Bass fishing around Jacksonville

tcole007 · August 20, 2009, 05:47:25 PM

Hey guys...I'm planning to move to Jacksonville in a few weeks. Just wondering where the best/closest place to go to catch LM bass. Also, what bass clubs are in the North East Fl area.

Thanks in advace....TC

fishinfranklin · August 21, 2009, 05:32:19 AM

tcole007 Jax is a great place loved it when i lived there ,just i worked all the time and only got to saltwater fish a little, but theres lots of good places to bass fish around there,,look in the clubs section here on UB and you will find a club in Candem county that fishes all around that area, there club might be in the Georgia section, From reading there post them guys have a blast gettin togather to fish!! best of luck on your move!

Keithscatch · August 21, 2009, 09:11:26 AM

I lived in Jacksonville for 2 years and did not love it. To me the bass fishing was not that good. Unless you drive long distances you will be disappointed.

St. John's river is as good as it gets up there and you will have to spend allot of time on it to learn where to go. Usually a long way away from Jacksonville. However, I found Dr's Inlet the best place to fish on the river close to Jacksonville. Swimming Pen Creek in particular is a good place to fish. Big fish are not that common but 5lbers are not that uncommon. Occasionally you will land a redfish as the water is brackish. I usually stay in Swimming Pen creek as the pleasure boaters out there will make it very difficult for you to fish the main lake.

My favorite lake close by to go to was Sante Fe and it was about 75 miles away. Another good lake to visit is Lochloosa and it is 75 miles or so away also. Rodman is another good lake to visit and it is also in the 60+ miles away range.

However, once I started making the 3 hour drive down to the Stick Marsh, I knew I wanted to move closer to it so I eventually moved to Palm Bay. Ultimately moving to S. Florida where I live now. The Stick Marsh is by far the best lake I have fished in in Florida. Ansin Garcia right next to it is a close second.

Good luck and I hope you like it in Jacksonville.

gatrboy52 · August 21, 2009, 09:47:39 AM

although jax. is on the n. edge of where the action is and depends on which side of jax. your on,your not that far away from some really good bass fishin.the sjr from s. of jax.to past lake george is a hot bed for bass.it is vast so learnin it is time consuming but worth it.rodman resevoir is close enough as is kerr,santa fe,kinsley(military access only)my home lakes of sampson/rowell,lochloosa and orange have been great this yr. w/ a few over 14#.
so, with a little travel youll be on some great fishin holes.keep in touch,mike

tcole007 · August 21, 2009, 02:52:42 PM

Thanks guys!!

etommy28 · August 23, 2009, 02:26:38 PM

as far as the fishing is you will have to drive and hour or so for really good bass fishing. but with clubs there are several very good clubs i fish with a few. I would say check out St. Johns Bass angler, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country and well respected around the state. there wedsite is stjohnsbassanglers.com

92Nitro190TF · August 23, 2009, 05:14:24 PM

I just relocated from Jacksonville to VA. I was there for 10 years. I loved fishing the St. Johns River. Some AWESOME bass fishing there, just have to learn...from time on water...how the tide affects the bite.

Rodman Resevoir by Palatka...about an hour southwest of Jacksonville is a great place for BIG bass.

Doctors Lake...a part of the St. Johns River in Orange Park is a good place for bass.

I had great luck with spinnerbaits bouncing thru junk and timber. Matching the hatch was key for me in the River. I always had great luck with Rat-L-Traps and Texas Rigged worms in Rodman.

I think there is some great bass fishing in and around Jacksonville and definately some awesome fishing south and west if you are willing to drive.

tcole007 · August 24, 2009, 02:59:00 PM

Great...I'm willing to drive to catch fish. I live in MD currently and fish the Potomac and other tidal rivers quit a bit so I know how the tides work. How far north can you fish the St. John's for LM Bass?

92Nitro190TF · August 24, 2009, 04:20:18 PM

I have caught bass starting around the Ortega river branch of the St. Johns. But you will catch good bass pretty much from the Buckman Bridge (I-295) south on the St. Johns.

etommy28 · August 24, 2009, 08:05:56 PM

you can catch fish up to to the ortiga river or goodbys lake.

Keithscatch · August 26, 2009, 10:54:34 AM

tcole007, the further north you go the bass fishing drops off as the river gets quit a bit saltier. Bass prefer the least amount of salt they can find. Some do inhabit the Ortega river but not near as many as further south. So your odds are lower fishing that far north.

Doctors Inlet is as far north as I would recommend that you fish for bass. Within Dr's lake the best place to fish is swimming pen creek. Whitey's fish camp is there and they have a boat dock you can use. They do charge $3 I think on weekdays and $5 on weekends to use it. It is a no wake zone and is the best place to catch bass in Dr's lake in my opinion. My biggest bass I ever caught while living in Jax was in Swimming Pen creek and it weighed 8.1lbs. I never caught anything else near that size. Several 5lbers though. One of the reasons why swimming pen creek is good is because allot of tournaments are held out of whitey's and most of the guys run south all the way to Palatka to fish and weigh in is back at whiteys and they have a tube they release all of the fish back into the water off the end of their dock. So every week that place is replenished with nice sized bass. Plus the salinity is lowest there by far. Fish the docks and the creeks in the back.

After that you can run all the way down to the Palatka area as that is a good place to fish. Most guys run down there and fish in that part of the river with success. Green cove springs and south is good. The river gets better the further south you go.

As far as the lakes in north Florida. I have had allot of conversations with the biologists at FWC about the lakes and even they admit that they are not that good. The facts are that most of the lakes up that way have poor water quality such as low O2 that cause fish kills especially after heavy rains and or low nutrient content in the water. This causes most of the bass to be stunted. While I lived there I coined a phrase that allot of people started using and that is a Florida Special. This is a bass that is 12" in length. You will get acquainted with them as that is the majority of the size of fish you will catch. Take Kingsley lake for example. This is your best lake nearby to catch a 10lb + bass. It is on a military base and you can fish it if you go with an active military person. It is nearly perfectly round and very deep with the deepest in the 80' range. You can catch great numbers of fish there pretty easily. 30 is average. However, 99% of them will be 12" or so long. Every now and then you will hook a big fish.

FWC says the lake just doesn't have the nutrients to support a majority of bigger fish. The bait fish consists of bream and small glass minnows. No shad in the lake. Water that is clear like this often lacks essential nutrients that cause aquatic vegetation growth and thus an ample amount of bait fish to support a healthy environment. Many fish are very skinny in those lakes.

As I said there are fish to be caught in all of the lakes within an hours drive, however for bigger fish you will need to drive to central Florida and fish lakes like Toho, Kissimmee, Stick Marsh etc. You can also fight the crowds at Lake George in the spring with all of the other anglers who bed fish. There are some nice fish in there though.

People who say otherwise either have never fished in a lake where you actually have at least a slim chance at a trophy sized bass every cast as opposed to a snow balls chance ...or are just defending their home lakes and are not giving an unbiased opinion. Let's take the Stick Marsh for example. I have fished in that lake maybe in the 25-30 time range. Not a drastic amount of trips there but a decent amount of times. Not in the 100's like some. This of course is over a 2 year time frame. During those outings I have caught an 11.5lber, a 10lber, an 8lber and an 7.5lber. several 6lbers and 5lbers. In the 2 years I fished in north Florida an 8lber is my best. a couple 5lbers after that.

I am giving you my opinion as I have fished in allot of places in many states and I have no stake in any lake as it don't matter to me either way. Depending on your background and reference in fishing, north Florida will either be great, average or poor. In my opinion make the drive to central Florida and fish in those lakes and you will do better.

Just thought you would like to know.

tcole007 · August 26, 2009, 12:53:46 PM

Thanks guys for all your info. I will be sure to let you guys know how it goes once I get there.

Swede · August 26, 2009, 08:59:37 PM

The Florida Bass Federation (FLW/TBF affiliated) website has some contact info for clubs in NE Florida - here is link:

http://www.floridabassfederation.com/clubs

Same can be said for the Florida Federation Nation (BASS affiliated):

www.floridafederationnation.com

Many clubs out there to be a part of - if you have any questions - let me know. I have some contact info handy for a couple of gentlemen over that way who can help you further.