Ocala National Forest lies between the Oklawaha and St. Johns Rivers.

Ocala National Forest Fishing Report

Hi Nick-

Sorry you couldn’t join me for the Ocala forest trip. It was great- fantastic weather, beautiful places to fish, even a (brief) encounter with a lovely young woman. And fish. Lots of fish.

I drove up there Sunday morning. I had a campsite at Juniper Springs reserved for four nights, but check-in wasn’t until three. I tried to get into north Grasshopper Lake. That Sienna ain’t exactly an ATV. I started down the access road and quickly backed right out again. The road to South Grasshopper was rough but hard, and short, and there’s actually a boat ramp there.

The lake looked fantastic. The water was clear, there was lots of vegetation, and on a beautiful Sunday morning there was only one trailer at the ramp.

My first fish was a warmouth that hit the mouse fly. Shortly a couple small bass and a bluegill followed as I explored the lake.

The guys in the other both came trolling motoring past me. They said the bite was off, probably because of Friday’s front. Well, maybe. It was pretty chilly. I wasn’t doing all that much, and had an agenda, so I loaded up and went to Farles Lake.

It looked fantastic too, and again, only one trailer. I got several bass on the fly here but they were all little ones. However, I saw several bass beds, and probably the biggest bass I’ve ever seen was on one of them. I started wishing I knew more about bass fishing.

As I was loading up the other boater came in, said he hadn’t done too well. Water temp was “only” 70 degrees. I know bass like warmer water than that- they like it warmer than tarpon do! He said ordinarily a 20 to 30 fish day was the norm here. Perhaps further investigation was needed.

At the campsite I ate nuts and berries for dinner, and watched the bats and lightning bugs come out as it grew dark. I slept well in the back of the van.

Salt Springs was my first stop the next morning. While I was getting the boat loaded up, the above-mentioned young woman approached me and asked me if I’d paddled there before. I had not, and told her so. We chatted briefly- she was waiting on a kayak rental. Our chat ended when she said, “I’ll see you out there.”

The Salt Springs Run was not at all what I signed up for. It looked like the rest of the St. Johns River- barren, herbicide-sprayed into submission. Not a blade of anything green in the water. Not one but two boat ramps.

After about 15 minutes I’d seen enough and reversed course. The young woman was paddling straight for me. She had a fishing rod!!! We chatted some more. Her name was Marissa, she lives in Jacksonville, and was looking to buy property in the area. I should have got some photos of her fishing but brain-farted on that until it was way too late…

A scene in the Alexander Springs Run.

I went to the Alexander Springs Run. At the put-in were some folks taking out. They had gotten one bass all morning, not what I wanted to hear. The river looked fantastic, thick beds of eelgrass, lots of water lilies, decent flow. I had three fish in ten minutes, all on the mouse fly. Fantastic! I rode the current downstream. The further I went, the fewer bites I got.

I reversed course and paddled up almost to the spring. Bass beds dotted the bottom. By now the wind was coming up the river hard enough that it blew me upstream against the current. I put the fly pole down and started tossing a red shad worm. It worked pretty well, although most fish were small.

More nuts and berries, bats, and lightning bugs that evening.

In the morning I went to the Lake Delancey Recreation Area.  The west campground was open, the east campground was not. But I couldn’t get access to the lake, and it looked super shallow anyway. A wild goose chase, but when you’re exploring these things happen.

I went to the Hopkins Prairie Recreation Area, checked out the lake. I thought catching fish would be possible. Got my new kayak cart out and dragged the boat down to the water’s edge. Turned out there was an almost unused boat ramp on the other side of the lake, but I get ahead of myself.

Ready to go at Hopkins Prairie.

I got a decent bass within minutes, on a Culprit worm. The water at this lake was clear but tannin stained. It looked black. You couldn’t see the bottom. I think the water had been low for a long time, and then came back up. There were all these woody dead bushes through the lake, I think they were St. Johns Wort plants.

They wind was honkin’ pretty good, but I got the fly rod out. Good choice! Started hitting fish right away. The coolest bite of the day- The bug hit the water. A few feet away the water bulged up, clearly a big fish. A moment later the bug disappeared, almost like a bluegill bite. I set the hook with authority. The fish, surprised, wallowed like a hog at the surface for a moment, and was at least five pounds.

He soon wrapped the leader around one of those little bushes, something that happened several more times that day. The hook on all my mouse flies are barbless. When the fish wraps the line, they just shake their head and the hook comes out. So it happened with this one, and several others.

Also at Hopkins Prairie.

I was bummed, but it’s fishing. I just kept trying. But next time I go up there I’ll have some bugs on barbed hooks, I’ll tell ya that!

On the way back to Juniper Springs, I checked out the access to Wildcat Lake, Yearling Lake, Sellers Lake, and Beakman Lake. I could get into all but Yearling, too old for that trek. So many fish, so little time! With a high clearance vehicle, a whole bunch of other lakes become available, too. The whole place is fantastic.

Fern Hammock Springs, at Juniper Springs Rec Area.

That evening I walked around Juniper Springs. There is some magic at that place.

The water wheel at Juniper Springs.

For my last day I went back to the place I liked the best. It took a while to get a bite, but the first fish was a solid five pounds, on a Culprit worm. I got a little one on a fly, and then nothing. And the wind came up, and made fishing way more difficult.

The power of the Senko.

I stopped to look through my tackle. I found a worm that looked like a Senko. I’d never used one but had heard good things about them. I got a fish on the first cast, and then another on the second cast. Boom!

I got another five pounder, and hooked and lost another one at least as big. The little ones were almost a pain in the butt. The power of the Senko!

I prefer to fish in saltwater, sight fishing, but with the current state of Florida’s inshore saltwater, it was awesome to find a place where the waters appear healthy and supports good fish populations. I’ll be going back up there. Hope you can make it next time!

All the best-

JK

That’s the Ocala National Forest fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.