Well my Wife and I are looking at driving from cold and snowy Minnesota to Florida in a few days and I was looking at the state parks in Florida. Many seem to have lakes with bass and panfish fishing. Sounds like just the thing to break the winters cold spell. So I am looking for any information on some spots for bass fishing. Which parks would be good places to camp (close proximity to good fishing)?
Thanks very much for any info,
Mike
Try Lake Manatee State Park. Will you be towing a boat?
I don’t really target bass at Lake Manatee but catch them just the same while fishing for bluegill and speckled perch.
The park is located 9 miles east of Interstate 75 off State Road 64 in Manatee County. It’s about 45 miles south of Tampa. The lake does have a 20-horsepower restrction. I kayak all over the lake.
Lake Manatee State Park: http://www.floridastateparks.org/lakemanatee/
Normally I would recommend Highlands County and our lakes but we are in a drought right now so you would probably be better off visiting Steve down in Sarasota. However, Lake Istokpoga (fifth largest lake in Florida) here in Sebring is a really good lake for LMB (Largemouth Bass) fishing and its water levels should be up to normal since it is a lake that is fed by a water source.
You might also take a look at Lake Kissimmee. They have camps around that lake and it has good Largemouth Bass fishing on it. Other lakes to look at might be Polk County lakes (they have over 500 lakes in that county). Best of luck.
Hey Mike, I don’t fish much now in FL, since I live in the cold , cold north, ( Alabama just a few miles south of Tennessee), but I do visit my sister in Ocala and get to fish in a small lake at my niece’s house. I was stationed wit the Navy in the Ocala National Forest in the early 70’s and lived on the ST. John’s River. Couldn’t ask for better fishing. I found that I could catch bass from nearly any pond or lake that I could get close enough to drop a popper into. I recommend the Ocala National Forest area. you will find lots of campgrounds there. David
Istokpoga has always been one of my favorite bass lakes. I don’t fish it often enough.
Nope, 2000 miles is a bit too far for me to tow my boat. I’ll be wading and maybe rent a kayak or canoe??? I will check on the places you guys mentioned. Thanks for the info, I tied a bunch of bass flies today. If you have any more ideas please throw them out there. Thanks
Nice! Steve!
Showing them bass pictures getting me all riled up on this subject. I would definetly rent a yak as its one of best tool to fish out of. Lots of good places to fish for bass but I don’t know if I would wade though. I will be going obver to Ocala for a day for sure.