Temperature and Fishing

Monthly Temperature Averages from Weather Underground

Compare these to freshwater fishes preferred temperatures (below)

Tallahassee	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp (F)	63	66	74	80	86	91	91	91	89	82	73	66
Low Temp (F)	38	40	47	52	61	69	71	71	68	56	46	40

Jacksonville	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp (F)	64	67	73	79	85	89	91	91	87	80	74	67
Low Temp (F)	40	43	49	55	62	69	72	72	69	59	50	43

Orlando	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp (F)	71	73	78	83	88	91	92	92	90	85	78	73
Low Temp (F)	49	50	55	599	66	72	73	73	72	66	58	51

Tampa	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp (F)	770	71	77	82	87	89	90	90	89	84	78	72
Low Temp (F)	50	52	56	61	67	73	74	74	73	65	57	52

Miami	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp (F)	75	76	79	82	85	88	89	89	88	85	80	77
Low Temp (F)	59	60	64	68	72	75	76	77	76	72	67	62

Freshwater Fishes Preferred Temperatures

In order of ascending initial spawning temperature. You can also see a calendar showing when freshwater fishing in Florida for these species is typically best. Please note that feeding temperatures only refer to preferred ranges and are subject to wide variations.

Species	Feeding	Spawning
Shoal Bass	65-80	64-73
Redeye Bass	65-80	62-69
Spotted Bass	65-80	60-70
Redbreast	70-85	60-82
Black Crappie	70-75	62-65
Striped Bass	55-75	55-71
Flier	70-80	62-68
American Shad	45-70	50-65
Largemouth Bass	65-80	62-75
Suwannee Bass	65-80	65-68
Blue Tilapia	65-85	68-72
Redear Sunfish	65-80	70-80
Flathead Catfish	65-80	70-80
Channel Catfish	70-85	72-82
Bluegill	70-85	75-85
Oscar	70-90	82-91

Temperature ranges are from the USFWS Fish Culture Guidelines or from the subjective recommendations of FWC biologists.