Florida is a paradise for people who enjoy fishing. Off its coasts and in its lakes and rivers, sport fish abound. The climate makes it possible to fish comfortably throughout the year. A frequent sight on Florida's highways is a boat on a trailer, being towed behind a car. In many towns along the coast charterÊboats and partyÊboats are available. Piers specifically for saltwater fishing are open to the public, and along many of the state's bridges there are walkways from which people can drop a line.
The waters off any point of Florida's coast provide excellent opportunities for recreational fishing, but those from Jacksonville south to the Keys and north to Tampa Bay are the most famous. Here the tarpon, perhaps Florida's most famous sport fish, is numerous. Marlin, another famous large saltwater fighting fish, though less common than the tarpon, is also frequently caught. Although tarpon and marlin are most valued, Florida deep sea fishermen are most likely to catch cobia, mullet, various kinds of mackerel, snook, bonito, grouper, snapper, and even barracuda.
Freshwater fishing opportunities abound throughout the state, from the canals of the Everglades to the lakes, reservoirs, and rivers of northern Florida. Although freshwater fish usually are smaller and less aggressive than many saltwater species, at least one Florida freshwater fish figures frequently in the record books, the largemouth bass. Largemouth bass are found in lakes from south Florida to Pensacola, but record-breaking fish are usually caught in Lake Jackson and Lake Talquin both near Tallahassee. To catch a bass may be the goal of many freshwater fishermen, but there is a much greater likelihood of returning home with a string of perch, bream, bluegill, shellcracker, and catfish.
