I live in Illinois and I am heading down to the Lake Okeechobee area at the end of September. I will be staying at the KOA in Okeechobee so I will be close to that area of the lake. I have only fished the lake once before in June of 2013. I fished it twice with shiners and artificial but I caught no bass. I am hoping to find someone on here that has experience with fishing Lake Okeechobee and can give me some advice. I have considered getting a guide but I find the challenge of doing it all on my own very rewarding. If anyone can share some knowledge with me I would appreciate it.

Pardon me for asking, but if you want do it on your own, why are you here asking for help?

In my book, doing it on your own means doing it without a guide.  That means gathering all the information you can prior to getting on the water.  Welcome to the forums Knuckles.  I've never fished that lake, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there willing to help.

Exactly, asking for some guidance is fine. You never get any fish reports from anyone? If I stop at a bait shop and ask what's working that still means I am doing it on my own once I get on the water. If I get a guide then it's all going to be the guide. Not sure why you felt compelled to respond if you don't have any help to offer.