Balon's Pro Guide Service
Fishing Report

This is my new Ranger Z520 you will be fishing out of.

February 2, 2010

Hello again fishing friends! Well all I got to say is thank god its not freezing here in Florida anymore. What a crazy January. We set all kinds of records for the longest and lowest temps here in South Florida. But, as they say stick around and it will change. Today was 78 degrees and started sunny then when we finally went fishing it rained on us for 3 hours. Did we have fun you bet! Course the fish were biting so what's a little rain lol!
I will look forward to seeing all you regulars this month and if you are new to my site. Drop me a line I am not yet completely booked for February and I would love to have you.
Thanks again guys for a great and memorable January. Those memories of us freezing are butts off, using hand and feet warmers, trips to wal-mart for more clothes are priceless!

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon
cell 561-308-2083

How Awesome are these office views!!

January 5, 2010

Hello again fishing friends and Happy New Year!! This year marks my 19th year as a full time captain on Lake Okeechobee! Thank you again to everyone for a awesome 2009 I had a blast and hope everyone did as well and will be back to see me in 2010.
So that brings me to the fishing. It went from being awesome to fair right now due to an extreme cold front for south Florida. When you talk a solid week of temps in the 30's and wind chill's in the 20's that's freaking cold! Can you tell I hate it LOL!! But it is not unusual for south Florida in January and the fish will adjust eventually. I still freaking hate it though!! Boohoo I know I will hear it from some of you :)
It has been good to hear from a lot of you and I will look forward to seeing everyone real soon. If you are new to my site and interested in a fishing trip this winter give me a call for availability. This winter should be an awesome time here on Lake Okeechobee with lots of big fish having been caught already!

Thanks again everyone and enjoy the photo's and I hope we all have a great 2010

Good Fishing.....Capt.. Mike Balon
cell 561-308-2083

Last few Awesome sunrises of 2009!

December 10, 2009

Season Greetings and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Things have been great here on Okeechobee. Lots of fish being caught on artificial and shiners right now. November and December have always been some of my favorite times to fish Lake Okeechobee. I think the photo's below say it all. We are headed for a great year of Bass Fishing on Lake Okeechobee.
This coming January will mark my 19th year as a full time Captain on Lake Okeechobee! Hard to believe and yes I still don't know what I am doing! LOL!!
Seriously though, I want to thank everyone again this year who fished with me and for those who couldn't make it due to the economy. I hope this coming year continues to get better for us all and without you guys none of its possible. Its been great to hear from a lot you already for this coming season and I hope too hear from many more of you this coming year. So whether it was are first time fishing together or are 30th time. Thanks to everyone and have a great Christmas!

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon
Cell 561-308-2083

November 11, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! Sorry for the long delay in getting some of your pictures posted. Seems my hosting company of 10 years\has sold out to another company. Let me just say it has not been a good transition. Many %!%!&!%&$%^* on my part if you know what I mean. So, any ways enough of that.
Here is what has been happing on the Big O! Despite the high winds this last week we have been catching the fire out of Bass. Both on Artificial and shiners. Lake Okeechobee is in great shape right now. The water is up and the grass is everywhere. The fish are fattening up right now and should continue with this trend now that the water temps have finally come down out of the mid 80's As many of you know November and December are two of my favorite months to fish Lake Okeechobee. I think the photos say it all.
Thank you again to everyone for your patience and I really appreciated everyone's friendship and business these past couple of months. I will look forward to seeing everyone again real soon.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon
Cell: 561-308-2083

What an end to an Awesome day!

August 10, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. Pretty good here, spent some time on the beach and just recently got back from the DC area. Stepped off the plane and it was like an oven door just opened. LOL!! Florida is home though and I missed her. So, what do I do? Well go fishing of course. Okeechobee is up to almost 14ft above sea level and you can safely navigate anywhere on the lake. Okeechobee is in her normal summer pattern meaning the action is excellent in the mornings then as the sun gets higher and hotter the action slows. We did have some excellent schooling action the last couple of days! So if you are thinking of a trip on Okeechobee remember to get here early. We will be on the water by 6:15 I will look forward to hearing from you.
I want to also thank everyone again for your friendship and business since my last report. I hope to see everyone again. It was also great to hear from a lot of you planning your return trips for this fall and winter. It is looking like we are going to have an excellent time on Okeechobee this coming season. Seen everyone soon.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

P.S. If you do not see your picture. Sorry, some of my files got corrupted.

June 29, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! What an awesome June we had here on Okeechobee! The best June I would say in years! As many of you know we were in a drought again up until May. Then thankfully good ole mother nature dumped a mother load on us bringing the lake up two feet by the end of May. What this did was flood all the grass again and we could get to it by boat. It was just flat an awesome month to be on Okeechobee. The topwater action was unreal with several 10 pounders being caught. If you have never had a 5-10 pound bass crush a topwater bait. Imagine someone throwing a cinder block into the water and someone tying your line to the bed of a truck and taking off. FLAT AWESOME!!!!
Unfortunately, I did a lot of fishing by myself :) if you call that unfortunate LOL!! For those of you who did luck out and were here. Thank you again and I hope everyone had a blast I know I did. I hope too see everyone again real soon. Not sure what July will be like but if its half as good as June it will still be a blast! Give me a call.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

PS I will be posting the pictures soon. Sorry for the delay.

May 3, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! What an Awesome April and beginning of May here on Okeechobee. The catching has been awesome despite the 25-30 mph winds we had in April. What a great rough water riding boat my new Ranger Z520 is. Thank you for all the complements. As many of you know April and May are my 2 favorite months to fish Okeechobee. It was good to see all my regulars again and I hope my new customers enjoyed their trip as much as I did. I will look forward to seeing and hearing from everyone again next April. Thank you again guys.
If you are thinking of planning a fishing trip to Okeechobee this May. You wont be disappointed. I think the pictures below say in all. Please call for availability. My cell: 561-308-2083

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

April 7, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! April already! This is my favorite time to fish Lake Okeechobee and even with the usually high winds hampering are efforts a little the fishing has been Excellent. Right now we are having excellent action on both Shiners and Artificial.
Thank you again to all my regulars and new customers these past couple of weeks. I hope everyone enjoyed their trip as much as I did. Have a great spring and I will look forward to hearing from everyone again real soon.
If you are thinking of planning a trip to Lake Okeechobee this April and May you wont be disappointed. I am already booked up this week but I do have some days open starting next week and the following weeks. Give me a call for availability.

Good Fishing.....Capt. Mike Balon

I love my office views!

Check this monster out!!

March 13, 2009 Notice: Roland's has lowered their motel rooms down to 65.00 a night!

Hello again fishing friends! Lets just get right to it. The shiner fishing the last few weeks has been awesome with the weather finally warming up. We had another wave of spawners come in last week and we may have one more around the new moon later this month. Then comes my favorite time of the year. My regulars know why, but in case you are new and considering a trip. Here is why the next few weeks and months are my favorite time to catch Bass on Okeechobee. After are last spawn of the season. Which by the way are Bass have been spawning since September! Yep, that's almost 8 months of spawning! I know, hard to believe but very true. So, after the bass are done spawning and with are water slowly coming down it pulls all of those fish out of the grass and to the outside edge. This makes them way easier to catch! So, if you are planning a trip in the next few weeks it should be a great time well into May. Give me a call.
Also, thank you again to everyone these past couple of weeks for your friendship and business. I hope to see everyone again real soon. Enjoy the photo's

Good Fishing...Capt. Mike Balon

What a great start to the day! When everyone up north is freezing.

March 1, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! What a crazy winter we are having every where. Up and down with the weather has been the norm here this winter. When the weather is stable the bite has been pretty good. Even today with the cold front coming in we managed a great day on shiners. Tomorrow who knows with the forcast in the 30's! I hope the weather men are wrong as usual. One thing is for sure we don't have any snow and it will be in the 80's by Saturday. My kind of weather. If you are planning a trip this March and April I still have some days available. Thank you again to everyone these past couple of weeks for your friendship and business. I had a great time and I hope you did as well. Enjoy the photos. Oh, and for those of you who like to look at the photos and figure out where I am fishing. Good Luck! Thanks again guys I will look forward to seeing everyone again. Except for that guy (Bob) who burnt a cigarette hole in my new carpet.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

Ps No worries Eli. We didn't land a hawg after you left this year. LOL! Thanks again Eli.

February 18, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! I hope everyone is staying warm and planning their trip to Florida soon. Despite our recent cold front it was still 81 degrees today! The fishing was fair today considering the cold front. We have been having some great topwater action when the weather is stable. Shiner fishing is fair to good with all the vegetation it is tough to get the fish out. Recently Gean from Hawaii described it as fishing in giant overgrown onion field! LOL!!
I apologize for the lack of pictures this month. It seems that washing a SD card is not good! LOL!
With the economy the way it is I thank everyone again for your friendship and business. and I hope everyone enjoyed fishing out of my new Ranger Z520. What an awesome boat. I will look forward to seeing everyone again. If you are looking to plan a trip in March I still have a few days open so give me a call.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

Another Great Morning commute to work and Yes, I have an Evinrude now LOL!

January 8, 2009

Hello again fishing friends! WOW! Can you believe it, this January is my 18th year guiding on Lake Okeechobee. Seems like only yesterday that I got my start. I hope everyone has had as much fun as I have and I want to thank everyone again for your friendship and business over the years. None of it is possible with out you and I hope everyone is having and will have a great new year! Thank You!
The New Year has been excellent here so far. How can you complain about 85 and sunny out! Not to mention the fishing has steadily improved. The shiner fishing has still been fair but the artificial bite has been excellent. The fish here are spawning all over the lake and will continue well into April.
It has been great to hear from a lot of you already for this coming season and I will look forward to seeing all you real soon. If you are new to Okeechobee. I hope you will give my service a try and come experience some great bass fishing and excellent weather here in South Florida. And, to the FLW guys surfing the internet for the coming tournament just look at the pictures. I think enough said :)

Good Fishing.....Capt. Mike Balon

What a great couple of Office views to Start 2009!

December 14, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Nice and warm here after a cold front last Friday. Today was 76 degrees and an excellent time on Okeechobee. In a half day with Tilton from my home state of Ohio we boated 12 bass with two giants weighing 10 pounds even and one 7.15 or an 8 in my book! Course we all know guys that those two would weigh 14 and 10 pounds! LOL!! Thanks again Tilton. I had a blast!
Fishing has been steadily picking up on Okeechobee and I think the trend should continue. So give me a call this holiday season for some great fishing on Lake Okeechobee.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

December 7, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! Well, that didn't take long! In my last report I had stated the fishing was pretty slow. Its been a hit or miss on the bass fishing. Yesterday, the fishing was pretty decent. I had out a couple from La and we had had good day. We landed a few lost a lot. Sorry Martha I had to do it LOL!! Thanks again guys I had a great time.
I have also posted the pics from the last few trips. Sorry for the delay, I was having trouble with my reader. Enjoy the pics. The fishing should continue to improve with some stable weather and the full moon approaching on the 14th. Also, the bream fishing has been excellent which is rather unusual for this time of year and with some stable conditions that action should also continue.
I will look forward to hearing from a lot of you in the coming months and I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Good Fishing...Capt. Mike Balon

September 28, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! I hope everyone had a great summer! Let me just get right to it and say YES, it is true Lake Okeechobee is back to normal water levels. It has been exciting to once again go anywhere on the lake and have grass to fish. So long light spinning and shakey heads. Hello pool cue rods and heavy line!! It has been Awesome!!
We are still in the Dog days of summer right now but cooler weather will be right around the corner and so will the migration of big bass looking to spawn. Right now the shiner fishing is fair to good but the artificial bite has been excellent. This wknd it took 38 pounds to win the 2 day BFL tournament! I just recently returned from a Stren tournament in North Carolina where Iaconelli won in 4 days with a total of 45.06 what I am basically trying to say is the fishing here on Lake Okeechobee is going to flat be awesome this year!
I will be gone from October 7-20 competing in the last Stren tournament on the Potomac river in Maryland. After that I will be available any time for some great action on Lake Okeechobee. I will be happy to discuss your trip while I am gone and get you set up so please don't hesitate to call me any time. Thank you again to everyone for your friendship and business. I will look forward to seeing and hearing from everyone in the coming months. Enjoy the photos and check out all the grass in the background even the bugs have grown LOL!!!

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

Another great summer morning on Lake Okeechobee!

June 16, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! Man, its the middle of June already! Hard to believe summer starts next Saturday. The fishing on Okeechobee has been from fair to excellent this past couple of weeks. One day you ware them out, the next day you get you should of been here yesterday! LOL!! Its like my favorite saying. The fishing is always excellent! Just not the catching! LOL!
Are water is continuing to come down. We are presently at 9.3 feet above sea level. What does this mean? Well, Saturday I finally started catching them pretty good where they were last year. We went through 5 dozen shiners by 1! Not a bad day. We even managed a beautiful 8.12 hawg! Thanks Ben!
With the summer heat most of are action will be in the morning hours. SO, if you would like some excellent early morning action give me a call and remember you should of been here yesterday!! LOL!!
I want to thank everyone again this past couple of weeks for your friendship and business. I had a blast even on the slow days and I hope everyone did as well. Thank you and have a great summer. I will look forward to seeing everyone again. Enjoy the photos.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

May 1, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! I hope everyone is having a great spring and thank you again to everyone these past couple of weeks. It was awesome even with that freakish cold front that hit during the middle of April. It slowed are numbers down from 25-40 to 20-25 a day. That was tough huh :) Everyone got a kick out of all the cloths I had on. It sure didn't feel like Florida there for awhile. But, as they say that was then and this is now. The fishing has remained excellent and should continue well into the summer. We are catching good numbers on Artificial and shiners. I hope to hear from a lot of you in the coming months.
As I have mentioned in the last couple of reports Lake Okeechobee is low but is holding at 10.3 What does this mean? Well, nothing really for us here in Clewiston we have over 30 miles of fishable water and access to the main lake when the wind is not blowing. So if you are still on the fence about coming to Okeechobee. Don't let the low water stop you. We will have an excellent time and catch a lot of fish. My prices have also remained the same. Even with gas at 3.73 a gallon and Diesel 4.33 OUCH! Who would of ever thought. To bad my boat wont run on $#!+ cause lord knows are government sure has enough of it! LOL!!!
Thank you again guys for your friendship and business and I hope too hear from everyone again. Enjoy the photo's

Good Fishing...Capt. Mike Balon

Another couple of great office views.

April 13, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! Lets just get right to it. What an awesome time we are having this April. As many of you know April and May are my two favorite months to fish Okeechobee. The photos below say it all. Not only are we catching the numbers we are also landing some beautiful Hawgs!! Thank you again to everyone for your friendship and business the past couple of weeks! It was flat awesome and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did! With everything going on in the world right now none of this would be possible with out you guys. Enjoy the photo's
That brings me to the condition of Lake Okeechobee. Since I last wrote the lake has come up over 6 inches. Yes, it is still low but this has in no way slowed the action on Lake Okeechobee. We are still catching just as many bass if not more than we ever have. So if you are on the fence about coming to Lake Okeechobee for some bass fishing please don't let the low water scare you. My prices have also remained the same as last year. I am sure eventually we will have to go up like everything else but for right now we will remain the same through the summer. Give me a call for some Excellent fishing this April and May. As of right now I do not personally have a full day open until Wednesday, April 23 Please call or email me for availability. I will look forward to hearing from you.

Good Fishing.....Capt. Mike Balon

It flat just doesn't get any better than this!

March 29, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! Wow! April's here already, what an awesome March this year. Thank you to everyone this past month. It was awesome and I had a blast. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Enjoy the photos and I will look forward to seeing you all again very soon.
So, that brings me to the state of Lake Okeechobee for April and as many of you know April and May are my two favorite months to fish Lake Okeechobee. Right now the water level is holding steady at 10.2 and compared to last year at this time that is a foot higher. So, what does this mean? We are going to catch a lot of bass as usual in April. Right now we are averaging 25-40 bass a day! It doesn't get any better than that! So, if you are sitting on the fence about coming to Okeechobee because of water levels. Don't let that stop you. We will have an excellent time and catch a lot of bass. My prices have also remained the same as last year even though everything else is getting ridiculous! Gas at 4.07 a gallon! Who would of ever thought!
Give me a call this April for some great action.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

What an awesome start to a Morning!!!

This guy was a foot away from the boat waiting on Bob to miss another bass and kill one more shiner! Sorry Bob I had to do it. LOL!!

March 16, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! I hope everyone is gearing up for an excellent second half of March. It has been an Awesome winter here on Okeechobee. Most days we are averaging 25-40 bass!! I look for this action to continue well into the Summer. If you are thinking of planning a trip to Okeechobee you won't be disappointed.
Thank you again to everyone for your friendship and business the last two weeks. I had a blast. Enjoy the photo's.

Good Fishing...Capt. Mike Balon

Another awesome Lake Okeechobee sunrise!

March 1, 2008

Hello Again fishing friends! I hope everyone is planning their trips to Florida in the next few months as the weather is warm and the fishing is just flat AWESOME! Even with the cold snap we had recently the fishing was excellent! For the last 3 days I have had a long time customer and friend Stan Kulow from Iowa. We lost count on the numbers but we did manage some HAWGS!! Check out the photos below.
I think enough said!!!

Thank you again to everyone this February for your friendship and business it was an awesome time and I will look forward to seeing all of you again.

Good Fishing...Capt. Mike Balon

The Bass aren't the only things biting! LOL!!

What an Awesome office view :)

February 1, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! Wow! February already, I had a No Show today so I wanted to get my report updated for everyone. Looks like winter is in full affect as I sit here in shorts the sun is shining and at 8:30am it's already 76 out. I bet you guys cant say that! Looks like freezing rain and snow everywhere but here. So give me a call the fishing has been Awesome and the weather has been even better. This is when I really love my job and Florida (except for the NO Show)
I will keep this pretty short and let the pictures speak for themselves. Thank you again to everyone this past month for your friendship and business. I will look forward to seeing everyone again.

Good Fishing...Capt. Mike Balon

A great start to 2008

January 9, 2008

Hello again fishing friends! Wow! Can you believe its 2008? This year makes my 17th year as a guide on Lake Okeechobee out of Roland Martin's. Seems like only yesterday when I started this adventure. I wanted to thank everyone again for your friendship and business in 2007. It was an awesome year and I hope 2008 is just as good. THANK YOU!!!

So, lets get to the fishing and the condition of Lake Okeechobee. We are just coming off one mother of a cold front. It took are water temp down from 74 to 52 degrees! OUCH! To say things got slow on Okeechobee was an understatement. We went from catching 30-40 bass a day to 12! Not a bad day by any means but this is Okeechobee and I am spoiled :)
The good news is we are warming up fast and the fish are starting to be on the move again. That brings me to the # 1 question about Okeechobee. What's the water level? Well, as many of you have heard she is low. We are presently at 10.2 ft above sea level. What does that mean for the fishing? Nothing really except we will again not be fishing the grass that everyone is accustom to.
If you are planning a trip to Okeechobee you will not be disappointed in the action. Just remember we will not be running through the grass as in years past.
I will look forward to hearing from a lot of you in the coming months and remember when you are shoveling snow or pointing that magic little button on your keys out the window to start your car because its freezing out side and for the low techies scrapping ice off your windows. Just remember its warm in Florida and the Bass are Biting!!! Just for the record it was 79 today!! Sorry I had to do it :)

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon

December 11, 2007

Hello again fishing friends! Can you believe its almost 2008! Were did the year go? I hope everyone is enjoying this Holiday season. I know I am. The fishing on Okeechobee has been excellent! The big girls have been on the prowl with the water finally cooling down and the weather remaining stable. While we are not catching 50 a day like in years past we are still getting 20-30 bass a day! The last two days have produced 3 over 8 or 3 over 10 by some guides scales! :) You know who you are and stop trying to find where I am fishing by these pictures!
So, any way guys despite all the bad press Okeechobee is receiving due to the low water. The fishing has defiantly not been affected. (a good example) My friend and customer Bruce from NY brought his own boat down this year and in the last 2 weeks him and his uncle caught over 300 BASS! You know, I honestly cant count that high but Bruce is a numbers guy! That is just awesome and let me tell you I was up in Bruce's neck of the woods on the Hudson river this fall and I caught NOWHERE close to those numbers! But, I still had fun!!

So, if you are thinking of planning a trip to Okeechobee. You wont be disappointed.. Give me a call or drop me an email and I will do my very best to put you on a big bass and provide a fun day out on the water. Thank you again to everyone for your return and new business and friendship this past week. I will look forward to hearing from a lot of you in the coming weeks.

Good Fishing....Capt. Mike Balon