Fishing at Ross Lake, Putnam County, Florida

• Overview

  Out in Putnam County, Florida, sits Ross Lake. Everything around it is warm bottomland. It runs to roughly 91 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The bank runs about 1.3 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. For supplies, Keystone Heights is 6.1 miles out. Further out sit Interlachen (8.3 miles) and Hawthorne (9.4 miles). Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Ross Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public wildlife records from this area list bluegill, warmouth and redfin pickerel. It reflects what has been logged, which depends on who was looking. The shape of Ross Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 81°F in July and bottom out at 55°F in January. Heat, not cold, decides when to be on the water. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to be out. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. Plan around that when you fish Ross Lake. Falling water concentrates fish into the deeper parts.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Lake Rosa at 0.9 miles is the nearest alternative. The position on Ross Lake is worth confirming on the day.