Florida’s longest river, the St. Johns traverses 310 miles of the Sunshine State and offers some of its best fishing opportunities. There may be no other river in the state that offers such a rich diversity of aquatic life.
Uniquely, the St. Johns River flows from south to north, following a course roughly parallel to the Atlantic coast until the river ultimately empties into the ocean near Jacksonville. It flows through or along the borders of twelve counties along the way.
The St. Johns River is generally divided into three basins, each with its own unique character. The upper basin stretches from the river’s marshy headwaters in Indian River County through Brevard County and traces the river through a maze of wetlands.
The middle basin, the shortest of the three, finds the river widening and feeding several major lakes, including Lake George. Finally, the lower basin extends from the Lake George outlet in Putnam County down to the river’s confluence with the Atlantic.
Tides strongly influence the lower basin, and portions of the St. Johns well up into the middle basin have elevated salinity. The latter condition is due not only to the river’s connection with the ocean but also because of salt springs that feed into the river from underground.
As a result, there are incredible opportunities to catch both salt- and freshwater fish species in the St. Johns River. It’s also a river that truly offers fishing options every month of the year.
Johns River Fish Species
Largemouth Bass
One of the most common and widely sought-after game fish in the St. Johns River, largemouth bass inhabit most of the waterway. They are absent only from the lowermost sections, where the salinity is too high for their comfort.
Anglers commonly catch largemouths in the 3- to 5-pound range from the St. Johns River, and bass over 8 pounds are a real possibility.
A largemouth weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces, one of the biggest in recent memory, was reported to Florida’s Big Catch program in 2022. On top of that, 9- and 10-pounders are caught here often enough to give you hope.
Anglers catch largemouth bass year-round in the St. Johns River, but weather and rain have a major impact on bass behavior and location.
For example, during Florida’s wet season (late spring through summer), the St. Johns River expands, and a lot of bass leave the main stem and enter adjacent wetlands.
The best bass fishing in the St. Johns River is during the dry season, which extends from roughly October through April.
Bass spawn over a long period of time in various parts of the river, but the best shot at catching bass on their beds is in February.
The St Johns River supports abundant nearshore vegetation, and anglers catch plenty of bass by working soft plastics along the edges of reeds and grass beds. Take your time, and work methodically.
Classic soft plastic colors like junebug and black/blue tend to work best.
Spinnerbaits are also popular, and there’s often a big topwater bite around lily pads.
Live shiners are also popular baits for targeting big bass. Try drifting a shiner or suspending one under a float near vegetation.
Anglers catch largemouth bass all over the river, but if you had to pick one stretch of the St. Johns River for bass fishing, it would have to be the upper part of the river’s lower basin, from the Lake George outlet down to around Palatka.
Catch More Bass
The St. Johns River and Lake George are so incredible, they both are on our list of the best bass fishing spots in Florida. What other locations made the cut?
Ready to up your bass-catching game? We reveal many of the best bass fishing techniques and tips in our simple guide.
Crappie
Black crappie, also known as speckled perch or ‘specks,’ are incredibly abundant in the St. Johns River. Though populations can be cyclical, most years offer solid opportunities to catch 2-pound slabs and vast numbers of mid-sized fish.
Crappie fishing in the St. Johns River gets going late in the year as the river cools off and specks start to school up on drop-offs along the river channel. As fall turns to winter, fish will increasingly move into shallow water.
By January, crappies spawn in droves throughout shallow lily pad beds and other vegetation, usually in less than 5 feet of water. The spawn carries over into February, and there’s usually an excellent shallow bite through March.
Longlining—a trolling method involving pulling jigs behind the boat on multiple rods at speeds right around 1 mph—is an excellent search tactic for crappies on the St. Johns River. Start along the deep part of the river channel, and work your way shallow until you start getting bites.
Once you locate fish, switch to spider rigging or single rod jigging. Live minnows, grass shrimp, and small jigs are effective.
When crappies are in thick, shallow cover, try dipping baits into gaps between the weeds using a very long pole.
Although crappie fishing in the main stem of the St. Johns River can be excellent, some of the best fishing takes place in the lakes along the upper and middle basins of the river.
Lakes Jesup, Beresford and Harney are especially great, but you shouldn’t overlook Lake Woodruff and Dexter.
Catch More Crappie
The St. Johns River and its lakes offer some great fishing for specks, check out all of the best crappie fishing spots in Florida.
Also, read our simple guide to the best crappie fishing techniques, lures, and other tips.
Striped Bass & Hybrid Stripers
Striped bass offer a unique angling opportunity in the St. Johns River. The river marks roughly the southernmost edge of striped bass’ natural range, and there has historically been a modest annual striped bass run.
These days, natural reproduction of stripers in the river is slim to none. But the Florida FWC has also been stocking striped bass in the St. Johns River for decades, along with hybrids known as sunshine bass, which are raised in hatcheries by breeding female white bass and male striped bass.
Spring and fall are the best seasons to target stripers. Striped bass don’t tolerate temperatures above 80 degrees, so they head to the deepest, coolest waters in summer, especially around cool springs.
The best places to catch stripers and hybrids are along the main river channel, especially in Lake George. The lake is mostly shallow but has a deeper channel that crosses the lake from the river inlet at the south end to the outlet at the north end.
Many anglers start by trolling umbrella rigs, which use multiple blades to mimic a small group of shad. Parachute jigs are also effective for trolling. Stripers and hybrids often move in schools, so when you catch one, there are almost certainly more nearby.
It’s often possible to spot stripers or sunshine bass feeding on the surface. Their main forage in the St. Johns River are shad, so if you spot surface commotion and circling gulls, that’s a telltale sign that bass are blitzing shad on the surface.
When surface blitzes happen, topwaters that imitate shad are the best lures. Soft jerkbaits, Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits also do the trick. Stripers up to 12 pounds and sunshine bass up to 5 pounds are common, and much bigger fish are possible.
Redfish
Red drum, more commonly referred to as redfish, are native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Massachusetts to Mexico. They’re caught along coastal Florida all year round, but once a year, they stage an epic spawning run up the St. Johns River.
Capable of topping 40 inches and as many pounds, redfish are some of the largest fish in the St. Johns River. They start running in late August and continue well into November.
Smaller male redfish are the first to show in August, followed by waves of larger females. They arrive in immense schools numbering in the thousands, surging upriver toward their spawning grounds and feeding heavily along the way.
The best fishing for reds is in the lower part of the St. Johns River through Downtown Jacksonville, but a lot of fish make it as far as Bostwick and Palatka. Schools of redfish in the river are often most active at dawn and dusk.
Few baits are gobbled up more readily than a halved blue crab. Bait it on a circle hook, and fish it close to the bottom along the river channel ledges. Circle hooks are designed so the fish essentially hook themselves and seldom swallow the hook, allowing easy catch and release.
There’s also excellent fishing right at the mouth of the river as it meets the Intracoastal Waterway. The best time to fish here is during an incoming low tide, when oyster bars are exposed and reds move in to ambush shrimp, crabs, mollusks and stranded fish.
Fishing for redfish in the St. Johns River is mostly a catch-and-release game. Florida law permits keeping only one red drum between 18 and 27 inches per day. However, most days during the peak of the run, almost all the fish caught are too big to keep.
Catch More Redfish
Check out our guide to the very best places to catch redfish in Florida.
Also, improve your odds with our top redfish fishing techniques, lures, baits and other tips.
Channel Catfish
The St. Johns is, without a doubt, one of the best catfish rivers in Florida. Channel catfish are incredibly abundant in the river, along with bullheads and, to a lesser extent, white catfish.
But channel cats are the most sought-after species. Cats weighing 1 to 3 pounds are perfect table fare, and anglers catch them in untold numbers.
Of course, there are bigger catfish out there too. A 29-pound cat was reported to Big Catch Florida in 2023, and 10-plus-pounders are reasonably common.
Anglers have the potential to catch catfish in virtually every inch of the St. Johns River, from the marshy sloughs near the headwaters down to the tidal portions of the lower river. Many of the best spots are in the middle and lower basins.
Catfish are omnivorous, dining on everything from worms, mussels, and snails to crabs, crayfish, and any baitfish that will fit in their mouths. Any of the above can be effective baits for channel catfish, along with fresh shrimp and chicken livers.
Deep parts of the St. Johns River are often best for numbers of catfish. Look for deep holes along river bends and at the mouths of tributaries. Small branches and coves off the main river are also key locations, often giving up some of the biggest catfish.
Any spot with 3 or more feet of water has potential. If you can find some fallen timber or similar cover, so much the better. Some of the best areas include Dunn’s Creek and Murphy Creek.
Spring and summer are peak seasons for catfish.
The best fishing tends to be at night when channel cats leave deep haunts to hunt in the shallows. Bank fishermen commonly catch them after dark, but anglers also catch plenty during daylight hours from the river’s tannin-stained waters.
Catch More Catfish
The St. Johns River was an easy choice for our run-down of the best catfish fishing rivers and lakes in Florida. You’ll find about a dozen more incredible catfishing locations in that article.
Once you find the catfish, you’ll want to know the best ways to catch them. We have you covered with our simple guide to catfish fishing techniques and tips, including tackle and top bait choices.
Other Fish Species
Several other freshwater species are abundant in the St. Johns River. Three species of gar are present, and bowfin have a small but dedicated following. The latter may top 8 pounds and often strike lures intended for bass.
Bluegill and redbreast sunfish, collectively referred to as bream by many anglers, are very common and sometimes weigh as much as a pound. The best fishing for them is around a full moon during spring and summer, when they spawn in large colonies on shallow flats.
Anglers catch a wide range of additional saltwater species close to the river mouth. Flounder and speckled sea trout are common, and sheepshead, menhaden and black drum are frequently in the mix.
Snook and even the occasional tarpon are caught during the warmer months.
American shad also make a major run into the St. Johns River every winter.
Capable of reaching 3 or 4 pounds (with a state record of just over 5 pounds), shad are known for putting up a remarkable fight on light tackle. Anglers target them using flies and small jigs.
Where to Fish the St. Johns River
Upper St. Johns River
The upper basin of the St. Johns River begins as a single, channelized waterway. As it flows through several small and midsized lakes, the river braids into a maze of sawgrass marshes and channels.
Many consider the Lake Harney inlet the lower end of the upper basin.
Throughout much of this stretch, it can be nearly impossible to distinguish the river’s main stem from the seemingly endless tangle of backwaters. The upper basin also rises by as much as six feet during the wet season.
When that happens, the river expands from as little as 150 feet wide to encompass a vast floodplain that spans miles. The upper basin of the St. Johns River is much easier to fish during the dry season. Most of it flows through state land, which provides some good access.
Bream and crappie are extremely common in the upper basin, particularly in the lakes. Largemouth bass tend to run small in this area but are exceptionally abundant.
The two uppermost lakes, Lake Hell’n Blazes and Lake Sawgrass, are shallow, hard-bottomed lakes with ample vegetation.
No bank access is available at the lakes, but they are ideal for small boats. You can launch from the Sweetwater ramp in Three Forks Conservation Area.
A little farther downriver, Lake Washington offers excellent fishing and easier access, with a boat launch facility and fishing pier in Lake Washington Park. Try fishing for bass with topwaters around shoreline bullrushes.
Additional access is available through River Lakes Conservation Area, which extends from Lake Washington downriver through lakes Winder and Poinsett. This stretch includes several boat launch sites but little to no bank fishing access.
Stretches of the river between the lakes also offer excellent crappie fishing in winter and spring. Target undercut banks along river bends, along with patches of shoreline bullrush.
Continuing downriver, Leroy Wright Recreation Area has a boat ramp and a 1,500-foot riverside boardwalk, a great spot for bank fishing.
Seminole Ranch Conservation Area also has solid access, including a boat launch and bank fishing at Hatbill Park.
The lowest portion of the St. Johns River’s upper basin, which includes Puzzle Lake downstream to Lake Harney, is a great place to fish during the shad run.
C.S. Lee Park, just off State Route 46, has a popular boat launch and fishing pier.
Middle St. Johns River
The middle basin of the St. Johns River extends from Lake Harney downriver to Lake George.
The river widens here and becomes much easier to fish and navigate. The middle basin is also considerably more developed and includes more access than the upper basin.
Although the character of the middle basin varies quite a bit, a lot of it consists of a large, deep main channel along with numerous smaller side channels and sloughs.
Some of the best fishing occurs where these “braids” meet the main river.
The aforementioned C.S. Lee Park is the primary boat launch for accessing Lake Harney, which has excellent winter crappie and bass fishing around shallow grass.
Fishing continues to be excellent downstream as the river exits the lake.
Several bank and boat access sites are available in the miles between lakes Harney and Monroe. Hickory Bluff Preserve offers bank fishing, and the Lemon Bluff Boat Ramp offers free public launch facilities.
Mullet Lake Park also has boat ramps, limited bank access, and a campground along a picturesque bend in the river.
Backwaters in this area are loaded with channel catfish. Also, nearby Lake Jesup is one of the best crappie lakes along the St. Johns River.
The river next enters and then exits Lake Monroe, one of the largest and most popular recreation lakes along the St. Johns River.
Lake Monroe Park is an excellent access site that also provides boat ramps and campsites right at the river outlet at the lower end of the lake.
Blue Spring State Park is a beautiful spot to camp, fish the bank or launch a boat a little farther down the St. Johns River. The cool waters of the park’s natural spring draw many fish to the park area.
Ed Stone Park offers an additional public boat ramp a few miles farther.
This section of the river offers great striper and sunshine bass fishing in spring and fall. The west end of Lake Dexter, where it meets the river channel, is a particularly good area.
The river flows through Volusia, which has several access sites just upriver from Lake George.
Lower St. Johns River
Lake George marks the dividing line between the middle and lower basins of the St. Johns River. Board and shallow, Lake George is the second-largest lake in Florida at 46,000 acres and offers outstanding largemouth bass fishing.
Several parks and boat ramps provide access to Lake George.
Welaka State Forest includes bank access, a canoe/kayak launch and campground just downriver from the lake, and the Welaka Boat Ramp is a more developed launch site nearby.
The St. Johns River widens significantly as it leaves Lake George and heads toward the ocean. The area around the confluence of the Ocklawaha River offers excellent fishing near the Welaka Boat Ramp.
Some of the best fishing in the entire river, especially for largemouth bass, is in the stretch near Palatka. Several creeks marge with the St. Johns River in this area, including Murphy Creek and Dunn’s Creek, forming a network of islands and channels.
Boat ramps at Brown’s Landing, Pico Road and Elgin Grove provide free public launch facilities in the Palatka area. There is also excellent bank fishing at Palatka’s Riverfront Park.
The lower basin of the St. Johns River is tidal, and the direction of the current can change depending on the direction of the tide. Therefore, bass and other game fish will often change locations depending on the tides, moving to the downcurrent side of current breaks and structures.
Continuing downriver, the St. Johns rapidly balloons to 3 or more miles in width. Catfish fishing is great throughout the lower stretch, and this area is also excellent during the peak of the redfish run.
Riverdale Park and Williams Park are a couple of great access sites.
As the river enters Jacksonville, many access points are available. Knights Boat Ramp is an excellent launch site at the mouth of Black Creek, and Stinson Park is a beautiful spot for bank fishing in the heart of the city that also features a launch for non-motorized boats.
Several fishing piers are also available in and around Jacksonville, including the Trout River Pier and Reddie Point Preserve.
Farther east, Helen Cooper Floyd Park, also known as the “Little Jetties,” is a very popular fishing spot near the mouth of the St. Johns River.
More Local Fishing
Not surprisingly, the St. Johns River and some of its lakes made our list of the best bass fishing spots near Jacksonville.
We also have a complete guide to fishing at Lake George.