HISTORY

Only 11 miles west of Florida’s state capital of Tallahassee, Lake Talquin remains an anomaly with over 40 miles of pristine and mostly undeveloped shoreline. With the hustle and bustle of the big city at its doorstep, Lake Talquin provides an opportunity to step into an old Florida landscape surrounded by all the natural beauty Florida has to offer.

The abundance of dead trees and stumps scattered throughout this 15 square mile lake tell the story of what was once a rich floodplain forest turned into a manmade lake after the construction of the Jackson Bluff Dam to produce hydroelectric power in 1927. The southern and southwestern shorelines now form much of Lake Talquin State Forest.

Did you know, the name “Lake Talquin” is a contraction of the names of the cities Tallahassee and Quincy, the two cities the lake is nestled between?

FISHING

Lake Talquin has an abundance of fish including white bass, black bass, striped bass, black crappie, bluegill, bream, pickerel (“jack”), gar, catfish, bowfin and redear sunfish.

NATURAL BAIT FISH

With large amounts of natural bait fish such as golden shiner, seminole killfish, sunfish, crayfish, threadfin shad and gizzard shad, the predator fish of Lake Talquin remain very active.

CRAPPIE

On Lake Talquin, winter is prime time to catch some great black crappie. For best success, troll slowly in open water, varying your depths until you find schools of crappie, as they will be suspended. Spider rigging is also effective.

LARGEMOUTH BASS

Drop-offs and channels are the best places to catch largemouth bass. For best success, anchor your boat in 6-8 feet of water and fish in the deeper channels. During springtime, fish in 4-7 feet of water near the grass flats, being sure to look along the river and creek channels for spawning habitat. Utilize Texas or Carolina rigged plastic worms.

STRIPED BASS

The best months to catch striper are February, March and April. Autumn and winter are also good times as it’s when they school in open water. Be sure to utilize any artificial bait that resembles threadfin shad, including minnow imitations and chugger-style topwater lures. The Florida Fish And Wildlife Commission keeps the striper population high by stocking the lake. If you’re catching striper, the average size is 10-15 lbs., with few being over 20 lbs.

WILDLIFE

Florida’s unique wildlife can all be found at Lake Talquin. From whitetail deer, while turkeys and bald eagles, to water turtles, eastern gray squirrels and fox squirrels, there’s no shortage of wildlife both in the lake and the surrounding forest. You can also find ospreys, egrets, blue herons, water snakes and alligators.

If you are a birdwatcher, Lake Talquin has more than 100 species of birds that nest along the lake at different seasons of the year.