Little Lake Johnson in Clay County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Little Lake Johnson is one of the Clay County listings for Florida. The land about it is warm bottomland. You are 5.7 miles from Keystone Heights. Gainesville sits 25 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Others close at hand: Pebble Lake after 0.3 miles, Big Lake Johnson (0.7 miles), Sheelar Lake after 1.1 miles, Devils Wash Basin (1.4 miles) and Bull Pond after 2.1 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Little Lake Johnson

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records collected within a few miles name dollar sunfish, largemouth bass, swamp darter and chain pickerel. Local agencies hold the definitive list for this water. Take Little Lake Johnson a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 54°F to 81°F. Heat, not cold, shapes the year here. October and November give a second good stretch as it cools. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. On Little Lake Johnson that shapes the whole year. As the season turns, fish follow food rather than temperature alone.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. Toilets are half a mile away, which matters on a long session. Gold Head Branch State Park covers ground next to the water; its rules will apply on that side. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. 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 Pebble Lake, 0.3 miles out. Check the position at Little Lake Johnson before loading the car.