lake. We caught several fish in the 1 to 2 pound range that were very dark and normal residents of the area.
Butch feels that the larger fish will eventually move into these areas, but when the lake starts to drain instead of rise they will move back out to the deeper water.