Looking for tips on fishing the St. John’s River South of Palatka in this brutal heat of the Summer. I have a tournament coming up launching out of Crescent Lake. I’m fed up with Crescent Lake. I think it might possibly be the worst lake in Florida to fish. The place is beautiful but it’s near impossible to catch bass there in the summertime. I’m thinking of running through Dunn’s Creek from Crescent and fishing the main river. I’d like to stay South of Palatka. Is it worth the run? What am I looking to fish in the area? Pads, shell bars, docks, feeder creeks? Any tips are much appreciated thanks.

Cover is a definite. Definitely give some time in the cover and along the edges of river channel, not in the lakes so much.

 

In Lake George you have a submarine spring in the SW corner, and a spring run along the western shore.

 

All Florida springs pump out 72 degree water year round. So when its hot and water is 84 degrees and climbing, fish look for air conditioning and the springs are their only relief from the heat.

 

If you can locate that submarine spring in middle of Lake George, the fish circle around it. And Silver Glen spring dumps into the lake the cooler water, so all around that spring run should be cooler water than rest of the lake. It might be more productive in cooler waters.

 

The area you are going to is further north than where I prefer which is below Lake Monroe.

 

This is significant because Lake Monroe is the dividing line between a dredged river bottom and a natural river bottom. The St. Johns river is dredged to U.S. Coast Guard commercial navigation standards from Jacksonville all the way down the river to the docks at Sanford in middle of Lake Monroe. 150 miles of dredged river bottom.

 

The river heading South out of Lake Monroe is all natural. Absolutely no dredging heading South. And that my friend is where you will find me. Way down there in central and South central Florida where the river is completely different.

 

But, what I wanted to say is that one technique that has worked well in that dark water further South on the river is bouncing things off the bottom along the side walls of natural river bottom or in the dredged out channel area where you will be fishing.

 

The river is mostly sandy bottom at least in my favorite area and current strong enough to keep it pretty clean so not a lot of bottom hangups.

 

We bounce a variety of lures off the river bottom. Its more shallow where I fish it, but anything from rubber worms, flukes, spinners, rat'l traps, spoons, jigs, etc. And on that river you will catch more than just largemouth. You might get into some sunshine bass as well.

 

Sunshine bass are created in a laboratory and the state releases millions of them competing with our largemouth for space and food. Whatever you catch largemouth on you can catch sunshine bass on as well.

 

This is one thing the state of Florida has done to "improve" fishing diversity across Florida as the government of the state of Florida seeks to turn Florida into a multi-billion dollar fishing destination. This is what our state biologists are working on like Stick Marsh, Farm 13, Headwaters, Tenoroc, and many more.

 

So if it were me, I'd be in the lily pads, in the channels off the bottom and keeping an eye out for schoolies and have a rod or 2 dedicated to quick schoolie action.

 

The lower St. Johns in summertime is some red hot bass fishing. I've posted this video before but its a great example of what that river can give ya.

 

Scott Martin said recently the St. Johns river is the state of Florida's best fishery today.

 

This young man stumbled onto these schoolie bass. Notice how in the early morning they are not very active, but as the sun comes up, the schooling activity turns on and they wear this young man out. He throws everything at them. They break a solid steel spinner. Almost a bass on every cast.

 

Don't believe that river can't produce in the summer!

 

I lived out here for 12 years and got this almost on a daily basis year after year. This type of activity happens mainly June, July, August and first couple weeks of September and then starts to taper off. I always thought it was heat driven. I never knew there was summer bass slumps. Really? Huh. Did not know that. News to me.

 

 

Adding a little more...

 

I suggest trying the river channel and side channels where they narrow for long stretches. Looking for bass corralled together. In lakes they can spread out and don't have immediate competition. But when they are trapped between narrow banks like monkeys in a barrel is when it is more in your favor.

 

Further South on the river what I have noticed is the fish that move up and down the river have to congregate at the inflow and outflow of lakes the river flows through. Baitfish and bass all have to move through these bottlenecks and tend to be good places for schooling activity. Quite often the birds can show me where the schooling bass are and give me a sense of their direction of movement so I can possibly catch up or head them off.

Neat to learn about sunshine bass. I thought they were the same thing as a wiper/hybrid striped bass. While technically alike, the difference between the sunshine and the wiper is the parents. The sunshine’s mother is a white and the father is a striped. The wiper is different. Its mother is a striped bass while the father is a white bass. The sunshine is sterile too. Interesting facts. Thanks for sharing @FloridaFishinFool

You're wecome. And I have to thank Florida biologists for teaching me about them and their other efforts to improve fishing.

 

In the following video one of my former customers captain Tom Van Horn hooks into a 9lb sunshine in Lake Harney at north end where St. Johns river outflow is. You can see white channel marker so right at mouth of river as I mentioned above.

 

In north Florida right at downtown Jax down deep around the bridges I've heard of much bigger sunshines. Like 4 times bigger. Maybe more.

 

Florida allows us to keep 20 of them daily. They are good eating fish. Nice white meat and smoke up good to. I think Tom let this one go. I probably would have kept it. Smaller ones I think taste better.

 

They sure fight hard. Never jump. Always nose down pulling like a freight train.

 

 

If you don't mind, I'd like to post some fishin' details for sunshine bass in Florida. So if lots of words and long comments are an issue, then click out now! I am giving up some of Florida's more hidden fishing secrets...

 

Years ago when I worked for a rod and reel repair shop, some of our biggest customers was the state of Florida. The shop is also a trolling motor warranty repair shop as well. So we saw a lot of state of Florida biologists.

 

I got to know some of them over the years and they told me some of their secrets about what they were up to all across the state of Florida.

 

One of the greatest things they taught me was about water quality and how important it is to fishing. And with Florida wanting to establish itself as world class fishing tourism destination, it is the biologists working here who are making it happen. The sunshine bass is just one of their projects. Some of you may be familiar with places like Stick Marsh, Farm 13, Headwaters, and Tenoroc.

 

All of these places were "created" for fishing by state of Florida biologists. Each subject has a long history and story behind it, especially our Florida phosphate mine recovery and reclamation process is amazing. I plan on getting into that one later on. One of my favorites.

 

So all across Florida, the fishing enhancements go hand in hand with water treatment projects.

 

Lake Okeechobee is presently under intense biologist activity.

 

Lake Toho was a biologist project which made it so good and now it is time to do it again!

 

Lake Apopka once had a terrible reputation for being one of the most polluted lakes in Florida. Lake O now owns that title.

 

Today in 2025 fishermen are now flocking back into Lake Apopka thanks to the biologists and their water cleanup work being done there which includes basically turning the lake into a swimming pool for cleanup operation as they build huge water pumping station to pull water out of the lake and flow it through new plant based natural water filtration system at the side of the lake where the farm polluters used to be. 

 

Lake Apopka is now back to healthy and improving thanks to biologists.

 

And it is this water quality issue that is at the root of Florida's best freshwater fishing.

 

So the state of Florida has been building "water" infrastructure around the state since the 1970's. And in 1980's it greatly increased and steadily increasing to this day. And all of that water infrastructure is now online.

 

So we as fishermen can go to state of Florida websites and go to "dashboards" where we can begin to look up the pertinent water data to our situation or where and when we choose to fish a location, we can access the water data and use it to our fishing advantage.

 

Water quality dashboard:

https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/water-quality-status-dashboard

National water dashboard:

https://dashboard.waterdata.usgs.gov/app/nwd/en/

Florida wastewater dashboard:

https://efc.sog.unc.edu/resource/florida-water-and-wastewater-rates-dashboard/

 

Many fishermen do not know that when the i-4 interstate was built, that the interstate cut through numerous watersheds and cut them off from each other. The Peace river nearly dried up. The Green swamp was suffering as was other areas.

 

So biologists got the chance to takeover an old abandoned phosphate mine called the Coronet Mine near Lakeland. After a thorough examination and study of the area, the biologists came up with a plan to use the old Coronet phosphate mine to RECONNECT more than 5 watersheds! An amazing project most have no idea about!

 

So plans were made, drawn up, and bid plans sent out and engineering firms bid on contracts and BCI was awarded the contracts to bulldoze the mines. They took once individual separate mine pits and connected them all up into a water maze of numerous lakes and counting flowing water through them using pumps and computers. There are new mine lakes coming online all the time.

 

So Florida's mine reclamation projects are well worth paying attention to!

 

But, information about Coronet mines which is today the word Coronet turned around backwards to create a new name of Tenoroc Mines wildlife management project. Another long, long story! But worth it in fishing knowledge because of what it opens up to fishermen all across Florida most do not even know about- yet.

 

Watch what a local Florida bass fisherman stumbled onto at Tenoroc mines! He tried to hide the location this video was made, but as you can see from the engineering blueprint diagrams I acquired, his secret hidden spot has been fully revealed.

 

John here tried to hide this location... the map below video blows his hidden secret spot wide open! Nice try John!

 

 

Here are just a few images the public really does not have access to, or direct access to. The only reason I have these images is because of the education the biologists gave to me over the years along with access to some of their projects of which I am a huge supporter of.

 

 

 

What you are looking at are the BCI engineering firm blueprints that go back and forth between the engineers and state of Florida biologists.

 

You are looking at the water pumping stations all across Polk county basically and nearby counties.

 

Each of those little blue and yellow dots represents junctions and pumping stations. All of the water flow data for each of these can now be found online. So you can know ahead of time what water is flowing where and in what quantity and directions of flow.

 

You are looking at decades of biologists working hard in Florida. And with the state's Trophy Catch program, you can now see where the largest Florida bass are caught. And right now in 2025, thanks to all the hard work of biologists and engineering firms who built this infrastructure and are the same ones working on Lake O, and Headwaters, and Stick Marsh, and Farm 13 and many other projects across Florida. All done for us. And most of us don't even know about it.

 

Here are the results of Florida biologists down in Polk county where large numbers of some of the biggest bass are now caught... this one is a 14 to 15 pound all natural strain Florida bass! The secrets to this success are IN the water!

 

 

 

Well, getting back to the sunshine bass and St. Johns River... This sunshine bass was released all across Florida to give bass fishermen another fish to target using the same rods, reels, and lures we already have for largemouth bass.

 

Here is a link to the state of Florida government website for locating the state's fish stocking program and locations across Florida:

 

https://gis.myfwc.com/FishStock/

 

Side note, recently a new member came in asking about where they could acquire Florida natural strain bass to stock in places outside of Florida:

 

This is the list provided by biologists:

 

https://onlinetools.sodapdf.com/document/3f0516ad-ccf9-4064-ad09-990b1aacd5ee?ref=sodapdf.com%2Fsodalite&uid=1019209&venid=web-opera&wid=7773

 

This next link is also very important fishing information for those who care...

 

For years now, more than 15 years I have been following closely the biologists stocking program. The way to use this information is simple enough... download the last 3 years of PDF reports from the state biologists.

 

In the report it tells you what fish were stocked and in what numbers and where. So about 2 to 3 years from the time of the stocking, we can go fish for them! But you gotta know what is where! And this is how you do it right here:

 

They are called "Completed Stocking Summary" reports. They are free to all. All of this is for us!

 

https://myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/stocking/

 

This next image was sent to me by a state of Florida biologist who worked on the sunshine bass stocking program.

 

 

This image holds fishing information. But can you decipher it?

 

Florida's sunshine bass is created in the laboratory using the eggs of a female white bass and the sperm of a male striped bass. Together they create the sunshine bass. A fish that is sterile and cannot reproduce in Nature (that we know of) and Florida stocks them all over Florida but in very specific chosen spots!

 

The locations are chosen based on the genetics of the fish species the sunshines are made from.

 

The stripers are a cold water fish. They prefer cooler water. So this is the first thing to put into the data bank for catching them.

 

Now ask yourself where around Florida is there cold water? And for Florida that answer can only be our natural springs.

 

So this is key to locating the sunshine bass throughout Florida. They do move around quite a bit from the stocking locations.

 

The St. Johns river has these fish by the millions swimming up and down the river and the best time to target them is in the winter time and cooler water times when they are really on the move up and down the river.

 

When the summer heat is on, these sunshines tend to congregate around the spring vents.

 

And that is what the image from the biologist shows us all.

 

We are looking at an image taken by state of Florida biologists in the field taking a look at and checking on their Florida fishing enhancement project.

 

One biologist is as far down into the spring vent as he can go and looking up to water surface snaps this image of the vertical current flow of 72 degree water out of the spring vent and what do you see the fish doing? They are circling the spring vent. Kind of like you and I hanging out in front of the air conditioner on a hot day.

 

I catch these fish all up and down the St. Johns River, especially in winter and early spring when its still cool. March is a great time for sunshine bass.

 

But in the summer, look for spring vents!

 

One notable area on the St. Johns river I probably really should keep my big mouth shut on, but in Lake George on the westside of the lake is Silver Glen Springs flowing directly into the lake cool clear water.

 

You will find sunshine bass here!

 

Also in the lower SW area of Lake George (South of Palatka as requested) is a submarine spring vent in the bottom of the lake. If you know how to find this spring, then fishing success is almost guaranteed around the spring vent. Sunshine bass are there!

 

In north Florida right at downtown Jacksonville where the St. Johns river makes a right hand turn to the ocean, the river channel narrows and deepens to nearly 100 feet deep in some places. Some of the bridges there can hold large sunshine bass down deep and natural stripers as well. I have heard stories of sunshine bass or stripers being caught over 40 pounds. My buddy up north catches them around 70 pounds, but Florida is not quite there- yet. The state record from 1985 is 16.31 pounds.

 

It is long overdue to break this record! And I believe we can now do it if only bass fishermen would also consider sunshine bass too!

 

The way you can tell a sunshine bass from a striper is a quick look at the stripes. Broken lines that look like music notes are a sunshine bass. Unbroken straight lines is a natural striper.

 

 

 

 

Above a sunshine, below a natural striper. The black lines are a quick way to tell them apart.

 

Now for a fishing secret for sunshine bass I have never told online before. I think it is an amazing story.

 

Years ago when I was in the IATSE union doing stagehand work at tradeshows, I worked with a lot of Florida cracker fishermen. Lots of them. So one day during a show we had some time off and so I drove out to Leesburg, Florida to stay over with a co-worker who lived a block from the main Harris chain of lakes. He lived along the middle of the Southern shore of Harris lake. And he had a boat on the lake.

 

So during our work break he and I go fishing on Harris lake. I think I am going for largemouth. At the time I was not very familiar with sunshine bass and had never really caught any.

 

On this day my buddy and I followed the Southern shoreline west from his house. It was rough. Wind was strong and piling up on the Southern shore. Waves were rough and coming over the boat railing. Probably as high as 2 foot swells but old Ben was not going to let that stop us.

 

So he moved west and found a spring run and he turned his boat up into that spring run. We slowly made our way all the way back in there to the spring. We were the only ones there. We could look down into the crystal clear spring waters and see the fish. Hundreds. Possibly thousands of them up in that spring run.

 

So old Ben turns that boat around over top of the spring and slowly trolls back out to the main lake. He reaches over and hands me a wooden canoe paddle and tells me to start beating on the boat's hull to scare these fish. Ben was chasing them out of the spring run and out into the 84 degree warmer waters of the lake where those fish did NOT want to be.

 

So we beat on the boat hull all the way out to Harris lake, and then Ben anchors up about 100 feet from the mouth of the spring run. We are anchored up or on trolling motor with spot lock, but Ben started casting the most obnoxious looking minnow lure he had. One about 3 inches long or 4 and with a feather treble hook with flash foil mixed in. Bright, loud, and obnoxious. Got it.

 

Ben starts casting that sucker right into the mouth of the spring run to catch the fish he just chased out of there now turning around and heading back into the spring and feeding on their way back in. We caught those sunshine bass one after another right up to the legal state limit. That was 40 fish we hauled out of there on that day. All because of what Ben did in that spring run. Those fish were cleaned and cooked!

 

I post this now in hopes of sharing the fishing love! I can't keep the secrets forever. And it is a shame our biologists are not telling the world as well! The info is public but we have to go after it and dig for it. I did all because I was taught what to look for, and where to look for it. I have spent years digging for it.

 

And I can tell you that it was not professional bass fishermen who have shaped my fishing perspectives in Florida. Nope. I can say now I am shaped by state of Florida biologists. I am on their trail and fishing right behind each of their projects.

 

And I am going to provide some details of a new project underway in Florida, but I DO NOT want to share the details on where because this is one project I plan on keeping to myself for the next 5 plus years.

 

But somewhere in Florida right now are some really nice lakes that have been drying up since the 1970's. Man those land owners around those lakes have been squawking up a storm about fixing their dam lakes.

 

So the state of Florida brought in the biologists and hydrologic engineers and have devised an ingenious plan to fix those lakes!

 

Not far from the lakes is a creek that regularly floods over its banks and floods homes next to it. So all of this excess water that flows into Atlantic Ocean anyways will now be diverted to those drying up lakes.

 

Florida has just completed building a 6 tank natural plant filter system so the water pumped out of the creek will now flow across Florida about 30 miles or so underground through brand new 24 inch and 30 inch pipes. Upwards of 10 million gallons of water a day can be pumped.

 

This water will flow through those natural plant filter tanks and right into another creek that feeds the first of the lakes which will fill up and then overflow to all the other lakes in the area.

 

When this water is turned on here soon, and the water begins to rise in those lakes with wide flat sandy beaches, what happened to lake Toho years ago, will now happen in these lakes! So this project will improve bass fishing there for years to come! Bass fishing there will explode when that water is finally turned on!

 

And old FFF here plans on taking full advantage of it when it does! But this one I am keeping to myself for awhile. But is just one example of how biologists are reshaping Florida fishing for the better! Follow the biologists, not pro bass fishermen. They do not have a clue!

 

Gotta love non-Florida fishermen who rush into Florida to places like Toho all because of word of mouth reputation. They crank up their video cameras and then begin to tell the world how to fish a lake they never even been on before. Nope. Don't have a clue! Florida biologists do.

 

Just for the record, a lot of fishermen who know of Lake Toho do not know the background story on why that lake became so famous. One word: biologists. Again.

 

What they did was "fix" Lake Toho according to the science. When the lake had all but died and became clogged up with vegetation, fixing the lake was necessary.

 

So biologists came up with a plan to drain off the lake and bring in bulldozers and front end loaders and backhoe's. Once the water was drained off, they scraped the earth back to pure sand bottom and hauled off all that vegetation and decaying rotting vegetation destroying the lake. All gone.

 

The biologists stepped in and took a look at the lake's bottom contour and did not like it as found. So the biologists planned to create large wide flat bedding locations for the bass to reproduce. Sandy bottom wide flats.

 

When the water was turned back on, bass fishing exploded. But how many fishermen have you ever heard give credit to biologists and engineers for their fishing success and enjoyment?

 

Speaking of which, if any of you have read this far, please keep in mind that what I am showing you about Florida is being done in all 50 states! So each of you in your own state can begin to do the same in your area.

 

How many of you know what a BMAP is? I use them for fishing all the time.

 

Dig. Uncover what your state biologists are up to. Get to know them. Help them if you can. These are our fishing super heroes! These are the people trying to undo all the harm humanity and civilization has done to our fishing waters!

 

Learn their water secrets! Uncovering the water secrets will lead you to the best fishing you have ever known. And here in this comment I have only scratched the surface! I am planning on doing a lengthy expose of the St. Johns river and phosphate mines and other in the future.

Let us know how you did.

@FloridaFishinFool

My avatar is the Florida

"Go Fishing" license plate on my truck. Has a Largemouth and a Bluegill. The extra money that it costs, 100% of it goes to the Bass biology lab in Webster, Fl.

Our Biologists are amazing!!