Fishing Lake Wood in Hillsborough County, Florida

• Overview

  Lake Wood lies in Hillsborough County, Florida. It lies 72 feet above sea level. At 19 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. For supplies, Keystone is 2.7 miles out. Tampa is the closest city, 16 miles away. Others close at hand: Lake Elizabeth roughly 0.3 miles, Lake Fern 0.4 miles off, Mound Lake roughly 0.6 miles, Lake Artillery 0.7 miles off and Crescent Lake roughly 0.9 miles. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Lake Wood

  Depth figures are not published for this one. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records collected within a few miles name largemouth bass, warmouth and bowfin. Records come from public data, not from a stocking programme. Lake Wood fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 60°F and July at about 82°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The whole calendar is open, with dawn and dusk the productive hours in summer. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer squeezes it into the edges of the day. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. At Lake Wood the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. The nearest car park we can see is half a mile out, so expect a walk with your gear. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Lake Elizabeth is 0.3 miles distant. The position on Lake Wood is worth confirming on the day.