Best Fishing Spots in Florida

Florida is the one state where the fishing calendar runs backwards. Almost all its mapped water sits in the subtropical band, nothing freezes anywhere, and the productive season is November through March while summer is the difficult stretch. Elevation is the lowest in the country, a median of 25 metres and a maximum of 80, so there is no depth refuge from heat: when the surface climbs in July, fish have nowhere cool to go and the day shrinks to first light. Natural lakes dominate over reservoirs, which is unusual in the South, and the state also carries a substantial share of coastal and estuarine water where tides rather than temperature set the pattern. The peninsula spans two climate bands, so the panhandle and the Everglades do not fish alike. Fishbox lists 1,847 separate waters across 60 counties of Florida. Natural lakes dominate the list, followed by reservoirs. Lake Okeechobee is the widest water we hold here, about 730 sq miles. The deepest we hold a survey figure for is Lake Apopka, at about 17 feet. Climate averages across these waters run 59°F in the cold month and 82°F in the warm one. The fish recorded most often across these counties are bluegill, largemouth bass, warmouth and Florida gar....