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    Article Archives/Florida's Top Catfishing Hot Spots Revealed  

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Florida's Top Catfishing Hot Spots Revealed

USSFN:  4/22/03 - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently announced the state's top catfishing spots.  Florida plays host for a variety of these "deep fat fryers" including blue catfish, flatheads, channel cats, and its close cousin the white catfish, and even brown and yellow bullheads.  If you are a freshwater angler, you might want to check out these locations.

Escambia River:
Species:
Blue, channel and flathead catfish.
When:
Big channels mid-April through June and early October into November if the water stays warm.  Small catfish year-round, but expect them to bite slow when it is cold.
Where:
Alabama line to the I-10 Bridge.

Apalachicola River:
Species:
Channel and flathead catfish.
When:
Big channels late May into early July.  Flatheads pick up in April and run into summer months.  Small catfish pretty much year-round, but spring through summer months are best.
Where: River from Jim Woodruff Dam south, old creek channels, Lake Seminole backwaters, and around mouths of tributaries.

Choctawhatchee River:
Species:
Channel catfish and bullheads and an occasional sea catfish.  Rumor is the blue catfish has become established in the river.
When:
Big channels late May through early July and October into November if the water stays warm.  Small cats year-round, but expect them to bite slow when it is cold.
Where: Alabama line south to West Bay, and around the mouth of Holmes Creek and other tributaries.

St. Johns River and Dunn's Creek:
Species:
Bullhead, channel and white catfish.
When:
Big channels early May through June. Small catfish year-round, but best in spring and fall months.
Where:
Dunn's Creek to Lake Crescent, Murphy's Creek from the St. Johns to Dunn's Creek, and the river from Palatka to Little Lake George.  Try the hole on the north side of Buffalo Bluff Bridge, but bring plenty of hooks and weights (lots of snags).

Oklawaha River:
Species:
Bullhead, channel and white catfish.
When: Big channels May through June and in October until mid-November.  Small catfish year-round.
Where:
Rodman Dam to the St. Johns River and the west end of Rodman Reservoir to Moss Bluff lock and dam.

Ochlockonee River:
Species:
Bullhead, channel, flathead and white catfish.
When: Beginning April for flatheads, and mid-May into early summer for channels. Both channels and flatheads bite until the water turns cold in October or November.  Small catfish bite year-round but slow down in cold months.
Where: River-wide, especially in the Lake Talquin tail race area.

Suwannee/Santa Fe rivers:
Species:
Bullhead, channel, white and blue catfish
When:
Big channels late April through June.  Small catfish year-round.  Not sure about the blue catfish patterns yet, but the biggest ones so far were caught in January and February.
Where: Georgia line south to near the Gulf.

Lake Rousseau:
Species:
Bullhead, channel and white catfish.
When:
Big channels starting mid-April through June.  Fall months as the water temperature starts to drop are good too. Small catfish year-round.
Where:
Old river and creek channels in the lake proper.

Haines Creek:
Species:
Bullheads, channel and white catfish.
When:
Big channels mid-April through June and October and November as water temperatures begin to drop.  Small cats year-round, especially where there is water flow.
Where: The creek between lakes Eustis and Griffin, especially below the lock and dam.

West Lake Tohopekaliga:
Species:
Bullhead, channel and white catfish.
When:
Big channels April through June and early October into November as water temperatures drop. Small catfish year-round.
Where:
C-31 Canal, below the Kissimmee River structure, around mouth of and in Shingle Creek, and in the lake proper around fish attractors.

~
Jim
 

   

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