Lake Tarpon

Lake Tarpon is a 2,534-acre Fish Management Area near Tarpon Springs, in Pinellas County. Although the largemouth bass population and size structure is excellent, fishing pressure is relatively low. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) fisheries biologists regularly sample bass during electrofishing surveys on this lake. In fact, Lake Tarpon is rated one of the Top 10 bass lakes in the state of Florida by FWC fisheries biologists. Primary largemouth bass fishing areas are found among the weeds which rim the shoreline. Bulrush (buggy whips), cattail, and tape grass beds are good places to try. Offshore humps, particularly with submerged vegetation, are productive and bass will school and chase shad in open water during the summer months. Public boat ramps are located at the county parks off U.S. Route 19 and County Road 611 (also known as East Lake Road). These parks are open from sunrise to sunset and also offer fishing piers.

*Redear sunfish (shellcracker) can be caught all year from the shell bars on crickets and red wigglers fished below a slip bobber near the bottom, and bluegill (bream) can be caught on crickets and grass shrimp fished along with shoreline vegetation. Bream are spawning in areas three to five feet deep over the clean bottom. Largemouth bass fishing has been good, with two to four-pound bass making up the bulk of the catch. Try fishing a Texas-rigged plastic worm or slow-rolling a spinnerbait around the shell bars near deep water. Bass has been schooling around the mouth of the outfall canal, and if you can match the size of baitfish they are chasing, you might catch as many as thirty to forty fish in a day. Live wild shiners should be very productive when drifted over grass beds or dropped into holes in the grass. Black crappie (specks) fishing has slowed with the warmer water temperature. Try drifting live Missouri minnows, or trolling small jigs and spinners in open water to find the schools. The best bet is a small green tube jig drifted over grass beds.