Florida Sport Fishing

Your Detailed Guide to the Best
Florida Sport Fishing Locations

Sport fishing and Florida...

Try new waters. New adventures...From the open seas to the rivers and inland lakes, sport fishing in Florida offers something for everybody.

Growing up in the Midwest, we had roughly a half-dozen kinds of freshwater fish to choose from at area lakes. You can imagine the sheer delight of discovering the nearly endless fishing variety that Florida sport fishing offers! Florida is truly the Fishing Capital of the USA - some say even the world!

Florida sport fishing is some of the best, no doubt about it. There are about 33 freshwater species - including that famous Florida largemouth bass! And over 120 saltwater varieties commonly caught in the Atlantic waters surrounding the Sunshine State.

There are hundreds of miles of coastline, 12,000 miles of rivers and streams, dozens of great freshwater lakes, plus many rivers, piers, and beaches to enjoy fishing.

How do you decide where to go? What are you fishing for? Any ideas? Where do you start?

If your Florida fishing vacation is some time in the future, and you have the time to plan (and dream BIG), you'd be well advised to start reading up all you can. There's a lot to learn. Your local library is a good place to start. A good book to begin your research on Florida sport fishing is Salt Water Fishing Tactics: Learn from the Experts at Salt Water Sportsman Magazine

While you're at the library, look in the magazines section. You'll find that Florida Sportsman and South Florida Sport Fishing Magazine offer plenty of useful articles dedicated to sport fishing in Florida.

Have you considered yet - what kind of fishing are you going to pursue in Florida? Ready to go deepsea fishing for the first time? Hiring a quality charter is your best bet.

Or, are you just looking to do a little recreational fishing? Fishing Adventures in Florida: Sport Fishing With Light Tackle might be more to your liking.

NOTE: As always, we recommend that you save your money. Search the library before you buy books or subscribe to magazines.

There is nearly no limit to fishing choices in the Sunshine State. Let's explore different regions for sport fishing in Florida, highlighting key cities, rivers, lakes, and beaches.

We'll review the types of fish you may expect to land in each area.

Finally, we'll talk about different terms referenced when discussing different types of sport fishing in Florida.

Regions

• Northwest: This is known popularly as the Florida Panhandle. On a map, it's the upper northwest part, and it looks kind of like a pan's handle -get it? Some cities in this region are Tallahassee, Monticello, Marianna, Seaside, Destin and Fort Walton Beach, Perdido Key, Pensacola, Apalachicola fishing /St Joe, St George Island, Mexico Beach, Cedar Key, Chiefland
• Northeast: Live Oak, White Springs, Jacksonville, Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach, Gainsville, St Augustine, Daytona Beach
• Central: Crystal River, Ocala, Kissimmee, Orlando, Lakeland, Everglades, St Petersburg, Clearwater, Indian Rocks Beach, Tampa, Anna Maria Island, Treasure Island Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral
• Southwest: Sarasota, Anna Marie Island, Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, Arcadia, Lake Placid, Cape Coral, Ft Myers Beach
• Southeast: Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Boca Raton
• South: Lake Okeechobee, Belle Glade, Naples, Marco Island, Everglades City, Ft Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Miami, Homestead
• Florida Keys: Islamorada , Marathon, Key Largo, Key West

If you're planning a visit to Florida's Space Coast, please Visit this site for vacation information on Florida's Space Coast, one of central Florida's beautiful coastal regions. We will provide you with insider picks of the best places to stay, where to eat, best beaches, WIFI hotspots, fishing guides, and much more.

You'll want to get a good Florida general guide book, for other things such as hotels, restaurants, and things to do when you're not fishing. Again at the library, check out Fodor's Florida 2005 (Fodor's Florida) and/or Frommer's ® Florida 2005 (Frommer's Completeto help in advance planning. Make the absolute most of your Florida fishing vacation!

That's just a few of the many fish you'll catch while sport fishing in Florida. There are many more - Again, these are just some of the ones most commonly landed.

Terms to get familiar with before sport fishing in Florida:

• In shore fishing: Close to shore areas. Can include estuaries (areas where freshwaters and saltwaters mix).

• Off shore fishing: Fishing by personal watercraft or hired charter. Further away from shore areas.

• Pier fishing: Manmade structures onshore, extending along shorelines, and over waters.

• Flats fishing: Inshore fishing. Saltwater fishing but much less rougher waters than offshore or deepsea fishing. If seasickness is a problem for you, flats fishing waters are calmer. Fishing is easier during rougher weather, too. Estuary areas are very popular for flats fishing.

Sport fishing in Florida

Experience the Action!

To view this video of Dolphin, or Mahi Mahi, fishing in Key Biscayne, you'll need to press the small Play button in the player controls at the bottom of the screen, instead of the big one in the viewing screen itself.

That was a 30-lb dolphin!

• Wreck fishing: There are many old shipwrecks at the bottom of the waters surrounding the Florida Peninsula. The wrecks provide shelter for various saltwater sport fish. The Keys are popular for wreck fishing.

• Deep sea fishing: Further out than offshore fishing, usually at least a half-day adventure. We recommend using a good charter guide your first time out, to learn the ropes, before venturing out on your own.

• Surf fishing: Inshore, done from beaches, piers, and bridges.

• Reef fishing: There are natural reefs inshore along the coastal areas, as well as many man-made, or artificial, reefs. Small fish and marine creatures live among the reefs, and the larger fish (that's the ones you are after!) seek them for prey.

• Tides:The ocean levels rises and lowers several times each day. The tides are affected by gravitational influences of the moon, among other indicators. Storms can cause fluctuations in the tide levels. Inshore fishing is greatly enhanced if you pay attention to and rely on tide indicators. You'll find links for Florida tides here.

Florida fishing for largemouth bass, and other types of bass fishing, ranks as some of the finest fresh water fishing in the United States. Click here to go to the Florida Bass Fishing pages

Click here to leave the sport fishing in Florida page, and learn more about the different specialties of Florida fishing guides.

Tight lines and Happy Landings!

Leave Sport Fishing in Florida and Return to Florida Fishing Vacations Advisor Home?

Our Friends...

The Lure Makers Magazine is a fishing lure makers resource guide. We are dedicated to providing free information related to the art, sport and business of lure making. Our products are e-Books of lure making instruction, and unlimited development resources for small business and homespun lure makers. Dream it...Make it...Fish it...!