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Home › Waters › Florida › Lake Talquin
Reservoir · Gadsden and Leon counties on the Ochlockonee River west of Tallahassee · Florida

Lake Talquin Fishing Guides

A cypress-lined Panhandle impoundment west of Tallahassee, built in 1927 and still one of the finest black crappie fisheries in Florida.

Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Lake Talquin

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.

About the Lake Talquin

Lake Talquin was formed in 1927 when the Jackson Bluff Dam closed on the Ochlockonee River, about fifteen miles west of Tallahassee. It covers roughly eighty-eight hundred acres and looks nothing like the open, grassy lakes of central Florida. Talquin is a river impoundment: it has a defined old river channel running through it, standing and submerged timber over much of its area, cypress along the shoreline and stained, tannic water. Fishing it is closer to fishing a southern reservoir than to fishing the peninsula.

Black crappie, known locally as speckled perch, are the reason most guided trips book here. Talquin has a long-standing reputation as one of the best crappie waters in Florida, and the fishery is built on the standing timber and the channel edges, worked by trolling jigs and by vertical fishing tight to cover. The season peaks in the cool months when fish stage and then move shallow to spawn, and a good winter day on Talquin produces numbers that are hard to match anywhere in the state.

Largemouth bass are the other principal species, holding on the same timber and along the cypress. Bluegill and redear sunfish, the redear locally called shellcracker, provide excellent spring bedding fishing. Channel catfish are abundant and sunshine bass, the hatchery hybrid, are stocked and schooled in the open water. The lake is managed by the Northwest Florida Water Management District, the timber makes navigation genuinely hazardous for anyone who does not know the water, and drawdowns are used periodically as a habitat management tool. Both of those facts argue strongly for a guide on a first visit. The tailrace below Jackson Bluff Dam fishes as a separate small fishery for catfish, sunshine bass and the occasional striped bass moving up from the lower Ochlockonee, and it is accessible from shore when the lake is unfishable.

Pool right now

68.61ft NGVD29
  • 24 hours+0.02 ft → steady
  • For the dateHigh for the date

Reading taken 1h ago at USGS 02329900, LAKE TALQUIN NR BLOXHAM, FLA.. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

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Access

Ingram's Marina - the main north shore access on the Gadsden County side, with a ramp and bait.
Whippoorwill Sportsman's Lodge - south shore access with a ramp, lodging and the local guide base.
Williams Landing - a Leon County ramp on the southeast shore near the dam.
Hopkins Landing and Coe Landing - county park accesses with ramps and shore fishing on the south side.
Jackson Bluff Dam - the deep east end and the tailrace water below the structure.
The old Ochlockonee channel - the defining structure of the lake and the primary crappie ground.
Tallahassee, about twenty minutes east - lodging, tackle, licenses and the nearest full services.

Seasons

Spring: crappie finish spawning and move back to the channel, while bluegill and shellcracker bed hard through April and May.
Summer: largemouth bass hold tight to timber and the fishing is an early morning and late evening business in the heat.
Fall: cooling water scatters fish across the flats and the bass fishing improves steadily through November.
Winter: the peak crappie season, with fish staging on the channel edges and then moving shallow to spawn.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Lake Talquin?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Redear Sunfish, Sunshine Bass on the Lake Talquin in Florida.

Are there fishing guides on the Lake Talquin?

GuidedFloats lists 3 guides and outfitters on the Lake Talquin. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Lake Talquin?

Ingram's Marina - the main north shore access on the Gadsden County side, with a ramp and bait. Whippoorwill Sportsman's Lodge - south shore access with a ramp, lodging and the local guide base. Williams Landing - a Leon County ramp on the southeast shore near the dam. Hopkins Landing and Coe Landing - county park accesses with ramps and shore fishing on the south side. Jackson Bluff Dam - the deep east end and the tailrace water below the structure. The old Ochlockonee channel - the defining structure of the lake and the primary crappie ground. Tallahassee, about twenty minutes east - lodging...

When is the best time to fish the Lake Talquin?

Spring: crappie finish spawning and move back to the channel, while bluegill and shellcracker bed hard through April and May. Summer: largemouth bass hold tight to timber and the fishing is an early morning and late evening business in the heat. Fall: cooling water scatters fish across the flats and the bass fishing improves steadily through November. Winter: the peak crappie season, with fish staging on the channel edges and then moving shallow to spawn.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake Talquin?

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