Catfish Fishing Spots
Florida’s Top Catfish Spots and Cleaning Catfish
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Species: Channel catfish, blue catfish, flathead catfish, Bull Head
1. Escambia River (north of Pensacola)
Escambia River WMA consists of more than 34,000 acres bordering 25 miles of the Escambia River from CR 4 south to near Pensacola in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. Much of the river is bordered by floodplain forest. Water levels fluctuate considerably throughout the year, subject to rainfall amounts. Hunting is permitted in season. A boat is needed to access most of the area, but vehicle access is possible at Cotton Landing, Little Williams, Bogia Road, Mystic Springs, Bluff Springs and Salters Lake in Escambia County. Vehicle access in Santa Rosa County is available at Quintette Landing, Webb Landing, Keyser Landing, and Williams Lake. Primitive camping is permitted throughout the area and one group campsite is available at Mystic Springs with a permit from the Northwest Florida Water Management District (850-539-5999). Fishing is the major recreational draw in this area. The Escambia River has the richest assemblage of freshwater fish of any river in Florida, including numerous sportfish species ? shadow bass, warmouth, bluegill, longear sunfish, redear sunfish, spotted sunfish, spotted bass, largemouth bass, black crappie, chain pickerel, blue catfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish, and sunshine bass. Numerous boat launches are available along the Escambia River.
2. Apalachicola River (from Florida/Georgia state line at Chattahoochee, flows south to city of Apalachicola)
The Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area is part of a vast ecosystem that begins hundreds of miles away in the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia. The 86,617-acre Apalachicola River WEA contains the largest expanse of floodplain forest in Florida. The floodplain forest of the lower Apalachicola River protects, feeds, and nurtures Apalachicola Bay. One of the best ways to explore this land and water immortalized in the film Ulee’s Gold is by canoe or kayak. Here you can fish for largemouth bass, catfish, striped bass, and bream, and hunt dove, quail, squirrel, white-tailed deer, turkey, and waterfowl. Enjoy the spring and fall wildflowers, some rare, some common, and the abundant resident and migratory birds.
3. Choctawhatchee River (northwest of Panama City)
CHOCTAWHATCHEE RIVER: The Choctawhatchee River is Floridas’ third largest river system in terms of water volume discharged. Originating in the southern portion of Alabama, the river flows approximately 96 miles from the Alabama state line into Choctawhatchee Bay.
In general, anglers will enjoy the greatest success fishing when water levels are low and the river is within its banks. Nice stringers of bluegill and redear (shellcracker) are caught off the spawning beds in the spring and along river banks lined with dead falls and snags the rest of the year. Crickets and wigglers are good baits for panfishing. Many local anglers swear by the catalpa worm, which can be frozen in clear corn syrup and used throughout the year. Try fishing the mid to upper reaches of the river system for your bigger bream. Largemouth bass are commonly caught on crank baits, spinner baits and artificial worms throughout the river system. Big bass can usually be found around treetops and snags in the mid and upper reaches of the river and along the saw grass flats down by the mouth. Sunshine bass (hybrid striped bass) and striped bass fishing is excellent in the spring and fall throughout the lower end of the river. These fish are stocked annually by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Preferred baits include finger mullet, live shad and shad-like lures. The best fishing is on the out-going tide at dusk or dawn.
4. St. Johns River and Dunn’s Creek (flows north through eastern Florida over 250 miles from Indian River County to Jacksonville)
Dunns Creek WMA consists of more than 3,000 acres in eastern Putnam County, along the east side of Dunns Creek. The majority of the area is floodplain swamp and hydric hammock, with smaller upland areas of pine flatwoods and mixed forests. These communities support numerous reptiles and amphibians as well as bobcats, raccoons, white-tailed deer, and gray fox. Both migratory and resident birds are found on the area including wood ducks, swallow-tailed kites, red-shouldered hawks, barred owls, yellow-crowned night herons, woodpeckers, and warblers. Recreational activities include hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, and camping. Boating and paddling are allowed, although there is no boat ramp on the area. During hunting periods, use of the area is restricted to those with valid quota hunt permits.
5. Oklawaha River (east of Ocala)
The Gores Landing Unit of Ocklawaha River WMA consists of almost 3,000 acres along the Ocklawaha River in eastern Marion County between Gores Landing and County Road 316. Gores Landing Unit is on the Cross Florida Greenway and is managed by the Office of Greenways and Trails. This area is a link in the Cross Florida Greenway that conserves native landscapes from Palatka on the St. Johns River to Inglis near the Gulf of Mexico. The natural communities on the area are mostly hydric hammocks and flatwoods, and scrub ridges. Wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and wading birds are abundant on this area. Recreational activities include hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, horseback riding, and paddling although there are no established trails. Camping is prohibited.
6. Ochlockonee River (west of Tallahassee)
Lower Ochlockonee River – Located just west and southwest of Tallahassee, this river is shallow, narrow and scenic over most of its stretch to the gulf coast. It is noted for its redbreast sunfish and black crappie fisheries. The best fishing times occur in spring and summer when water levels are low. It is a good river to canoe and fish with abundant snags, deep water holes and sand bars. There are approximately 6 public boat ramps and numerous primitive camping sites on its stretch.
Sunfish and catfish will be your best bet during the warm weather this quarter. Fish with worms or crickets for both.
7. Suwannee/Santa Fe River (flow south from North Central Florida to ?Big Bend? area)
The Suwannee drains from the Okeefenokee Swamp through limestone shoals stretches to become a large flood plain river in the lower reaches. Drastic water level fluctuations characterize the river and keep the fishery dynamic. The Santa Fe is the major tributary, heavily influenced by springs and unlike the Suwannee, has vast areas of submerged vegetation in the middle and upper reaches. These areas harbor abundant freshwater shrimp, waterscuds and aquatic insects, thus producing excellent growth rates for fish, particularly abundant redbreast sunfish and pugnacious spotted sunfish (stumpknockers). The upper Suwannee has only tree roots and rocky shelves for fish structure. The lower Suwannee has a band of waterlilies and eventually in the tidal portion, numerous wooded and marsh-lined feeder creeks. High tide fishing is always slow with best fishing during lower tides. It is also helpful to remember that the outer bends are always deeper, sand bars are on inside curves and lilies on outer bend means the current has left the bank and panfish like to spawn here. Both Suwannee and largemouth bass occur. Large fish are not the rule and remember that all bass in the river, especially Suwannees, prefer to feed on crawfish, so crawfish-colored lures prevail.
8. Clermont Chain of Lakes (near the city of Clermont)
This 11-lake chain is located in Lake County?s rolling hills near the town of Clermont. There are two public boat ramps and one is on Lake Minneola (fee charged) north of SR 50 in Clermont. The other is a FWC ramp just north of Lake Louisa on Hull Road. Water levels are normal this year, so access should not be a problem at either ramp. For those preferring to fish from shore, there is a fishing pier on Lake Minneola. Most of the chain has tea-colored water, but Lake Minneola (1,888 acres) is relatively clear. All lakes on the Clermont Chain are Fish Management Areas, so a fishing license is required for most anglers.
Bluegill and redear sunfish (shellcracker) are biting on worms and crickets around shoreline vegetation and cypress trees. Both species will continue to spawn in these areas throughout the summer during the new and full moon phases, and fishing success peaks during these periods. Channel catfish action is good on live, dead or prepared baits in deep offshore areas of lakes Minneola, Minnehaha, and Louisa. Largemouth bass can be caught casting or trolling crankbaits in offshore areas or on plastic worms early and late in the day along grassline edges.
9. Haines Creek (near Eustis)
The largest of our catfish are the blue catfish and flathead catfish, which are found primarily in north Florida rivers. The state records for these fish are 61.5 and 48.4 pounds, respectively. Channel catfish, the same species raised throughout the south in aquaculture farms for grocery stores, and can also attain less impressive sizes. The state record channel catfish weighed 44.5 pounds, while the record for its smaller cousin, the white catfish, is 18.9 pounds.
10. Upper Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (south of Orlando)
Species: Bullhead, channel catfish, and white catfish
When: Big channel catfish experience peak spawning periods between April and June. Bullheads primarily spawn from October into November, but can spawn year-round. Moving water will concentrate catfish and make them easier to catch, so areas with flow are recommended.
Where: C-31 (East Lake Canal), C-35 (Southport Canal), C-36 (canal between Lake Cypress and Lake Hatchineha) and C-37 (canal between Lake Hatchineha and Lake Kissimmee), below the Kissimmee River structure (S-65), around mouth of and in Shingle Creek, and in the lake proper around fish attractors. Catfish are often found near drop-offs or around bottom structure in the canals.
11. Southwest Florida Lakes
Catfish angling is best during the warmer months, but these fish can be caught year-round. While fishing can be good throughout the day, catfish are usually most active in the morning and evening. Fishing at night can reward anglers with outstanding results.
How: Fish are usually best caught fishing on the bottom using a wide variety of baits from chicken liver to commercial stinkbaits. Larger catfish can be caught on small shiners and minnows fished near the bottom. In lakes and ponds managed with automatic fish feeders, catfish concentrate near these feeders and can be caught on small pieces of dog food, bread, and hot dogs. Channel catfish typically school where the bottom drops off sharply to deeper water. They usually do not hide within vegetation, but can be found along deeper, outside edges of weed beds.
