Florida Fishing Regions

St. Johns River
The river from Palatka downstream to Jacksonville becomes very wide and more estuarine. While bass and crappie fishing can be good, it is not quite as productive as the more upstream areas. There is an excellent bream fishery in the springtime. This section of the river has several areas near seawalls that produce excellent striped mullet action. Other saltwater fishes such as redfish, snook, sea trout and sheepshead are frequently encountered.

Memorial Bridge in Palatka, Shands Bridge at Green Cove Springs and Buckman Bridge at Jacksonville afford good fishing for striped bass, some as large as 25 pounds. This section of the river is also noted for its tremendous shrimp runs in summer and fall. Sport shrimpers report good catches of shrimp by cast net from boats, piers, and shrimping platforms. Plenty of boat access is available at public and private ramps.

Lake Ponte Vedra
A 2,300-acre brackish water impoundment 13 miles north of St. Augustine on S.R. A1A. This man-made lake is managed as a multi-recreational area, but creation and maintenance of waterfowl habitat is the primary goal. The water control structure allows fish, shrimp and crabs to enter the reservoir with high tide, but prevents escape with low tide. The result is some of the best bank fishing for redfish, trout, flounder and croaker in the region. Crabbing and shrimping is excellent during the spring and summer months. A GFC boat ramp six miles north of the dam (appropriately named Six Mile) is available for boaters. Boats are allowed on the lake from March 1 to November 1. The maximum engine size is 10 horsepower.