Fishing Lake De Soto in Columbia County, Florida

• Overview

  Out in Columbia County, Florida, sits Lake De Soto. It lies 190 feet above sea level. At 24 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Compared with other Florida water on our list, it sits high. The closest town, Lake City, is 0.4 miles away. Watertown lies 1.1 miles off, Five Points another 1.2 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Lake De Soto

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Documented catches and surveys in the area cover bluegill, largemouth bass, redear sunfish, warmouth and black crappie. The list reflects reported sightings and surveys rather than what is stocked. Lake De Soto gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 81°F at the top of summer and 53°F at the bottom of winter. Cold never becomes a factor on this one. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. Anyone fishing Lake De Soto regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. A boat ramp sits half a mile away, so trailered boats can get on. There is somewhere to leave the car, half a mile off. A picnic site half a mile off makes this workable with family in tow. Toilets show in mapping about half a mile away. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lake Isabella sits 0.4 miles off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Lake De Soto in what we hold.