Beta

GuidedFloats is in beta. The full site launches March 1, 2027. The mobile app follows.

Guides: claim before March 1, 2027 and your first full season of Premium is free. Claim your founding spot →

Log in List your guide serviceFor guides
Home › Waters › Florida › Hunter Spring Run
Estuary · Florida Nature Coast, Citrus County, the spring-fed Kings Bay headwaters of the Crystal River · Florida

Hunter Spring Run Fishing Guides

A short spring run feeding Kings Bay at the head of the Crystal River, where constant seventy-two degree spring water meets tidal flow and holds fish and manatees through the coldest weather.

Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Hunter Spring Run

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

No guides listed yet

Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.

About the Hunter Spring Run

Hunter Spring Run is one of the spring runs feeding Kings Bay at the head of the Crystal River in Citrus County, on Florida’s Nature Coast. Kings Bay is fed by a large cluster of springs that together discharge an enormous volume of water at a nearly constant seventy-two degrees, and that thermal stability is the single most important fact about this water.

The run itself is short, clear and shallow, and it meets tidal water almost immediately. That meeting is what makes the fishing unusual. Salinity shifts with the tide and with spring discharge, and the result is a place where largemouth bass and saltwater species can be caught within sight of each other. Anglers used to a clean line between fresh and salt find this stretch genuinely strange the first time.

Red drum and spotted seatrout are the most consistent targets and work the bay and the grass throughout the year. Common snook use the warm spring water heavily, particularly in winter when the constant temperature becomes a refuge from Gulf cold fronts. Mangrove snapper, sheepshead and black drum hold on structure, and largemouth bass occupy the fresher water closest to the spring vents.

Manatees are the complicating factor and they are not incidental. Kings Bay holds one of the largest wintering manatee populations in Florida, and the springs are protected sanctuaries with seasonal closures, idle zones and entry restrictions. Some areas are closed outright in winter. Anglers must know the current boundaries and respect them, and enforcement here is active rather than nominal.

Crystal River is a well developed destination with guides, marinas, lodging and tackle, and the manatee tourism that drives much of the local economy also means heavy boat and swimmer traffic through the bay in winter. Early mornings are calmer. The broader Nature Coast, including Homosassa just south, offers plenty of quieter water for the same species.

This water has no photo

Nobody has photographed Hunter Spring Run for GuidedFloats yet.

This page is running without a picture. The first published photograph of this water earns the Pioneer badge — one per water, awarded once, and it stays yours.

Add a photo of this water See the badges

Pioneer badgeUnclaimed

Add a photo of this water

Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.

Never published. It is how the badge is held for you until member accounts open.

Posting to Hunter Spring Run.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. Landscape orientation looks best at the top of the page. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name printed under the photo and on your badge. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Hunter Spring Run.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Hunter Springs Park - the public park and beach at the spring run.
Beach Lane - the road at the gauge and the access to the park.
Kings Bay - the spring-fed bay at the head of the river.
Crystal River - the town and the river itself, with guides and full services.
Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge - the refuge protecting the springs and manatee sanctuaries.
Three Sisters Springs - the best known of the protected spring sanctuaries nearby.
Homosassa - the neighboring spring river system just south.

Seasons

Spring: warming water, strong redfish and seatrout fishing and manatee restrictions easing.
Summer: hot and bright, with the spring run the coolest water around and snook active.
Fall: the steadiest conditions of the year, clear water and moving fish with lighter traffic.
Winter: manatees concentrate in the springs, sanctuary closures apply, and snook hold in the warm flow.

From the water

No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.

Log this water

Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.

Questions

What is the current flow on the Hunter Spring Run?

As of Sep 17, 6:30 am, the USGS gauge HUNTER SPR RUN AT BEACH LANE AT CRYSTAL RIVER FL reads 39 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Hunter Spring Run?

Anglers target Black Drum, Common Snook, Largemouth Bass, Mangrove Snapper, Red Drum, Sheepshead, Spotted Seatrout, Striped Bass on the Hunter Spring Run in Florida.

Where can you access the Hunter Spring Run?

Hunter Springs Park - the public park and beach at the spring run. Beach Lane - the road at the gauge and the access to the park. Kings Bay - the spring-fed bay at the head of the river. Crystal River - the town and the river itself, with guides and full services. Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge - the refuge protecting the springs and manatee sanctuaries. Three Sisters Springs - the best known of the protected spring sanctuaries nearby. Homosassa - the neighboring spring river system just south.

When is the best time to fish the Hunter Spring Run?

Spring: warming water, strong redfish and seatrout fishing and manatee restrictions easing. Summer: hot and bright, with the spring run the coolest water around and snook active. Fall: the steadiest conditions of the year, clear water and moving fish with lighter traffic. Winter: manatees concentrate in the springs, sanctuary closures apply, and snook hold in the warm flow.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Hunter Spring Run?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Florida agency site: https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/