Fishing at Lake Monkey Business, Leon County, Florida

• Overview

  Set in Leon County, Lake Monkey Business is a Florida water. The shore lies 35 miles out. With some 39 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Shoreline comes to about 0.9 miles, small enough to learn in a day. It sits higher than most water we list in Florida. The nearest place of any size is Havana, 11 miles away. The nearest city of size is Tallahassee, 12 miles away. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Lake Monkey Business

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish reported in the area, according to open records, include Florida gar, bluegill, swamp darter and warmouth. Records show what people reported, so treat the list as a guide to what lives in the area. Lake Monkey Business repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 51°F and July at about 81°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Warm water year-round keeps fish moving through every month. The first and last hours carry the summer; the middle is slow. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. Lake Monkey Business fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. A launch point is recorded some half a mile off. Parking is not close: half a mile from the bank, and no nearer option is mapped. Fishing from a pier is possible 120 yards away. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Lower Dianne Lake, 1.1 miles out. Signs at Lake Monkey Business carry more weight than any list.