wishing/Okeechobee

[jackhammer]

A friend of mine is fishing Okeechobee for 10 days. He's been there 5 days and is simply catching numbers and big bass on wild shiners. He said his shiner bill for now is around 400.00.

[sweetwater]

A friend of mine is fishing Okeechobee for 10 days. He's been there 5 days and is simply catching numbers and big bass on wild shiners. He said his shiner bill for now is around 400.00.

We've fished The Big Okee in winter several times. Wild shiners will cost from $10 to $25 per dozen this time of the year depending on size and availability. Bigger is better. If there are two fisherman in the boat I wouldn't dare take less than 10 dozen per trip. It's a lot of money but can you put a price tag on 35# stringers of bass? That isn't uncommon in December, January and February. A 20# stringer won't even make the cut in most of the tournaments. Yes, a lot of the tourneys allow shiner fishing. Farm raised (tame) shiners are cheaper but not nearly as good, they won't get "nervous" when something is thinking about eating them. The regulars there have a saying about wild vs tame shiners, "No fight, no bite."


If you ever buy wild shiners there make sure they've been toughened. That means they've been kept in a tank with circulating water and fed really well for several days. If they haven't not been toughened they'll die the first time you cast them. They make a pretty good flop on the water.


RollTide!!

[sweetwater]

Duhhhh "haven't not" that is what I get for using contractions.

[findincrappie]

i fished choibe for about six months. was young in my late teens. i would take bread an throw it in the canals an many shiners would come. id catch them on a small trout hook an use them at the lake it worked. however if you take a loaf of bread an a cast bet id say a fellar would get enough. however i was in buck head ridge. so find a canal an throw some break in good luck hope this saves money.

[Fishin is life]

We catch a lot of good sized minnows here and i have to wonder of theyd work. My family is looking at a winter home in that area so ive wondered if our bait would work there. We catch mainly big silver sides and suckers and the smallies around here dont seem to mind them

[sweetwater]

It would probably be easier to catch your own shiners. They are in practically every lake, pond or canal. Shiners can be netted, trapped or caught with ultra light fishing equipment. Most of the natives and guides will net their own shiners and let the tourist and tournament fisherman support the bait shops.

[Embrey]

ill use my normal artificial...did shiners ONE time. no challenge, no fun, very expensive. just would rather not even fish if i had to fish that way