Louie,
Sorry to hear about your trip. I don't know anything about lake okechobee, and I've never even fished in florida, but I've had luck with lost fishing gear by dragging big weighted treble hooks along the bottom. If you were that close to shore, you probably have a fairly good idea of where some of your stuff landed and fishing rods tend to sink relatively straight down. I know it's likely a long shot, if there's a lot of weeds and such, but if i lost a $650 rod, you bet i'd give it a shot if I could.
You could also try a local scuba diving shop. Alot of them will do recovery work. Maybe not in Lake Okechobee given the gators and whatnot, but you never know! Best of luck!
