UTERJanuary
Pre-spawn giants and speck season
Largemouth bassBlack crappie (speck)American shadHybrid striped bass (sunshine)Striped bassChain pickerel
Wild shiners on Okeechobee's grass edges; troll for specks.
Okeechobee to the Panhandle rivers
Florida freshwater fishing
What's biting in Florida freshwater in October: largemouth bass, shoal bass and Suwannee bass at their peak, with striped bass, bluegill and redear sunfish around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 26 fish here month by month, from Lake Okeechobee to Apalachicola River.
Fall feed
The bass capital: Okeechobee, the Kissimmee chain and the phosphate pits for trophy Florida-strain largemouth, the St. Johns for shad and specks, the spring-fed rivers of the north, and South Florida's canals full of peacocks and exotic cichlids.
Lake OkeechobeeKissimmee chainSt. Johns RiverHarris chainLake IstokpogaMiami-Dade canalsApalachicola River
Updated
Now · October
Fall feed
Shad-chasing bass.
Largemouth bassBlack crappie (speck)Peacock bassHybrid striped bass (sunshine)Shoal bassSuwannee bass
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakArrivingAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAround
Largemouth bass
Fall feed: schooling bass busting shad on the big lakes at dawn
Shoal bass
Suwannee bass
Black crappie (speck)
Channel catfish
White catfish
Hybrid striped bass (sunshine)
Peacock bass
Striped bass
Bluegill
Redear sunfish (shellcracker)
Warmouth
Redbreast sunfish
Spotted sunfish (stumpknocker)
Chain pickerel
Flathead catfish
Brown bullhead
Longnose gar
Florida gar
Bowfin (mudfish)
Bullseye snakehead
Mayan cichlid
Oscar
Clown knifefish
Blue tilapia
The water
Structure that matters
LakeCanalRiverSpringPond / pitCreek / streamDock / pilingsBridgeBoat ramp
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Bass on the beds; St. Johns shad peak
Largemouth bassBlack crappie (speck)American shadHybrid striped bass (sunshine)Striped bassChain pickerel
Sight-fish the reeds; darts for shad above Lake Monroe.
March
Last bass spawners; shellcracker start
Full-moon shellcracker beds.
April
Post-spawn bass; peacocks wake up
Largemouth bassPeacock bassRedear sunfish (shellcracker)BluegillHybrid striped bass (sunshine)Shoal bass
Topwater at dawn; canals warm.
May
Bream beds; peacocks spawn
Crickets on the sand pockets; sight-cast peacocks.
June
Peacocks peak; summer bass early
Live shiners along the seawalls.
July
Summer: dawn bass, canal exotics
Fish before the storms.
August
Hot water — peacocks and night bass
Mayan cichlids on small jigs.
September
Fall begins slowly
Schooling bass on the big lakes.
October · now
Fall feed
Largemouth bassBlack crappie (speck)Peacock bassHybrid striped bass (sunshine)Shoal bassSuwannee bass
Shad-chasing bass.
November
Specks school up
Largemouth bassBlack crappie (speck)Hybrid striped bass (sunshine)Striped bassSuwannee bassChain pickerel
Spider rigs in open water.
December
Speck season and early pre-spawn
Largemouth bassBlack crappie (speck)Hybrid striped bass (sunshine)Striped bassChain pickerelAmerican shad
Trolling Okeechobee and Lake George.
Fish guides for Florida freshwater
When, where and what to use, fish by fishAmerican shadBlack crappie (speck)BluegillBullseye snakeheadClown knifefishFlathead catfishHybrid striped bass (sunshine)Largemouth bassPeacock bassRedbreast sunfishRedear sunfish (shellcracker)Shoal bassStriped bassSuwannee bass
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