Sites & Forecasts
January - March 2025
Florida's freshwater fisheries comprise more than 8,000 lakes, ponds and reservoirs, and approximately 12,000 miles of fishable rivers, streams and canals—with no closed seasons. The recreational fishery resources alone in these waters provide entertainment for more than 1.2 million anglers annually. The Quarterly Fishing Forecasts provided below cover the most popular and productive freshwater fisheries to be found in Florida, the Fishing Capital of the World!
Within each region linked below you can check out our quarterly forecasts for major fishing areas, or you can get our recommendations for the top bass, bream, catfish, crappie or striper locales. Some information on fishing seasonality is provided showing regional temperature ranges and at what temperature some fishes spawn and feed most actively.
For general information on what lakes are available in an area by ZIP code or city, check out TakeMeFishing.org's fishing site finder.
Note: In Florida, there are a wide range of places to fish and we could not possibly list them all. Fish move and behave differently based on various factors such as weather, temperature, tide, moon phase, salinity, time of year and more. In addition to using the resources on this page, we encourage anglers to contact people with local expertise in areas they want to fish (such as bait and tackle shops, marinas, charter fishing businesses, fishing clubs and online fishing groups).
Boat Ramp and Fish Management Area Closures
You can find boat ramp information specific to your county under the special comments section of FWC's Florida Public Boat Ramp Finder. Please note if the comment box is blank, it means the ramp is currently open.
You can check the status of Fish Management Areas at Open/Closed Status of FWC Offices, Facilities, and Managed Areas.
Which Fishing Forecast Region are you in?
Northwest - Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Bay, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Franklin, Leon Wakulla, Jefferson, Gadsden.
North Central - Madison, Taylor, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Dixie, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Citrus, Baker, Union, Bradford, Alachua, Nassau, Duval, Clay.
Northeast - St. Johns, Putnam, Marion, Sumter, Flagler, Lake, Volusia, Seminole, Orange, Brevard, Osceola, Indian River.
Southwest - Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee, DeSoto, Highlands, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee.
South - Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Glades, Hendry, Martin, Palm Beach, Collier, Broward, Monroe, Miami-Dade.
New — TrophyCatch Tracker!
TrophyCatch is FWC's citizen-science program that rewards anglers for documenting and releasing trophy bass 8 pounds or larger. Check your local waters to see how many TrophyCatch bass have been submitted from your area — or be the first to submit a trophy from that location!
Not sure which fish species are in your area? Try FWC's Fish Range Finder!