Upper St. Johns River and Lakes
Brevard County
This 60-mile stretch of the St. Johns River is the southernmost headwaters where the tannin-stained river originates out of the vast marshes, swamps, water management areas and canal systems. The river flows through a number of lakes ranging from 350 to 4,500 acres in size (Lake Hell'n Blazes, Lake Sawgrass, Lake Washington, Lake Winder and Lake Poinsett). The river is not marked for navigation, flowing within a single channel downstream to Cocoa at which point the river becomes braided into multiple channels as the river flows across the floodplain downstream to Puzzle Lake. Water levels fluctuate around six feet annually between the dry (winter-spring) and wet season (late summer-early fall). These extreme annual water level changes can radically affect the physical dimension of the river, causing a less than 150 foot wide river to expand out over the flood plain and become several miles wide, changing the navigability of the river and the distribution of the fish. Most of the upper St. Johns River and lakes are surrounded by State-owned lands which makes it a very scenic environment for all users.
The "River Returns" is a high definition television show about the St. Johns River that will air in October on PBS. Meanwhile their web site provides some excellent information about the river.
For further information, listings of fish camps, or ramp locations please contact our fisheries Regional Office in Ocala at 352-732-1225 or consult the Northeast Regional Freshwater Fishing Guide.
Late summer rain has brought water levels up in the upper St. Johns River basin, and moving water will be a great place to find fish. Start by targeting the edges of overhanging and floating vegetation along banks in middle river (Poinsett to Winder) and south of Lake Washington. North of Lake Poinsett, target the deeper water in sharp bends and drop-offs. Traditional methods for taking all species will work. Many bass anglers who fish this area prefer to use swim baits, plastic worms, or twitching shallow-running minnow imitations. Fly-fishing with a surface popper is another rewarding way to catch both bass and panfish in these sections of the river.
If we get any big storms in the tail end of hurricane season, the water in the river should rise and the best fishing associated with the lakes will be at the river entrances and outlets or adjacent canals. It may be worth the effort to find bulrush or pads that still have a foot or two of water around them along lake shorelines.
Crappie anglers should take fair numbers of fish by slow trolling artificials (small jigs and beetle spins) or by drifting with live minnows in the deeper, open water areas of lakes Poinsett, Winder, and Washington. Late in the quarter, crappie can also be found moving into and concentrating around bulrush patches, preferring those mixed with submerged and floating vegetation to provide overhead cover. Deeper undercut bends in the middle river section between lakes Winder and Poinsett and the stretch between lakes Washington and Sawgrass can also be productive for crappie anglers this time of the year.
Popular Species
Fish graphics by Duane Raver, Jr.
More species information is available for:
Lake Poinsett is a large lake in Brevard County, near the city of Cocoa. There are a two public boat ramps that provide access to the lake, James G. Bourbeau Park, and Leroy Wright Recreation Area are on the Northeast side of the lake where SR 520 crosses the St. Johns River. These parks also provide shore fishing access to the St. Johns River as well as a fishing pier at the Leroy Wright Ramp There are several coves with pads and rushes that will produce Largemouth Bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, and the occasional sunshine bass. Crappie anglers can find schooling fish offshore by trolling and jigging minnows in open water.
Lake Washington anglers can find bream, crappie, largemouth bass, and catfish. Lake Washington Park on the East side of the lake offers a boat ramp, fishing pier, restrooms, pavilions, and parking. Shore anglers may have luck fishing for bass and bream around the the pads and bulrushes from the public fishing pier. Boat anglers will find abundant emergent vegetation on the north end of the lake as well as several fish attractors marked by buoys. Fishing the emergent vegetation and woody debris on the East and Southeast shoreline can be productive for bass and bream. Crappie anglers may have luck drifting open water areas with jigs and minnows.
TrophyCatch Tracker
TrophyCatch is FWC's citizen-science program that rewards anglers for documenting and releasing trophy bass 8 pounds or larger. The following TrophyCatch bass have been submitted from the St. Johns River system:
Lunker Club (8 – 9.9 pounds): 437
Trophy Club (10 - 12.9 pounds): 82