Lake Seminole is a 37,500-acre reservoir located on the Florida-Georgia border. The lake boasts one of the best year-round bass fishing spots in the country, while catfish, black crappie and bream are popular catches. Plastic worms, top water lures and spinnerbaits catch bass, while bream are fooled by earthworms, crickets and artificial flies. The river can be accessed at Three Rivers State Park near Chattahoochee.
Ocheesee Pond is another popular fishing hole, where bluegill and largemouth bass are found in abundance. Try using grass shrimp or crickets for bluegill. Conventional lures and live shiners prove great for bass.
The pond surrounds marsh and swamp with two main bodies of water. The lowland upper level of the pond offers anglers an opportunity to land Red Breasted Bream. High banks surround the highland upper southern arm.
This area is mostly private, but has a public landing.
Holmes County
Black crappie, largemouth bass, catfish, bluegill and redear sunfish are found in 130-acre Lake Victor. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservations Commission (FWC) constructed Lake Victor in 1966 and opened it to fishing in 1968. It has an average depth of 8 feet and a maximum depth of 23 feet. Deepest areas are near the dam and along the old stream bed. A considerable amount of flooded timber remains, providing fish habitat.
Holmes Creek offers some of the best catfish, gar and bass fishing in
the area. Harmless freshwater eels, redhorse suckers and the rare shadow bass can be found in the year-round 68-degree waters.
Bay County
Deer Point Lake, located in Panama City, is best known for its shellcracker fishing from fall to spring. Earthworms are commonly used as live bait. Largemouth bass fishing is best in the spring to early summer and again in the fall using plastic worms and crankbaits.
St. Andrews State Park, located on the Gulf of Mexico and Grand Lagoon, offers two fishing piers and a boat ramp for anglers looking for Spanish mackerel, flounder, sea trout, cobia and dolphin.
Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf &
Liberty counties
While there are many good fishing areas along the Apalachicola River, the best areas lie in the upper river, which is influenced by discharge from Lake Seminole, and the lower river, which is influenced by Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Striped and sunshine bass can be caught using live shad, spoons and jigs. Flathead catfish bite shiners.
Known for its bream fishing, Dead Lake is located in Calhoun and Gulf counties. Cooler temperatures in the early morning and late evening provide a perfect time to fish. Lure bream using crickets and earthworms.
Escambia & Santa Rosa counties
The Escambia River is home to 85 recorded species of freshwater fish—more than any other river in Florida. Boat launches are found along the river for anglers looking for bluegill, redear sunfish, black crappie, largemouth bass and plenty more. Live shrimp and crankbaits are great for finding some of the area’s famous bass. Record-sized blue catfish taken on heavy tackle and live sunfish are found here. Large numbers of sunshine bass populate the lower end of the river.
Bear Lake is a historic 10-acre impoundment providing excellent bluegill fishery. Spring is the best time to catch bream and bass. Earthworms and crickets are the best bream bait.
Walton, Washington &
Bay counties
The Choctawhatchee River consists of more than 57,000 acres along Bay, Walton and Washington counties. The river originates in Alabama and flows 170 miles to Choctawhatchee Bay, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico at Destin. Largemouth and spotted bass, crappie, bream and catfish are found, especially during times when water level is low. Sunshine bass is stocked annually.
Okaloosa County
An earthen dam across Hurricane Creek created Hurricane Lake. It boasts large populations of panfish, largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegill. Brush and other materials have been placed in the lake to attract a multitude of fish. Live bait and cloudy days make for a good fish yield.
Timber found throughout Lake Karick, another man-made lake, provides a great habitat for fish. This is an outstanding lake for bluegill in spring and early summer. Catfish have been stocked and can be caught on earthworms and chicken livers. Bass fishing is good in the spring; best baits are artificial worms and spinner baits.
Liberty County
The Ochlockonee River is known for its fine stock of bream, perch and bass. Redfish is a common catch for anglers fishing from the banks of the Ochlockonee River, while raw chicken provides the perfect bait to catch blue crabs. Redbreast sunfish and crappie are be found along the snags and brush piles.
Pensacola
Pensacola offers offshore anglers a wealth of opportunities to catch larger game, such as blue marlin, sailfish, wahoo and tuna. Grouper, red snapper and other delicacies can be found among the area’s numerous artificial reefs. Perdido Key, Gulf Breeze and Navarre Beach are great fishing sites all within easy driving distances of Pensacola.
Fort Walton/Destin
Sailfish, white marlin, dolphin and wahoo call the waters of Destin and Fort Walton home. Up to 20 species of saltwater fish surround their waters. Large numbers of sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, white and spotted sea trout and red drum inhabit Choctawhatchee Bay.
With 10 miles of shoreline, Destin provides anglers opportunities to catch deep-sea bottom and open water fish, such as blue and white marlin, dolphin, wahoo, triggerfish and amberjack, among others.
Panama City
The gulf and bay waters surrounding Panama City Beach offer some of the finest sport fishing in the world. Anglers test their versatility by catching red fish in St. Andrews Bay or venture into the Emerald Green waters of the Gulf of Mexico for a regal
blue marlin.
Fishing along the shores of Panama City Beach yields a wide variety of fish, such as whiting, pompano, Spanish mackerel, crevalle jack, black drum and bluefish. Plenty of bays in the region provide flounder, juvenile grouper, sheepshead and more, while offshore fishermen reel in gag and red grouper, king mackerel, cobia, sailfish, black sea bass and red snapper.
St. Joseph Bay
Seagrass beds in St. Joseph Bay provide important habitat for commercially and recreationally important marine species, such as the bay scallop, blue crabs, penaeid shrimp, mullet, spotted seatrout, flounder and redfish.
St. Joseph Bay’s shallow waters provide a great place for pompano, whiting, bluefish and Spanish mackerel, which can be caught from the shore using spoons, live bait and jigs.
Apalachicola Bay
Apalachicola Bay is uniquely rich among Florida estuaries. Because of the high nutrient load, the bay is one of the prime oyster-producers in the country, and all that energy also translates through the food chain to the gamefish.
Anglers who fish on docks and bridges near sea grass flats find flounder and sheepshead. During the changing tides, until mid-October, redfish and sea trout can be found. These fish are caught using various live minnows and shrimp. Since sea trout prefer cooler weather, try using top water plugs early in the morning or late in the evening. The deeper waters of Apalachicola Bay are home to grouper, cobia and king mackerel. Hook cobia around buoys and artificial reefs using crabs and live eels as bait.
St. George Island
Surf and bay fishing may yield catches of flounder, redfish, sea trout, pompano, whiting or sometimes Spanish mackerel at St. George Island State Park. Two boat ramps provide access to Apalachee Bay, a haven for redfish, flounder, sea trout, whiting and Spanish mackerel. The island’s east pass is a great place to waylay pompano during their seasonal migration. Alligator Point offers opportunities to catch trout, redfish and black drum using shrimp or spoons.
