Lake McCoy near Apopka: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Look for Lake McCoy in Orange County, Florida. Around the bank it is open low country. Roughly 89 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The edge runs 1.4 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. The nearest town is Apopka, 1.2 miles away. Then South Apopka, 2 miles, and Forest City, 3.6 miles. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Lake McCoy

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Open occurrence data for the surrounding area lists bluegill, largemouth bass, redbreast sunfish and spotted sunfish. Check the state or provincial list before planning around one species. Fish Lake McCoy where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 82°F, while January sits near 59°F. Warmth runs the whole year, so timing is about the hour, not the month. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. That is the shape of the year on Lake McCoy.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. A carry of half a mile from the nearest parking is the price of fishing here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lake Coroni, 0.7 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Lake McCoy are worth checking on the day.