Tavares Station on Lake Dora - A Great Place for Bass Fishing

Tavares Station on Lake Dora and The Yacht Club at Tavares Station are located in Central Florida in the City of Tavares,the County Seat of Lake County Florida.  Lake County says it all when it comes to bass fishing.  Lake County contains 167 square miles of water surface area with hundreds of fishable lakes and a significant number of those lakes have public boat ramps grandfathered in from the days when the county was much less populated.  It would be impossible to list them all, so we have listed some of the facts and figures of the most accessible bass fishing lakes in Lake County.

Lake Overview of Lakes in Lake County Florida The Harris Chain of lakes are extremely fertile and contain mostly dark stained water.  The primary cover is Kissimmee grass, eel grass, lily pads, reeds and bullrushes.   There is some very clear water, but it is limited to the backs of residential canals and in the spring creeks that feed the lakes.  If you are fond of bass fishing with light tackle in crystal clear water, you will have good luck in these waters, however these are big bass fishing lakes with strong healthy bass, requiring stout tackle and power techniques.Finesse tactics work well in these lakes, but you take your chances of breaking off a nice fish. There are generally two separate distinct patterns to Harris Chain bass fishing; main lake fish and canal fish.  The seasons and the weather dictate which pattern is best for a particular time.  As a rule if one doesn't produce, the other does.

Big and Little Lake Harris Big Lake Harris is just that, Big.  At over 15,500 acres, Big and Little Lake Harris combined are among the largest lakes in Florida.  Big Lake Harris' average depth is much greater than Lake Okeechobee in South Florida with many deep holes and ledges.  The lake is surrounded by beautiful hills and cypress trees. There are three public launching ramps on Big Lake Harris for the use of bass fishing enthusiasts; off of US Highway 27 to the west, Venetian Gardens in Leesburg Florida and Hickory Point near the Howey bridge off State Road 19.  There is a small but serviceable ramp located on the east side of Little Lake Harris in the City of Astatula Florida. The lakes are almost totally ringed with Kissimmee grass and reeds except for the occasional boat dock or seawall.  The depth in the grass normally ranges from 2-5 feet.  The bottom is mostly hard sand except for some shallow marshy areas where the bottom is soft mud.  Excellent bass fishing can be found in the Ninth Street canals and in the Dead River.   These areas also offer a good place to fish during inclement weather. Unknown to most anglers is a deep ditch that runs along the south shore of Big Lake Harris in Yalaha. This ditch which averages about 15-17 feet in depth, was created by a clay mining operation many years ago.  The ditch has hard bottom and many shell bars along it's sides.  Numerous large bass are caught each year by trolling and casting deep running crank baits near this structure.

  

Lake Eustis Lake Eustis covers 7,806 acres and is connected to Big Lake Harris through the mile long Dead River and to Lake Griffin through Haines Creek.  Both Haines Creek and the Dead River have excellent bass fishing in season.  Surrounding Lake Eustis are numerous residential canals which at certain times of the year can be very productive for bass fishing.  It is also the home of the famous "Gator Hole", a deep sink hole at the end of a natural canal leading off the main lake.   This hole produces scores of bass fishing successes and can produce the fish of a lifetime if you are there at the right time.   For most of the year the canals produce the most consistent action in Lake Eustis. There are two public boat ramps on Lake Eustis.  The popular Buzzard Beach ramp is located between Tavares Florida and Leesburg Florida on State Road 441.  The Eustis city ramp is located on Lakeshore Drive just south of the City of Eustis Florida.

  

The East Lakes Together, the East Harris Chain lakes; Dora, Beauclair and Lake Carlton cover 4,475 acres.   They are connected to Lake Eustis on the north through the Dora Canal and to Lake Apopka to the South through the Apopka Beauclair Canal.  During the recent drought, Game Officials and local anglers planted a considerable amount of new reeds in these lakes.  These reeds are now flooded and have begun to fill in the shore line.  Lake Dora is traditionally the first to turn on in the spring and seems to hold bigger fish than the rest of the lakes.  Again, Kissimmee grass, reeds and bulrushes are the predominate cover.  The boat docks in this lake, especially along the north shore can be very productive for bass fishing during the middle of the day.  South of Lake Dora is Lake Beauclair and tiny Lake Carlton.  Lake Carlton can be reached through a small inlet on the southern shore of Lake Beauclair.  Both of these lakes are known for giant bass.   Most of the big fish are caught by flipping and pitching the boat docks and reeds but local anglers have placed brush piles in these lakes and many bass fishing tournaments are won by fishing these "secret" holes.  The Apopka Beauclair Canal system is a sizable area of clear water that holds bass year round.   The entrance to these canals is located near the southwestern shore of Lake Beauclair.     There is a lot of water to be fished and it is extremely excellent at times for bass fishing.  The so-called "Clear Canal" is located here, which is a major bass fishing area in the bedding season.  Many tournaments have been won in this area for those willing to make the long run. There are three public boat ramps on the East Harris Chain lakes; two on Lake Dora and one in the Town of Lake Jem.  The Lake Jem ramp is on the Apopka Beauclair canal.

Lake Griffin Lake Griffin is the last lake in the Harris Chain.  Water flows into the Lake through Haines Creek and exits into the Ocklawaha River flowing north through the Ocala National Forest as it winds towards the St. Johns River and out to the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville Florida.  Until the late eighties, Lake Griffin was one of the best bass fisheries in the State. There is a navigable entrance into the Emeralda Marsh from Lake Griffin, which has produced a number of local and national tournament bags.

 

Lake Apopka Bass fishing is mostly limited to the Gourd Neck Springs area.  This spring pumps huge amounts of clear water into the lake and has produced many giant bass caught mostly by flipping the nearby grass. This is just an overview of some of the many bass fishing opportunities in Lake County Florida.  If bass fishing is your pleasure, check out Tavares Station on Lake Dora.

Tavares Station on Lake Dora and The Yacht Club at Tavares Station are unique communities exclusively represented by R & S Realty Group, Inc.

Call one of our professionals for a guided tour of the best bass fishing locations in Lake County Florida. 352-253-2400.