There are some very good bass fishing opportunities in the Ocala, Florida area. Orange Lake and Lochloosa Lake are very popular lakes for bass fishing, but you’re definitely going to see plenty of other anglers out there as well. The Ocala National Forest Lakes allow anglers the opportunity to fish so many different lakes with less fishing pressure. If you’re looking for a big bass, Orange Lake is where most anglers would be headed if they visited this part of Florida.
Ocala National Forest Lakes
There are around 600 natural lakes that are located in the Ocala National Forest. Some of the lakes are much more popular than others. The fishing pressure on some of these lakes is minimal compared to the more popular bass fishing lakes in the state. This allows anglers to get more bites by fishing with artificial lures than on other lakes. Some of these lakes are much easier to fish on windy days as well due to their smaller size. There are some fishing guides that report some very impressive fish catches in many of these forest lakes.
Learn more about the Ocala National Forest Lakes
Orange Lake
Orange Lake is the largest lake in the North Central Region of Florida as it sits about 20 miles southeast of Gainesville, Florida. The lake covers more than 12,500 acres and it is designated as a Fish Management Area. Most of the lake is fairly shallow with an average depth of 5.5 feet and a maximum depth of 12 feet. This lake has plenty of vegetation and it has been one of the better big bass lakes in the state for years.
Lochloosa Lake
Lochloosa Lake covers around 5,700 acres and is designated as a Fish Management Area. The lake is located near the town of Lochloosa, Florida. Most of the shoreline is bordered by cypress trees. This lake has been a solid bass lake for many years. It has good numbers of largemouth bass with some very big bass as well. This is one of the more popular bass fishing lakes in the northern half of the state of Florida.
Learn more about Lochloosa Lake
Lake Weir
Lake Weir is located near Weirsdale and it covers more than 5,600 acres. This lake has an irregular bottom and water that is more than 20 feet deep. There are a bunch of brush pile fish attractors and in the lake as well as other fish attractors in the lake, so these do factor in how anglers catch fish here. It isn’t all about the grass and shallow water cover like most of the good bass fishing lakes in Florida. This lake has always been known for having good numbers of smaller bass with some big fish potential too, but you usually don’t hear of people catching a lot of big bass on an outing. There are some very big bass in the lake though and people do catch them. Fishing with live shiners is the easiest way to target some of the biggest bass in the lake.