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.