Lochloosa Lake, Florida: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Alachua County, Florida, this is Lochloosa Lake. The surroundings are open low country. Surface area runs to some 8.5 sq miles, so a boat and a plan are both worth having. With 14 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Alachua County list. Nearest place of any size is Hawthorne, 5.5 miles away. Gainesville sits 15 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Lochloosa Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Documented catches and surveys in the area cover bluegill, redear sunfish, warmouth, black crappie and largemouth bass. Reporting is uneven, so absence from the list means little. Read Lochloosa Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 81°F at the top of summer and 55°F at the bottom of winter. Heat, not cold, shapes the year here. October and November give a second good stretch as it cools. February into May fishes hardest as the water warms. On Lochloosa Lake that shapes the whole year. Nights draw in quickly late in the season, so plan the walk back.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. The nearest alternative is Lake Jeffords, 2.9 miles out. None of that is settled for Lochloosa Lake in what we hold.