Fishing at Hart Lake, Putnam County, Florida

• Overview

  Hart Lake sits in Putnam County, out in Florida. The water sits 92 feet up. This is a pocket water of some 19 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Our Putnam County list holds plenty of bigger water. You are 2.2 miles from Interlachen. The nearest city of size is Gainesville, 26 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Hart Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish reported in the area, according to open records, include bluegill, warmouth and swamp darter. Records come from public data, not from a stocking programme. On Hart Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 81°F; by January the average is down near 55°F. Nothing shuts down for cold, so the question is when in the day to go. Late winter and spring fish steadiest here. June to September is hot work, so the first and last hours are what count. Hart Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. If the gate is shut, Flamingo Lake at 0.4 miles is the nearest alternative. Ask locally about Hart Lake if anything is unclear.