WARNING- Long historical post. If too many words are an issue then please skip this thread. And, not one single word of this post will come from AI. This is a story about Florida's history of settlement that involves fishing development in this state since the beginning of Florida as a state.

Where to begin... I think the first thing to say would be my connection to the content of this thread because it has everything to do with it.

My family rolled into Florida in 1878 on an open mule drawn wagon. They moved into Florida from South Carolina seeking better land, better living conditions, and to find their own space in a new wide open recently conquered land. Once they rolled across the Georgia/Florida border my family chose to make their new home west of downtown Jacksonville. They received from the government their allotment of 40 free acres of land to homestead and farm and develop. So my family is considered as Florida cracker settlers. Not pioneering settlers. They were 30 or 40 years arriving too late for that addition to the title. Pioneering settlers is a different story with far more hardships to endure.

But once my family moved here and made their land claim and built their first cabin, from that very first day of arriving here they had to get to work fishing and hunting to survive until the farming was developed and adding to the dinner table. So all of my family members made an instant immediate connection to the land and water to survive. It is that connection that flows down through my generation and into the next that I shall explore some in this lengthy historical thread written to be informative to other fishermen who may not be aware of some of this and how it can still play a role in our fishing to this very day in 2026.

My grandfather on my dad's side of family was born in that homesteaded cabin in 1895. My father and his 4 brothers were born there as well. My father was born in 1926.

My father said each brother were given specific duties towards supporting the family daily. My dad and another brother really enjoyed to fish so they did most of the fishing while other brothers would do more of the hunting and all of them did farm chores.

My dad said as a boy he would carry his rifle to public school and hand it in at the office and when school let out they handed him back his rifle and he would leave school and immediately go shoot some squirrels or birds on the way home and bring some food home for the dinner table. You sure don't see this today!

My dad said his primary go to spots to fish were ponds nearby first, and then the creeks and St. Johns river as well. My family's connection to the St. Johns river goes back to their first day in Florida in 1878. And we have maintained that connection to this day. I know that river from one end to the other today, but back then they only knew the northern end of it.

Now let me take you back a little bit further in time... trying to make this as short as possible because I could turn it into a book in an hour and may do so anyways because so much to tell.

Florida was conquered by the U.S. Army beginning really actively in the 1830's when the Seminole Indians were really becoming a problem to settlers moving in. The army was sent into Florida to take care of the Indians once and for all time which they did. The turning point in those Seminole Indian wars happened on February 8, 1837 down in central Florida at what is today known as the town of Sanford. This is still very important to this day for us Florida fishermen because of some very important nautical details that are not well known and I will tell them here and now.

When the army conquered Florida, they used the St. Johns river as their method of travel into Florida's deep interior since there was no roads back then and only cow trails through the woods that even the Indians had to use as well as by water. But the army floated down the St. Johns river on steamships loaded up with guns and cannons.

The army could only float those heavy deep drafting boats into Lake Monroe at Sanford, Florida. When you leave Lake Monroe heading South on the river for the next 150 miles, the river is too shallow for those steamships to navigate. Sanford became the stopping off point for the army to drop off all their men, machines, and guns. If you look on the road maps of Florida look how highway 17-92 dead ends into Lake Monroe. Its really the other way around. That is the army's offloading spot and the road the army created to head South chasing Indians actually begins right there. Hiway 17 is the road the army made to defeat the Indians.

They built a fort there at lake Monroe called Fort Mellon named for the captain Mellon who was the only army casualty of the vicious Indian attack on the morning of Feb. 8, 1837 at that location. So they named that fort after him. And following hiway 17 South into the deep core of Florida, heading South from lake Monroe each new fort built was one man's marching distance from sun up to sundown. They had to reach the next fort before dark or get caught out in the open by the Indians. So each fort was one day's march apart. Fort Mellon in Sanford, Fort Maitland next, Fort Gatlin next that Orlando grew up around. And so on.

But for us fishermen the very important details on this we need for today revolve around critical details of boat navigation issues. Same now as it was back then. The river has not changed. But we have changed that river. The U.S. Army was behind some of the first land reshaping here on that river. It had to be dredged from Jacksonville to the docks at Sanford. 150 miles of river bottom dredging out a deep consistent channel so steamboats and commercial barges could travel up and down the river.

The St. Johns river to this day is still dredged from Jacksonville to Sanford. Dredged to U.S. Coast Guard commercial navigation standards. But as I said, leaving Lake Monroe and heading south on the river from there and it begins to get more and more shallow. And the real dividing point of that river takes place in Geneva, Florida at hiway 46 bridge and public boat ramp. You can put a bass boat into the river there and if water is high enough go either north or south. But if water is low and at normal levels, then most bass boats can put in there but only travel north on the river because heading south is wide and shallow and sandbars everywhere.

This is significant and important to us Florida fishermen like myself because we use these physical limitations to boat and fish. Since I have a small boat I now avoid the river north of Lake Monroe. Too many large boats running all over us up there. So I choose to this day to get on that river in Geneva and head South most of the time. I will go north to about as far as the old Lemon Bluff fish camp location and its not bad as most of the big boats avoid this part of the river.

From hiway 46 heading South on the river is mostly airboats and shallow drafting boats like mine. This is why when you watch professional bass fishing you will never see any of them fish the river South of Lake Monroe. The MLF Elite series uses Palatka as their base of operations to put on their tournaments. Its a totally different river way up there in Palatka than it is South of Geneva. Worlds different.

And with this type of background to that river there is another component of it leading to the topic of this thread, the creation of bass capitals.

The term "bass capital" is a selling gimmick. It is used like bait to lure in people who want to fish to go there to the bass capital and buy some land and settle down there to help create more and more economic development in Florida.

And settler families like mine who came to Florida basically followed in right behind the U.S. Army. As they chased the Indians out, the settlers moved in. Just how it was back then. And once again the St. Johns river was being used to conquer the Florida jungle and turn it into civilization. So the second wave of conquering Florida came from settlers.

They would roll into Jacksonville or come down from up north on ships to Jacksonville. They would travel down the St. Johns river and when they found a good place to stop and wanted to settle there, they carved some of the first roads into the jungle from the river. Float down river. Stop. Carve road due west or due east straight in and start building. A great example of this type of thing is the old Kingsley Plantation just South of Jacksonville. Today Kingsley Ave. is a busy road. Back then it was a single lane dirt driveway from river to plantation house. Everything came and went from the river until other roads were built connecting up settlements.

So getting to the point of this thread, some of these very early first settlements and communities built up along the St. Johns river who wanted more settlers and more commerce and more development had to come up with ways to attract rich northerners to move into Florida and invest here.

Boating and fishing and beaches were among the very first selling gimmicks they used to sell Florida. And it is from this that came the idea of a bass fishing capital. So in this thread I would like to reveal Florida's very first bass fishing capital or capitals as it is. Each community competed with the next for those rich northerners.

So by now you probably have guessed it that Florida's first bass capitals will be along the St. Johns river and closer to the starting point used to conquer Florida- Jacksonville. And its an interesting process as to how communities approached doing this.

The first attraction to Florida is Florida itself. So that was the selling point. Rivers. Springs. Lakes. Beach. Ocean. So communities had to provide provisions for what they were trying to attract here. So the first thing every community had to build was their own "local" hotel. Food, room and board had to come first. Next, was to sell them some land.

The land boom happened here around 1925 going into 1926. Every shyster known to mankind was down here trying to sell land back then, even worthless swampland. This type of thing ended in a tragic disaster with the hurricane of 1928. Thousands of people had trusted the shysters selling them land not knowing it would soon be under 12 to 15 or 20 feet of water killing thousands of people trying to live on unsuitable land. To this day they still do not know how many were killed on that day back in 1928. They never found them all. Estimates to this day begin at around 2500 dead and possibly more than 3000. Most who died were dirt poor being sold the worst land in the worst location just South of Lake Okeechobee- the natural outflow of that lake down into the river of grass the Everglades.

But that is what is behind all the dikes and water management and flooding controls being built down there to this day. Contain the water, save the land, protect the people on it. Back then they did not know any better. They sure do now!

The following images are an original 1920's land boom brochure printed to sell land at the bass capitals.

Notice below the first selling gimmicks on first page of brochure? Water and fishing. Bass fishing! The Florida largemouth bass as a specie was used to conquer Florida. First as food then as sport to this day. We still sell Florida with our bass!

But in the history of Florida the number place along the St. Johns river that received the very first title of bass capital of the world is Putnam county. There are several small towns there still making the same claim to this day. Palatka is one of them. Welaka is another, and Crescent City is the most well known. (These strange sounding names are Seminole Indian names and language)

This is the heart and soul and core of Florida bass fishing capitals at its earliest roots of development combined with today. Looking at this map you can tell the MLF Elite series picked this area for tournaments for a reason. History rolling into today.

It is interesting to note that in the above image used for 2026 is not in alignment with the historical record. This map image shows how Putnam County wants modern humans to view it to include other areas of Putnam County that were never associated historically to any "bass capitals." So on the new map above we see Palatka and Crescent City, but we do not see Welaka, and the other locations are all new additions to the title of bass capitals.

Interlachen, Ocklawaha river, Rodman reservoir, Satsuma, Pomona Park. None of these locations ever carried the title of bass capital. Only that they were within the area of the bass capitals.

What you are looking at here is the core heart and soul of where Florida bass fishing as we know it today came from. This is the place. The area of bass capitals of the world. Not just Florida. It would not be until later on moving into the 1930's and 40's when the hidden remote fish camps were built that rich northerners began flying into and out of since back then there was no roads to many of those secret fishing spots hidden deep in the Florida jungles accessible only by plane. But it all started on the St. Johns river and then moved deeper into Florida.

To try and keep this short of being a book, I'll end it here with a 1960's sales brochure for Florida's true number one "Bass Capital" in this old Florida boy's opinion. If I had to pick one spot on the Florida map to say that is our real and true bass capital, then I would choose Crescent City while others would put Welaka at the top of the list. They keep adding to the list to sell, sell, sell, but there is really only one bass capital for me... Crescent City.

To this day I will not tow my boat on interstates. I do not want to travel at those speeds. Taking Glenn's advice and keeping it slower under 65mph. So I use Florida's backroads. And my primary travel route is up and down hiway 17. The same one the army used to conquer Florida with. Everywhere I travel up and down that road I see and feel the deep echoes of our historical past from the Indians, the Spanish conquerors, the English and French, and U.S. Army, and run away slaves seeking freedom here, and even the settlers and famous rock stars who also knew these secrets of Florida's core bass fishing history and used it to our advantage for our entire lives here -while other humans pass on through and pass on by are completely oblivious to most of it. I have a much deeper connection to it all and I know a lot of the history by memory. I know the locations well.

I always get a smile when I pass by this sign:

Welcome to Florida! Now go home! Kidding.

In trying to meet forum requests for brevity and minimal word counts, I kept a lot of interesting historical details out of this post to simply cover the basics, so in succeeding comments I may add in some interesting tidbits of history directly connected to all of this core Florida bass fishing capitals 101.

One of them I will post now. Did you know the information I just posted above is not just used by MLF, B.A.S.S. and professional fishermen on where to target the St. Johns river for fishing, but do you know how many professional bass fishermen used this same information posted here to pick where they choose to live? I cannot tell you how many current and former professional bass fishermen all have houses in this area.

Two that I know of off top of my head are Terry Scroggins and Cliff Prince who both live within minutes of each other precisely located in the center of this core historical bass capital area. I see both of them often driving up and down hiway 17 passing each other on the road or at the boat ramps.

Over 100 years later and the bass capitals are STILL the bass capitals. But today fishermen have the entire state to enjoy and things are much different today.

https://www.bassmaster.com/angler/cliff-prince/

Hometown

Palatka, Florida

Years as a full-time pro angler: 14 Signature technique/strength: Versatility Home waters: St. Johns River

https://majorleaguefishing.com/anglers/terry-scroggins/

Terry Scroggins

San Mateo, FL

You can't miss this boat on the road or river!

Even Bass Pro is getting in on using it for a selling gimmick inside of their brand new store in St. Augustine Florida. But Bass Pro does not want to limit it to the heart and soul core location. Bass Pro is expanding it yet again to cover the entire state today.

https://www.jacksonville.com/picture-gallery/business/2024/11/14/bass-pro-shops-st-augustine-store-preview/76272660007/

Get to cleaning them up boys! Empty bellies are waiting for dinner!

That is Badd a.. Love the old fishing History

That was fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

That was a great read, thanks so much!

I live not to far from Crescent City, good read.

I am glad to see some members here enjoy history as much as I do.

I can tell you that when I do my historical research I search out original eyewitness accounts from Florida Memory Project and the national archives and other original sources where first hand eyewitness accounts are stored.

Many modern writers kind of make it up as they go along and modern history books tend to contain inaccurate historical representations from modern writers who simply do not do thorough research and often repeat mistakes from other history books.

I much prefer to read the words of the humans who lived it and saw it with their own eyes. Much more detailed and interesting and you get an instant feel for it and better perspective on it than reading about it in some book written by someone who was not there and writing their opinion of it 200 years later.

I skip all that and go for original source materials which I will share some more soon. Florida has a rich history and fishing is what fed all that history to happen here.

And Griver, I may be your neighbor one day soon hopefully. I am putting my Orlando house up for sale and guess where I am looking to spend my retirement and the rest of my life at? Right in the middle of the bass capitals mentioned in this thread. So I am looking at properties now in your area and may be a new neighbor soon.

I have found one that is a fixer upper no one wants to purchase because its overpriced for what it is. The location is stunning. Perfect location for me. Over an acre of wooded land on a gorgeous chain of lakes. But the 1962 house is a nightmare which is why its not selling. Solid block construction with lifetime metal roof, but inside the house has never been updated since 1970's. It still has lime green shag carpet in there from early 70's.

Its a complete strip down, even the central heat and air will have to be stripped out and replaced. Ducts as well. Possibly new septic system and water piping and well pump, and reshaping the front yard with bulldozer because house blocks water running downhill into lake and causing water intrusion into house. All has to be corrected. But I am willing to deal with fixing up the house how I want it just to get in on this awesome location and great piece of land. Will be very quiet here- for once! Except for my music.

The house could cost me anywhere from $50k to $100K to update to where I want it. But man take a look at the backyard view if I can buy it! This first image is looking out the living room window:

View from standing in backyard... the hurricane destroyed dock on this property will cost $10k to rebuild. But this land has nearly 400' wide of lake front land that would be all mine!

I'm picturing a new fire pit right out here somewhere and a hammock hanging between the trees... to enjoy the awesome sunsets and fresh clean air and best bass fishing on the planet in my backyard for once. And closest neighbor houses hundreds of feet away on both sides and private road access into this location that is part of this land's deed. Location. Location. Location. It does not get much better than this for me.

If I can swing the deal on this property, I'll be a new neighbor of yours and shopping at Winn Dixie in Crescent City as my closest grocery store.

Will be a dream come true if I can buy this one. Going to be a lot of work though but this one is worth it. I want to live in bass capital of the world too!

I do not like north Florida or Jacksonville at all. Grew up here, but I want out of here ASAP. No more Jacksonville and no more Orlando city life. Time for the country life- I hope.

I did a lot of Florida history research over the years.

I searched for a acquired many first hand accounts written by the hands of the men and women who lived that history here in Florida. I accessed U.S. Army archived records that are amazing to read.

I have acquired the diaries and journals of generals, captains, officers and from top to bottom in the army and even doctors and surgeon's handwritten accounts which can be quite disturbing.

Like one doctor's handwritten journal I read detailed the suicide of an officer at Fort Lane on Lake Harney where I lived and fished for years. Reading his words was like standing in his shoes and seeing through his eyes as he was called to a tent along the shore of Lake Harney at Fort Lane.

A young officer had killed himself inside by standing the butt of his sword on the ground and impaling himself in a way I will leave off this comment, only to say the man was suffering from a water born disease that was common back then when soldiers did not have access to clean drinking water and got sick from drinking whatever water they could get. I think this officer had typhoid fever or something that was driving him crazy and not curable back then. He left behind a wife and 3 children. Fort Lane was named for him.

Another entry in this doctor/surgeon's diary detailed horrific details of what he saw and witnessed that the Indians themselves were doing to their own children as they were fleeing Southward running from the army. Soldiers kept coming across those Indian children and the details of what is in the doctor's journal is heartbreaking. Devastating really.

I have accessed eyewitness accounts from the army, civilians, and the Indian statements of prisoners of war, and even the details of treaty negotiations and much more.

Modern history books do not contain most of this information and modern writers really don't have a clue and write a lot of nonsense and call it history like with the attack on Sanford in Feb. 1837. Not one single published account I could find matches the original sources details. Not a one. I researched that attack in depth because that was the beginning of the end for the Indians what they did then and there. Little did they know then or they maybe would have not attacked if they did.

You will not get these type of details in modern history books. Details I can't even type here.

But I do want to use this comment to bring your attention to an interesting bit of history also not found in modern history books about what was happening on those steamboats going up and down the St. Johns river that really ticked me off and it should make all of angry today, but back then they seemed to think nothing of what they were doing in terms of right or wrong.

Somewhere along the way I accessed the handwritten journal of a northern reporter who was sent to Florida to attach himself to the army and tag along to document the Seminole Indian war. This civilian traveled with the army on their steamboats loaded with soldiers and guns and whiskey.

Yep. Government supplied tax paid whiskey for the soldiers to dull their senses. The steamboats had lots of whiskey and card playing going on as they slowly moved up and down our rivers on long boring nights of trying to keep cool out on the decks because it was too hot to be inside.

The reporter documented detailed information in his journal that army officers who were bored were taking their rifles and basically shooting Florida wildlife for the sheer fun of it. Just for entertainment.

When they did not have Indians to shoot at those soldiers took aim elsewhere. And these were not just any regular soldiers either. These were the very first special ops soldiers called Dragoons. A special outfit who came into Florida to fight the Indians the same way the Indians fought them. Guerilla warfare. The history books say Florida is where some of the very first special ops guerilla warfare was learned and executed. Its amazing to read.

The very lakes we all fish here in Florida are named after either the Indians or the army officers. Lake Jesup named for General Jesup. Lake Harney named for Col. Harney the commanding officer of the very first Dragoons to arrive in Florida. The details are off the charts. I was stunned to read those first hand accounts.

But what really ticked me off to read was how these soldiers and civilians on board those steamboats were pulling out their rifles bored as heck on those long slow nights down the river and even during the day as well and they would shoot anything that moved on land or in the water.

It was fun betting sport for them to shoot every alligator they saw. Turtles. Birds. Deer. Bobcats. Raccoons. Just shoot maim and kill and laugh about it and take your winnings or losses and shoot something else. The reported was simply joining in on the drunker solider fun on their mission here in Florida.

But hey, sometimes the woods shot back at them.

I read an amazing story of the army trying to navigate down the St. Johns river in the shallow area I mentioned above. Some of their boats were so loaded down they ground out on sandbars and soldiers had to offload and portage the boat around the sandbar and reload the boat to keep moving forward.

The Indians were on both sides of the river shooting at the soldiers who were out in the open and unprotected from the incoming bullets. One soldier's diary said that soldiers were actually hit by the Indian bullets and they bounced off their thick wool army coats because the Indians were so short on war supplies that they shorted the powder they used in each shot to make it last longer and because of this many of the bullets shot at soldiers did not even have enough force to penetrate their wool coats and simply bounced off of them.

Something else I was not aware of was that the army did not discourage settlers getting in their way and tagging along with them or behind them because the soldiers said in their own words those civilians were a distraction to the Indians and the Indians turned bullets on those civilians that would have been meant for them. So sure tag along! We got you! Ha! More like sure, we can USE you.

Those civilians were getting free land in a newly conquered land and they were giving the army civilian support in ways of helping to facilitate the forward movement of the army by helping to provide food, water, and general support the army needed.

Those northerners did not like being here in Florida at all. And another crazy detail I found was that the army would only fight the Indians in cooler weather. They would move into Florida, build a chain of forts in cool weather and abandon them when it got too hot and army went back up north with St. Augustine as their Southern most point of continuous occupation for years.

When the pine tree forts were abandoned the Indians burned them to the ground. And when the weather cooled enough for the northerners they would move back in down the same paths and rebuild the same forts over and over and over again every years as needed.

In one story the soldiers walked the soles of the shoes off and had to come to stop in Fort Lauderdale and wait there for a ship to arrive from Boston filled with new shoes so the soldiers could keep chasing the Indians. The details show the army was not very well supplied back then which is why they gladly leaned on all the civilians tagging along with them.

When Fort Gatlin was built, it was those civilians who claimed the land around the fort and developed it right around the fort because the army kept the Indians away, and the civilians gave support to the army inside the fort. And that is how Orlando was born. Fort Lauderdale as well and many other locations like Fort Meyers and so on.

The real history books are handwritten eyewitness accounts. They will blow your mind all those details not found in published modern so called history books.

The old fort in St. Augustine Castillo De San Marcos is another one. Not a single modern published history book gets it right. There is only one source that got it right. The Jesuit priest who was up on deck of Admiral Menendez fleet of Spanish ships. Read what he wrote upon arriving here in Florida and it does not match the BS found in modern history books. Not even close. It took me half my lifetime to find that one source but now I know the details and found my answers for why that fort is there and at the precise angle it is constructed and why. Now I know. And its great stuff too.

All through those handwritten accounts shows fish and fishing and hunting is clearly what fed all that history.

Here in Florida we walk on sacred ground and never even know it. We walk upon the graves of those people and don't even know it. They are still here buried in the soil under our feet as we build modern civilization right over top of them.

Look up the "dead zone" on i-4 interstate in Sanford sometime... it is the site of the Army's machines of war drop off point at Lake Monroe.

The developer of the interstate was required to relocate all human remains found in path of highway. He failed to do so. He simply tried to get away with moving on the tombstones and make it look like he had moved the bodies but he never dug them and instead built his interstate right over top of all the graves who are still there to this day under 50 feet of dirt and interstate built over top of them. People drive over their bodies every day and never even know it.

Another one from my neighborhood. My house could have been built over top of the graves of Seminole Indians. The following story shows modern humans did not have much care for the graves of Indians and run away slaves who died here.

A terrible part of Florida dark history... I shopped at this store when I lived there and was surprised to discover this about my neighborhood. I researched it and it is a true story and right on hiway 17 the army built right over top of them in 1837.

Us modern humans blindly move around in our modern world not even knowing or realizing the history and human remains just inches below our feet to this day. We live and walk on the graves of the dead- and show very little respect or care for any of them. A sad truth. Just bulldoze up the bones and discard them and build.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Florida_s_Ghostly_Legends_and_Haunted_Fo/-pdxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=fern+park+winn+dixie+haunted&pg=PT144&printsec=frontcover

Great read. Interesting history I never knew about, despite hearing that Florida is the bass capital of the world and taking family vacations there. Hope to do some fishing there one day.

I hope you get to do some fishing here as well!

Here is the 2009 "updated" version of "bass capitals" in Florida... as chosen by state of Florida fishery biologists. And in this article they actually name the man who was in charge of Lake Toho during the time period it was drained, muck scraped off bottom and hauled off, and shallow sandy spawn areas created to cause bass to explode there.

His name is Ed Moyer. And he says the bass explosion there was directly attributed to lake management practices, and will provide great bass fishing for years to come. Well, its now years to come in 2026 and once again Toho is getting choked up with vegetation and fishing is going back down.

Lake Toho needs Ed Moyer back on the job there!

It seems like everyone in Florida, Georgia and Alabama all want to lay claim to "Bass capital of the world!"

https://www.theledger.com/story/news/2001/02/10/lake-tohopekaliga-florida-bass-capital/26525383007/

Lake Tohopekaliga: Florida bass capital

BILL CHESTNUT

Feb. 9, 2001 Updated June 15, 2009, 11:25 a.m. ET

When you ask Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) fisheries' biologists what are the top bass fishing lakes in Florida, you get a lot of different opinions. But one thing is for sure: West Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee is on everyone's list. Naturally, it is on the FWC's list for a great bass fishing lake.

In a Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) tournament on Jan. 17-20 at Lake Tohopekaliga, the winner landed 108 pounds, 12 ounces of bass, shattering the organization's previous high mark of 91 pounds, 3 ounces.

On the first day of the tournament, the B.A.S.S. single-day catch record was established at 45 pounds, 2 ounces that included two bass more than 10 pounds, and a 9-, 8- and 7-pounder to round out the five-fish bag limit.

FWC director of freshwater fisheries, Ed Moyer, who spent 20 years for the agency managing Lake Tohopekaliga, said: "It was the most incredible four days of fishing that I ever heard of in Florida or anywhere else for that matter. Florida has taken a major step toward re-establishing itself as the Bass Capital of the World."

Moyer credits the tournaments success to FWC's lake management practices on Lake Tohopekaliga during the past decade. As a result, anglers can expect many years of quality fishing.

The following list of top 10 bass lakes aims to help anglers find a quality place to catch trophy bass. These Florida lakes (in no specific order) have been selected by FWC fisheries biologists as top bass fishing destination.

LAKE GEORGE -- Lake George is one of the premiere bass fishing lakes in central Florida. It is the second largest lake in the state (46,000 acres), and is 18 miles northwest of Deland and 29 miles east of Ocala.

Hot spots on the lake include Juniper, Salt and Silver Glen spring runs on the eastern shoreline. There are many fish camps on the lake and St. Johns River.

STICK MARSH/FARM 13 RESERVOIR -- Created in 1987, the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 Reservoir is synonymous with trophy bass fishing. This 6,500 acre reservoir near Fellsmere, east of Vero Beach, became one of the hottest bass lakes in the country during the past decade.

During winter/spring 2000, many fishing guides reported the best trophy bass catches in recent years.

This summer has been no exception, with a number of anglers catching 50 to 100 bass a day, with many over 10 pounds.

The regulation for largemouth bass is catch and release. There is a two-lane boat ramp, paved parking lot, picnic pavilions and rest rooms. No gasoline, food, ice or other facilities are available on site.

LAKE KISSIMMEE -- This lake has a national reputation for high quality bass fishing. Currently, trophy fish and high catch rates are reported from guides, fish camps and tournament anglers.

Six fish camps, one state park and three public boat ramps are available at Lake Kissimmee. Wade fishing is a popular method used by many anglers including myself.

RODMAN RESERVOIR -- Rodman Reservoir, east of Gainesville and south of Palatka, covers 9,500 acres of prime largemouth bass habitat The state's largest bass of the year 2000, 15 pounds and 17 pounds, came from the reservoir during March.

Access to Rodman is available at several locations. Among the most popular are Eureka east and west of C.R. 316, Rodman Recreational Area west of S.R. 19 and Orange Springs Recreational Area, Cypress Bayou (Paynes Landing) and Kenwood Landing off S. R. 315.

LAKE TARPON -- Lake Tarpon is located near Tampa/St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. For years, this lake has produced excellent bass fishing. Most range from 12 to 16 inches long however, quality and trophy fish also are present in good numbers. Biologists have observed anglers catching upwards of 20 fish with an occasional 10-pounder.

There are two public boat ramps within county parks. Anderson Park boat ramp is on the west shore, off U. S. 19. Chestnut Park boat ramp is on the east side of the lake, off C.R. 61. Some bank access is available in both parks.

LAKE WEOHYAKAPKA -- Lake Weohyakapka, commonly known as Lake Walk-In-Water is located east of Lake Wales. The lake has a national reputation as an outstanding spot to catch largemouth bass. Anglers frequently catch up to 25 bass a day with several ranging from 4 to 8 pounds. This lake also produces many trophy bass exceeding 10 pounds.

A 15- to 24-inch slot limit regulation with a three-bass daily limit is in place to help maintain quality bass fishing. Anglers may keep three bass per day, either under or over the protected slot range, of which only one bass greater than or equal to 24 inches is allowed. Your best bet for lunkers in this lake is drifting wild shiners in the northern half of the lake.

A public ramp is located on oat Landing Road, which runs east off of Walk-In-Water Road. There is little access for bank fishing.

LAKE ISTOKPOGA -- Lake Istokpoga is often overlooked by bass anglers who fish the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to the north and Lake Okeechobee to the south. Situated in Highlands County between U.S. 27 and U.S. 98 south of Sebring, Istokpoga is the fifth largest natural lake in Florida.

Anglers frequently catch bass up to eight pounds, with some between 10 and 13 pounds. A 16-pound bass was caught by an angler in March 1998.

Lake Istokpogahas a 15- to 24-inch slot limit for bass with a three fish daily bag limit, of which only one bass may be 24 inches or longer.

Several fish camps and four public boat ramps provide access to the lake.

Everglades Water Conservation Areas are marsh lands bordered by canals. Originally designed for flood control and water supply, the area provides some of the best bass fishing in the country. A no-consumption advisory for bass is in effect in these areas due to high levels of mercury. Because of this most fish are released, which has resulted in anglers catching many 2- to 5-pound bass and an occasional 9- to 10-pounder.

The L-67A Canal has access at the north end of Holiday Park, off U.S. 27, where camping and boat rentals are available. At the south end, it can be accessed at the S-333 water control structure off Tamiami Trail (S. R. 41). The L-35B Canal access is at Sawgrass Recreation Area, off of U.S. 27 and has boat rentals.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE -- Lake Okeechobee is consistently one of Florida's best bass lakes. If you want to catch big bass, the Big 'O' is the place to go.

Anglers routinely catch 7- to 10-pound bass, and 10- to 12-pound bass occasionally show up too. The lake record is 15 pounds, 5 ounces.

Lake Okeechobee has a 13- to 18-inch slot limit on bass, meaning all bass between 13 and 18 inches must be released unharmed.

Sixteen boat ramps and numerous fish camps surround the lake.

For more information about these lakes, call the following:

Lake George - (904) 985-7880

Lakes Weohyakapka & Tarpon - (941) 648-3202.

Farm 13/Stick Marsh Reservoir - (407) 752-3115

Rodman Reservoir - (352) 392-9617

Lake Istokpoga - (941) 462-5190

Lake Kissimmee and West Lake Tohopekaliga - (407) 846-5300.

Everglades Water Conservation Areas 2 and 3 - (561) 625-5127

Lake Okeechobee - (941) 452-5190.

Keep those lines tight, and I'll see you on the pond.

The very first historic claim along the St. Johns River and northern most claimant is Palatka who offers "proof"

https://visitpalatka.com/fishing/

"Palatka’s reputation as the Bass Capital of the World is proven by the number of bass tournaments held from our riverfront every year. We are also known for our copperhead bream, catfish and speckled perch – crappie. The St. Johns River is host to fishermen from all over. Local fish camps and guides can put you on whatever tugs your line."

Us Florida guys don't buy that argument. The only reason so many tournaments are run from Palatka is not because they are the one and only bass capital, but because that town grew to a size large enough to host such events. Welaka and Crescent City do not have the facilities for large tournaments. Palatka has 11,000 residents.

Florida guys like me take a look at the water, not the town. I don't like the water around Palatka or Welaka. Not suitable to me. Crescent City is another story. Much better water choices there. Crescent City has less than 1,800 residents. Less than 1/6 the size of Palatka so the environment there is more country, and more peaceful and less crowded on the water making it a more enjoyable bass capital to a lot of us Florida residents. I won't even consider Palatka when better choices like Crescent City are available close by.

Tournaments have to go to Palatka. Larger boat ramp and more parking and more support facilities like restrooms and restaurants. So their offered proof of why they are the capital may be a selling point to outsiders, but Florida guys don't fall for it knowing what else is close by.

One of Florida's last small towns wanting to get in on the "bass capital" claim is Dunnellon, Florida. Its all they have to advertise their little town to the world and so they painted it right on the town's water tower:

As far as I know that is the last of the towns across Florida making this claim. By way of historical conquering and settling of Florida the top 3 very first bass capitals are in technical order of measured distance down river from Jacksonville as conquered and settled first:

1)Palatka

2)Welaka

3)Crescent City

While Florida guys who lived in area their entire lives tend to stack it like this:

1)Crescent City

2)Welaka

3)Palatka

Based on level of water quality and actual bass fishing enjoyment.

Its kind of funny when tournament guys put their boats into the river there at Palatka who claims to be the number 1 bass capital because of all the tournaments there, WHERE do most of the fishermen go in their boats?

As far away from Palatka as they can get! And they head South on the river and fly past Welaka too, and some head straight for Crescent City and better waters to the South. So the tournament may be in Palatka, but the fishermen aren't! Most of them anyways.

And as an FYI to other bass fishermen reading this, if you put your boat into the river at Palatka, there is a reason nearly all bass pro's head South on the river. DO NOT go north of Palatka! Huge mistake!

The river to the north to Jacksonville has been sacrificed to state approved water pollution.

On Rice Creek just north of Palatka is a paper pulp mill. When Senator Rick Scott was governor here in Florida, he allowed that pulp mill to double the amount of chemical toxins dumped into the river that flow out into the ocean for disposal.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/opinion/columns/mike-clark/2016/08/19/ron-littlepage-has-gov-scott-ever-met-polluter-he-didnt-want/15721602007/

"You may recall that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection - we really have to come up with a more accurate name for this agency while Gov. Rick Scott is in office - moved recently to increase the amount of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals allowed in the state's surface waters."

And this folks is what us Florida guys pay close attention to- polluted waters and where it is and how to avoid it. So don't go north of Palatka is all I can say.

"For decades, the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Palatka, now owned by the Koch brothers, dumped its polluted effluent into Rice Creek."

And all of it flows right into the St. Johns river just north of Palatka and is carried north by the river current and out to sea. And this is why 99% of all bass fishermen head South on the river. A bass capital turned into a toxic mess.

River war rages over Georgia-Pacific

State close to decision on mill’s pipeline

• 

The entrance to the Georgia-Pacific mill north of Palatka. The mill is Putnam County’s largest employer, providing 1,000 jobs.

By Mark Szakonyi – Staff Writer

Feb 11, 2011

PALATKA — Georgia-Pacific is confident it will be allowed to build a $30 million pipeline to discharge its plant’s wastewater directly into the St. Johns River, but opponents have one last shot at blocking the project."

Governor Rick Scott did allow this pulp mill to basically double their toxic output into the river. And this is something all of us bass fishermen should want to avoid.

I'd tell Palatka they are no longer a bass capital until they close the pulp mill and send it back to Georgia where the others are along the coast. This pulp mill is here at this location because of all of Florida's pine trees they cut down and haul to this pulp mill to make their various paper products.

So whenever you turn on your TV to watch any bass fishing tournaments in Palatka watch where the fishermen go in their boats. South- away from Palatka and away from the source of the river's pollution. And I tell all of you this to help each of you make better decisions about your fishing choices in this area as well. We all need to know.

And the last and final Claimant to Florida's "bass capital" title is not coming from a town, but coming from a professional bass fishermen Roland Martin who also wants to use it to sell his South Florida business operation:

https://rolandmartinmarina.com

By roladmin / August 4, 2025

Lake Okeechobee, often called “The Big O,” stands as a monument to bass fishing. With its vast expanse of water, stretching over 467,000 acres, it is Florida’s largest freshwater lake. The name “Okeechobee” itself translates to “big water” in the language of the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes.

Nevertheless, this lake offers more than just scenic beauty and expansive views. For fishing enthusiasts, it’s a place where dreams are made, particularly for those who enjoy bass fishing. Bass fishing at Lake Okeechobee has earned this legendary spot its title as the bass fishing capital of the world."

---

Says who?

So both the town of Palatka and Roland Martin at Lake Okeechobee hail their locations as "bass capitals" while the truth of both of those locations today in 2026 is that in all of the state of Florida, both Palatka and Lake Okeechobee are the most polluted waters in Florida! 100% true!

WBBH

Tests show Lake Okeechobee is six times too toxic for humans

We collected samples from Lake Okeechobee after tests showed it's six times too toxic for humans.

Updated: 10:15 AM EDT Aug 23, 2025

Sarah Mankowitz

PAHOKEE, Fla. —

Tests conducted on Lake Okeechobee have revealed algae blooms that are six times too toxic for humans."

That's TWO "bass capital" claimants here in Florida using this title to sell toxic waters.

I don't know about you, but this old Florida boy has scratched those two places off the list- permanently.

And I do believe every single bass fisherman out there in the world who wants to come to Florida to enjoy "bass capital" bass fishing at its finest needs information like what is in this thread to help each one of us make the best decisions for ourselves.

For my part as a life-long Florida resident, I target springs. Spring fed rivers and spring fed lakes. By far the cleanest clearest water in the state.

Find a spring and you have found a real bass capital.

The image above shows Florida biologists examining their laboratory created sunshine bass circling a spring vent here in Florida. The water coming out of the spring vents across Florida is 72 degrees year round while the surrounding water in the lake can reach 84 degrees in hot summers, so these cool water fish hover around spring vents to stay cool. Further out away from a spring vent like this one is clean crystal clear water that contains all our other species of fish who also enjoy the cooler temperatures and cleaner water, and this is what I target all across Florida. Springs first. Surrounding waters next. This is our modern day best case scenario "bass capital."

Image courtesy of State of Florida FWC biologists.