Lake George, Florida, United States

Just 20 minutes northwest of Deland and 30 minutes east of Ocala sits one of the preeminent largemouth bass fishing destinations in central Florida. Lake George is Florida’s second largest lake (roughly 46,000 acres) with portions of the lake in both Putnam and Volusia counties. The lake is part of the St. Johns River system (also see Lake Monroe) and contains fairly extensive vegetation providing an exceptional habitat for a wide variety of fish.

Public access is available from Blue Creek Road to Lake George Road off of Highway 40. Private / paid launches are also available, check out our map which includes details about both the public and private launches. Pine Island Fish Camp (386-749-2818) and Georgetown Marina & Lodge (386-467-2002) are two popular private launches. Lake George is also accessible by a fishing pier located along the east side of the lake at the end of Nine Mile Point Road.

Fish Species

Largemouth Bass

The lake’s fairly extensive vegetation provides a great habitat for bass. Your best bets are around deeper structures such as the jetties at the south side of lake, old pilings found at numerous locations throughout the lake as well as docks, partially sumerged tree trunks (dead-heads) as well as other submerged obstructions. Live bait such as shiners as well as deep diving crank baits are going to be your best bets in these areas. Other options include fishing in areas of eel grass with top-water baits such as buzz baits or even plastic worms fished on the surface. In the cooler months as well as in early morning and late afternoon of warm months fishing live baits near the edges of the eelgrass beds gives you a great opportunity for success. Hot spots on the lake include the areas near Juniper Creek, Salt Springs and Silver Glen Spring Springs Run. During the cooler months of the year fishing the jetties on the south side fo the lake can also be very productive.

The lake also plays host to variety of other species including: Bluegill, Redear Sunfish, Black Crappie, Striped Bass and Brown Bullhead. Striped bass tend to move to deeper areas. Crickets are a great bait option for Bluegill; worms usually work better for Redear Sunfish.

 

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Lake Monroe, Florida, United States

Lake Monroe is a 9,406 acre lake situated just about half way between Orlando and Daytona Beach. The lake is part of the St. Johns River chain bordering both Seminole County and the city of Sanford to the south as well as Volusia county to the north.

Public access is available at the south side of the lake at the intersection of the I-4 and 17/92 in Seminole county (Lake Monroe Wayside Park) as well as the north side of the lake in Volusia county off of Lake Shore Drive (Lake Monroe Boat Ramp). Numerous private / paid launches are also available, check out our map which includes details about both the public and private launches.

Fish Species

Black Crappie
The lake is known for quality size crappie and being a popular spot during the cooler months of the years. Crappie exceeding twelves inches and two pounds are not at all uncommon. Drifting or trolling near the river channel as well as off of the northwest shore near the power plant are popular options though schools of crappie can be found nearly anywhere on the lake. During the late winter and into early spring crappie tend to more inshore for spawning and seem to prefer the bulrush under the right water conditions and if the water depth suits.

Largemouth Bass
Lake Monroe contains very sparse vegetation meaning finding offshore underwater structures such as pilings, docks and other drop-offs are keys to success in terms of finding bass. In some cases bulush may yield results but the overall probability is low.

Bluegill & Redear Sunfish
Both bluegill and redear sunfish will spawn throughout the spring months as long as they can find vegetationa and a structure sufficient to support such activity. If fishing nearshore, try to fish earlier before the sun heats up the water and the fish swim out looking for cooler, deeper locations.

 

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