FISHING GUIDE · ST. JOHNS RIVER & HARRIS CHAIN, FLORIDA

St. Johns River and Harris Chain of Lakes, Florida Fishing Guide

The Harris Chain and the St. Johns River are classic Florida bass water, with largemouth (Florida bass), speckled perch (crappie) and bream. FWC has stocked sunshine bass in the Harris Chain and added fish attractors in Lakes Dora, Harris and Griffin. In winter the St. Johns also gets a run of American shad that anglers catch on light tackle and mostly release.

📍 Central and northeast Florida. The Harris Chain of Lakes (Apopka, Harris, Griffin, Eustis, Dora, Beauclair, Carlton and Yale) is in Lake and Orange counties northwest of Orlando, around Leesburg, Tavares, Eustis and Mount Dora. The St. Johns River flows north from its headwater marshes (the upper river passes Cocoa) through Lake Harney, Lake Monroe and Lake George toward Palatka.

📅 Florida Fishing Calendar — best months, closed seasons, bait & rigs →

Map: spots, ramps and marinas

★ Fishing hot spot · ● Boat ramp · ● Marina · ▭ Protected area (solid red = no fishing, dashed = fishing with rules)

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Quick facts

The Harris Chain is 8 main lakes totaling about 75,000 acres, with more than 30 public boat ramps.
Lake George is a 46,000-acre natural lake on the St. Johns River; most of it is less than 10 feet deep.
The lower St. Johns runs about 140 miles north through or past more than half a dozen lakes, from Puzzle Lake to Lake George.
American shad run up the St. Johns in winter and spring to spawn; Florida shad average 2-3 pounds and the state record is 5.19 pounds.
Anglers have logged 192 bass of 8-9.9 pounds and 31 bass of 10-12.9 pounds from the Harris Chain in FWC's TrophyCatch program.

What you can catch

Florida (largemouth) bass
Main target; 5 per day, only 1 may be 16 inches or longer.
Black crappie (speckled perch)
Bite turns on after the first fall cold fronts; Lakes Harris and Griffin have been good. Limit 25.
American shad
Winter-spring run on the St. Johns; shad and herring limit 10 combined, hook and line only.
Sunshine bass
Stocked by FWC in the Harris Chain; around jetties and bridges on the St. Johns in fall.
Striped bass
Leave cool-water refuges mid-to-late October; jetties, bridges and Lake George.
Bluegill and redear sunfish (bream)
Popular panfish; 50 panfish per day.
Channel catfish and brown bullhead
Common in the chain and river.

Month by month

January	Shad run on the St. Johns (FWC monitors it January through March). Big bass staging for the spawn; live shiners work well.
February	Shad run continues. Several Harris Chain TrophyCatch lake-record bass were caught in January-February.
March	Shad run winding down (can last into April); crappie move to shallow vegetation to spawn.
April	Late shad in some years; crappie spawning in shallow pads and grass.
May	Bass and bream; water usually lowest in the upper river (dry season winter-spring).
June	Summer pattern; bass hold in their summer spots.
July	Summer pattern; check FWC quarterly forecasts.
August	Rainy season raises the upper river; moving water holds fish.
September	Upper St. Johns high water; fish river mouths and vegetation edges.
October	Cooler water gets bass moving; striped and sunshine bass gather at bridges and jetties from mid-late October. TrophyCatch season starts Oct 1.
November	Crappie bite picks up after cold fronts; troll open water near drop-offs and fish attractors.
December	Bass begin moving to pre-spawn areas late December; crappie season in full swing.

Tips

Use FWC's Harris Chain fish attractor list (with coordinates) to find crappie and bass structure.
For winter crappie, troll open water near drop-offs at several depths; in spring, fish shallow pads and grass.
Live shiners, free-lined or under a cork, are a top big-bass bait in winter.
Bass, striped bass, sunshine bass and crappie (where length rules apply) must be kept whole until you finish fishing for the day.
Release bass of 8 pounds or more after documenting them for FWC's TrophyCatch program.

Rules and license

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) · Official rules page ↗

Freshwater fishing license: $17 resident annual, $47 nonresident annual, $17 nonresident 3-day, $30 nonresident 7-day.
Exempt: youth under 16, and Florida residents 65 or older with proof of age and residency (nonresident seniors still need a license).
Black bass: 5 per day, only 1 may be 16 inches or longer; no minimum length for Florida/largemouth bass.
Crappie (speckled perch): 25 per day. Panfish (bluegill, redear, etc.): 50 per day.
Striped, white and sunshine bass: 20 per day combined, only 6 may be 24 inches or longer.
American shad, hickory shad, blueback herring: 10 per day combined, hook and line only.
Possession limit is two days' bag limit of freshwater game fish.

Rules change. Always check the official page before you fish.

Boat ramps and marinas

The map above shows 5 boat ramps and 1 marinas from OpenStreetMap. Tap any dot for directions.

Monroe Harbour Marina

Sources

Checked October 2026. BigJoe does not invent facts: every number on this page comes from the sources listed above.