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The following is a general description and quarterly forecast (teal-colored updates) for fishing conditions in major public water bodies in this region. For even more up-to-date information, we suggest you call or visit a local bait-and-tackle shop, fishing marina or guide service. We have provided information for some local contacts, who indicated they were willing to be listed herein. If you would like additional descriptions of these and other fishing sites listed by county, you can visit the Great Outdoors Recreation Page listing for Florida's North Central Region. Please note, however, that their site is not routinely updated to reflect current fishing conditions. Clicking the clock/thermometer above will take you to a very detailed weather site, where you can get forecasts, historic weather information, moon phase, tide charts and sunrise/sunset times. A few sites have additional links to local web pages or to topographic maps and brochures. We will continue to expand these links as they become available to us. Receive email when this page changes by clicking the icon below: ALLIGATOR LAKE (Columbia County): Alligator Lake (approximately 800 acres) is located in Columbia County near Lake City. Nearly two-thirds of the total lake surface area is within the city limits. Prior to 1997, only 338 acres were accessible to the public. Subsequently, Columbia County purchased an adjacent 987 acres with money obtained through the Preservation 2000 Communities Trust. This purchase included nearly 450 acres of former lake bottom that were diked and drained for agricultural practices in the 1950's and 1960's. Several sinkholes are located in the north and south basins of the lake which provide direct connection to the aquifer. One of these sinkholes has been responsible for frequently draining the northern lake basin. This results from increased hydraulic pressure upon sinkhole sediments as groundwater levels subside during periods of drought. During these events, the southern areas of the lake retain water, as a shallow connection exists between north and south basins.
Columbia County’s Alligator Lake Park opened in April 2002. The entrance to the
park can be found off of Old Country Club road in Lake City. A small boat launch
on the north marsh central drainage canal and walking access or boatless fishing
will provide unique angling opportunities. Note: Alligator Lake is a Fish
Management Area (license is required to fish in north and south lake basins and
north and south marshes). (Local contact: Greens Marine and Sporting Goods, Lake City 386-755-5390) A recent electrofishing survey showed a strong
sportfish population within the south basin. With water levels remaining up
throughout Alligator’s three areas, low survey results inside the northern marsh
were not surprising. The northern lobe of the lake has an overabundance of
hydrilla making for very difficult sampling and almost impossible motoring;
needless to say the fish population is correspondingly low. For this quarter,
stay in the southern basin, stick with traditional methods for panfish, bass,
and black crappie and direct your effort towards edges that are near deeper
water. HAMILTON COUNTY PHOSPHATE PITS (Eagle and Lang) (Hamilton County): Both of these lakes are Fish Management Areas (license is required to fish). Both are green and fertile and deeper than average north Florida lakes, but typically grow more fish per acre due to abundant forage. Eagle Lake (200 acres) is old and very fertile. Steep sides, a maze of narrow cuts with points and sand bars and cattails in the coves characterize the lake. No concrete boat ramps exist. Largemouth bass fishing is best in spring; bluegill, redear sunfish and brown bullhead catfish are best in the summer; black crappie and stocked sunshine bass are best in fall and winter. Eagle Lake produces the fastest sunshine bass growth in this region. Fish up to 8 pounds have been reported at only 23 months of age. Trolling motors only may be operated on Eagle Lake, although gasoline motors may be attached to the boat. Lang Lake Fish Management Area (86 acres) is a reclaimed pit, meaning all the islands and shoreline have been graded to create gradual slopes with deep water only in the center of cuts. The vegetated shelf thus created is a fertile fish factory with cypress trees, cattails and hydrilla out to about eight feet, dropping like a wall to 20 feet. An 18 inch minimum size provides quality largemouth bass fishing. Large bluegill are caught mostly in late spring through fall. Trolling motors only are allowed although gasoline motors may still be attached to the boat. A minimum size of 10 inches has been established for black crappie. For a general location map click here or for a detailed map showing fish attractors and ramps click here. (Local contact: Powell’s Bait & Tackle, White Springs 386-397-2500)
Eagle Lake: Lately this lake has
been plagued with an ever-increasing amount of submerged and/or floating
vegetation. Chemical control efforts have not been successful on the duckweed
portion of this problem, but this plant is susceptible to cold temperatures. As
for crappie fishing, a better approach might be to anchor in a lobe with fewer
weeds and target the fish close to or above the submerged naiad. One positive
note concerning the vegetation is that it grows fish and serves as an effective
refuge from cormorant predation. Hybrid striped bass like open and flowing
water, so the presence of submerged vegetation limits their free range space to
wander. A suspending jerk-bait or weedless silver spoon fished around cuts
should be fairly productive. Cut liver fished on the bottom has been a popular
method of bank anglers for catching smaller hybrids.
ANGLERS NOTE: PCS has moved entrance road to Lang Lake to Rt. 41 north
of Genoa. New brochures are available from the Lake City office. Nearby Black Creek is deep with vegetated shorelines. It is a good water body for black crappie year-round and all riverine panfish (especially redbreast and bluegill sunfish) during spring, summer and fall. Striped bass utilize Black Creek as a cool weather refuge in summer and are present here and around St. Johns River bridge pilings commonly during winter months. (Local contact: Whitey's Fish Camp 904-269-4198) The coming months are some of the best
if you want to fish for striped bass in the St. Johns River. Many of the bridge
pilings around the Jacksonville area and farther south to Green Cove Springs
provide excellent cover that attracts stripers. Fishing live bait or jigs in
deep water is a great way to find striped bass. Shallow running plugs can also
be effective when they are worked along pilings in a stop-and-start retrieve.
Black bass and bream will still be feeding and can be caught on live bait or
artificial lures. If you are fishing in Black Creek during the winter, you will
want to target the creek mouths, small holes, and vegetated areas where the fish
tend to congregate. Orange lake has an extensive aquatic vegetation community, dominated by spatterdock (lily pads) and periodically hydrilla. Shallow marsh areas are inaccessible to anglers due to the dense growth of vegetation. Bluegill, redear sunfish, black crappie and largemouth bass are generally caught in the deeper spatterdock, emergent grasses and hydrilla. Marion County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission allocated funds to establish a fishing pier at Heagy-Burry Park (southwestern part of the lake). The pier is handicap-accessible. A fish attractor is located near the pier, which provides for good fishing. For a map showing local features click here. For updated information please call: Catches of bream have been
outstanding over the last several months amongst the emergent vegetation, and
more notable has been the black crappie fishery, which has shared its success
with nearby Lochloosa Lake. As the water temperature begins to drop in the
months of January and February, black crappie will move to the shoreline edges.
Black crappie anglers should drift or troll minnows and/or jigs along vegetation
edges near Red Bird Island and along Sampson’s Point. Liver and worms are your
best baits for catfish, while grass shrimp, crickets and minnows are your best
baits for warmouth, shellcrackers and bluegill. The largemouth bass fishery is
steady, and bass anglers can currently enjoy catches of one to two pound bass
around the majority of the lake shoreline. Largemouth bass anglers should target
the perimeter of the spoil islands south of the Marjorie Rawlings boat ramp and
the islands east of Sportsman’s Cove during the spawn. Spinnerbaits, jerk worms
and plastic worms will be the top baits. An impoundment of the Withlacoochee River, as part of the original Cross Florida Barge Canal project, this large lake is full of cypress trees, hyacinth and pennywort islands and sometimes hydrilla. Abundant cover and structure grow plenty of bluegill, redear sunfish, catfish, black crappie and largemouth bass. The deeper river channel is always good to locate and fish underwater bends. The rest of the lake is referred to as the "flats" or the backwaters. (Local contacts: Big Bass Village 352-447-3474, toll free 1-877-463-4742, bigbassvillage.com; Lake Rousseau RV Park/Fishing Resort 352-795-6336, lakerousseaurvpark.com); Dunnellon Bait and Tackle (352) 465-2755' PJ’s Bait and Tackle: 352-613-0862) This time of year water clarity can go either way. Assuming that it is clear and the amount of hydrilla stays about the same through these cooler months, long casts with weedless plastics should be a good bet for largemouth bass here. Fish the overcast days or shaded sections of water when possible. Expect bass to be in 6-10 feet of water and panfish slightly shallower. For black crappie, drifting through the stump fields or at the channel edges should be productive. ST. MARY'S AND NASSAU RIVERS (Nassau County: This 125-mile river starts in the acid swamps of Okeefenokee and becomes a tidal river below US 17 north of Jacksonville. Upstream is redbreast sunfish and small largemouth bass territory. The salt marsh zone is famous for striped bass (the same is true for nearby Nassau River). (Local contacts: St. Mary's River Fish Camp 904-845-4440)
The coming months will provide excellent fishing for striped bass anglers in the
St. Mary’s and Nassau Rivers. Anglers have been very successful while fishing
around structure such as highway bridges (US 17 and I-95) and railroad trestles
on both rivers. Casting lead head jigs with a soft plastic tail around bridge
pilings is a sure way to get a bite. If you want to cover a lot of water to
locate stripers, try trolling jigs or bucktails along the steep drop-offs which
occur just off of the vegetated edge. The winter months are also a very
productive time for anglers who are interested in catching black bass. In the
upper reaches of these rivers largemouths will school together and hold in
deeper areas. A popular technique is to cast deep diving crankbaits through the
pools in river bends. Redbreast sunfish are abundant and reach good sizes in
both rivers. In the upper reaches of these rivers, anglers are very successful
drifting worms and crickets through the current along river banks. This two-lake chain near Starke provides good habitat diversity. Rowell Lake (364 acres) is upstream, has a cypress border, is shallow with a mucky bottom and usually cycles from dense to moderate hydrilla growths. Largemouth bass grow large in this fertile lake. Sampson Lake (2042 acres) is connected to Rowell by a canal. This lake has a sand bottom, several 14-foot deep holes and FWC permanent plastic fish attractors. The hard sand bottom makes wade fishing enjoyable and is one of the best places in the northeast region to enjoy flyfishing and wading (also try Ocean Pond in the Osceola National Forest, Baker County if you enjoy this sport). The entire lake is ringed by a marsh of cattails, water lilies and a band of maidencane grass. The marsh is mucky and only the outer edge holds fish except during high water. For a map showing local features click here. (Local contact: The Slab 904-964-9374). At the time of this
writing, water levels were still high enough to allow anglers to pass over the
sandbar leading into Lake Sampson. Speckled perch (crappie) are already biting
and anglers are reporting “fillet-size” specks in the one-and-a-half to
two-pound range. Anglers who know the lake have reported catches of 20+ fish.
Focusing your efforts on the deeper, open-water areas of the lake will produce
many speckled perch. Anglers might also catch an occasional sunshine bass, which
have been running in the three- to five-pound range. Bass and bream can still be
caught by fishing the vegetated areas around the edge of the lake. Access under
the railroad trestle is currently not a problem and small boats can easily reach
Lake Rowell. A habitat management project performed in early 2008 has limited
the hydrilla in Lake Rowell to scattered clumps and access throughout the lake
is significantly better than in previous years. It is possible to navigate
through the patches of Hydrilla and many anglers are taking advantage of the
current conditions. This 5850-acre lake has a "little" northern area and a "big" southern arm connected by "the pass" where shad school and fishing is usually good for schooling largemouth and stocked sunshine bass. Numerous homes surround the lake, most with docks and ski boats; fishing is always best early and late or at night and on weekdays. In spite of development, the fish habitat is outstanding with many areas of cypress and healthy maidencane grass beds. (Local contact: Chappini’s Bait & Tackle (352) 475-9496).
The speck bite on Lake Santa Fe has been very active since
early December. It is likely that this pattern will continue throughout the
winter season and carry on into March. Many anglers prefer to fish live minnows,
although small plastic tubes and jigs are also popular options. Many sections of
Lake Santa Fe exceed 15 feet in depth, so boat anglers may have to try fishing
various depths to find where specks are hanging out. Largemouth bass and bream
can still be caught by fishing the maidencane edges. Many anglers use shiners or
soft plastic lures to catch largemouths, while worms and crickets are excellent
bait for bluegill and redear sunfish. This 63-acre man-made, state-owned impoundment is filled with cypress trees and largemouth bass. It is a Fish Management Area and a license is required. Two fishing piers, one fully handicapped accessible, and several earthen fishing fingers provide boatless angling opportunities. The lake is shallow around the edge with good vegetative cover and several old sink-holes out in the trees providing deep cover. Perennial tactics, depending on the season, include pitching jigs and spinners up into "no-man's land"--the brush around the edge, shiner fishing in winter and very early spring, cranking shiner imitators between the trees, and fishing topwater lures and dark plastic worms anywhere. Good fishing for bluegill and redear sunfish occurs during spring and summer. For a map showing local features click here. Special harvest regulations are in place on Suwannee Lake. Minimum size limits of 10 inches for crappie and 18 inches for largemouth bass allow more fish to grow to desirable sizes. (Local contact: Greens Marine, Lake City 904-755-5390; Powell's Bait & Tackle, White Springs 386-397-2500)
During this quarter most fishing
emphasis will be for black crappie. Fishing mostly occurs in the deeper open
pool of the north end, but reports of crappie being caught within the standing
timber are consistent. Traditional methods consist of fishing lip hooked minnows
at different depths to locate the fish, then adjusting all hooks to maximize
number of baits available. If you feel the need to take a more active approach,
use a suspended crappie jig under a float to jig close to cypress trees.
Bluegill and redear sunfish tend to grow larger in here because of reduced
competition for food with smaller panfish. Smaller fish are eaten quickly by
abundant small largemouth bass, so try for some of these with earthworms or meal
worms. Fishing worms on the bottom allows sluggish panfish more time to
investigate your bait when water temperatures are cooler. The Suwannee drains from the Okeefenokee Swamp through limestone shoals stretches to become a large flood plain river in the lower reaches. Drastic water level fluctuations characterize the river and keep the fishery dynamic. The Santa Fe is the major tributary, heavily influenced by springs and unlike the Suwannee, has vast areas of submerged vegetation in the middle and upper reaches. These areas harbor abundant freshwater shrimp, waterscuds and aquatic insects, thus producing excellent growth rates for fish, particularly abundant redbreast sunfish and pugnacious spotted sunfish (stumpknockers). The upper Suwannee has only tree roots and rocky shelves for fish structure. The lower Suwannee has a band of waterlilies and eventually in the tidal portion, numerous wooded and marsh-lined feeder creeks. High tide fishing is always slow with best fishing during lower tides. It is also helpful to remember that the outer bends are always deeper, sand bars are on inside curves and lilies on outer bend means the current has left the bank and panfish like to spawn here. Both Suwannee and largemouth bass occur. Large fish are not the rule and remember that all bass in the river, especially Suwannees, prefer to feed on crawfish, so crawfish-colored lures prevail. (*Local upper Suwannee contacts: Suwannee River State Park 386-362-2746, Canoe Outpost 1-800-428-4147, Spirit of Suwannee Park 386-364-1683; *Local middle Suwannee and Santa Fe contacts: Sandy Point Marina 386-935-0615, Gene's Bait & Tackle, Ft. White 904-497-2248) The enacted “NO WAKE” zones from Dowling Park
downstream to the upper estuary have been lifted. Public boat ramps are available 1/4 mile east of
the intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and S.R. 200 (Hernando Pool); ¼ mile east of
City of Inverness on S.R. 470 (Inverness Pool); and on Duval Island Road off
C.R. 48, one mile east of U.S. Highway 41 (Floral City Pool). Water levels within this system are down but passable channels remain open to many of the associated smaller pools of the chain. Anglers report most of their caught largemouth bass in the 12-14 inch range. Panfish and black crappie population estimates are average to good based on recent electrofishing surveys. A small lake in the Floral City Pool, Tussock Lake, showed the strongest black crappie population of this recently conducted fieldwork. Fish were being located in 6-8 feet of water, but in Tussock Lake the edge consists of pennywort rafts and pop-up tussock fragments. In summary, the crappie are doing what comes naturally, hanging around structure in deeper water. Of the crappie shocked not one was less than ten inches. Big and Little Spivey Lakes, south of Hwy 44, showed the poorest fish population, yet yielded the largest individual bass (8 pounds) sampled. WAUBERG LAKE (Alachua County): This fertile 254-acre lake in a state park (electric trolling motors only) is famous for black crappie more than any other species. The fertile green water supports shad and a deep grass line is good to hold fish. Big largemouth bass are caught in spring, and redear sunfish and bluegill during spring and summer. There is a nice campground here for a relaxing fishing vacation. (Local contact: Tackle Box Gainesville 352/372-1791) Panfish species will seek the
overhanging woody brush along the banks in shallow water, possibly trying to
avoid predation by hungry migratory cormorants. Black crappie fishing is always
better during the winter months and jigging rubber-skirted tube baits (yellow
with white) under a float or flipping minnows close to structure is productive.
Although the catfish bite slows down during cooler temperatures, brown bullheads
will continue to feed on chicken liver or earthworms fished on the bottom.
Mid-day is the most productive time for targeting catfish this quarter. Jazz up
your earthworms by adding crushed garlic cloves to your holding container for
the added scent.
(Local contacts:
The Art of Fishing (Fly-Fishing Specialist)
Hernando 352-637-3316;
Anglers Resort Dunnellon 352-489-2397; PJ’s Bait and Tackle: 352-613-0862.
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