Fern Lake, Florida: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Fern Lake lies in Seminole County, Florida. The water sits 75 feet up. This is a pocket water of some 3 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Our Seminole County list holds plenty of bigger water. Supplies mean a trip to Longwood, 0.8 miles off. Orlando sits 11 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits near the edge of the county, so check which rules apply.

• Where to Fish on Fern Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open occurrence data for the surrounding area lists swamp darter, bluegill, warmouth, largemouth bass and Florida gar. It is a record of sightings and surveys, so use it as a guide. The near bank of Fern Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 82°F and January reads 59°F. There is no cold season worth the name. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Fern Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. You will be walking about half a mile from the nearest car park. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Lake Irene is 0.2 miles distant. Check the current arrangement for Fern Lake.