By Tara Roberts

Ask anyone, or just read the billboards as you cross Destin Bridge. Fishing for pleasure, sport or profession, is a thriving business on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It is a place where diners can watch from their table as the fishing fleets bring the “Catch of the Day” for local restaurants.

While the focus is on saltwater fishing, with anglers pulling in record Wahoo, tuna and other deep-sea monsters, Florida also offers a wealth of freshwater possibilities.

With more than 11,000 miles of rivers, streams and waterways, nearly 12,200 acres of lakes in the Panhandle alone, and more than two dozen species of freshwater fish, the opportunities are almost endless.

To fish on any of these waterways and lakes, a license is required. These are available at the local tax collector’s office, sporting goods departments at Wal-Mart, online at www.MyFWC.com/license or by calling toll free (888) FISH FLORIDA (347-4356).

For more information on where to get a license, call:

Bay County

• Panama City Beach – (850) 233-5035
• Lynn Haven – (850) 271-8850
• Parker – (850) 872-4654

Franklin County

• Apalachicola – (850) 653-9323

Gulf County

• Port St. Joe – (850) 229-6116

Okaloosa County

• Destin, Fort Walton, Niceville – (850) 651-7300
• Crestview – (850) 689-5700

Santa Rosa County

• Milton – (850) 983-1800

Walton County

• DeFuniak Springs – (850) 892-8121

Temporary seven-day and 12-month licenses are offered for non-residents for $16.50 and $31.50 respectively. Anyone age 16 and older must have a valid license to fish in Florida.

Several outfitters in the Panhandle offer canoe rentals. Just check out http://market.emeraldcoast.com/ for a directory of local businesses.

If it is a day on a lazy river you want, soaking up sunshine and fresh air, away from the maddening crowds with just a boat, fishing pole and nature to keep you company, head out to any one of these freshwater fishing holes:

Apalachicola River – ends at Apalachicola in Gulf County. Apalachicola River runs for 106 miles from Florida-Georgia border to the Gulf of Mexico. Based on the water flow, Apalachicola is largest river in Florida.

For more information contact Bay City Marina (850-653-9294) or Scipio Creek Marina (850-653-8030) in Apalachicola.

• Speckled trout

• Redfish
• Striped bass
• Sunshine bass
• White bass
• Largemouth bass
• River bream (redbreast sunfish)

Bear Lake – located in northeast Santa Rosa County in the Blackwater State Forest about 2 miles each of Munson on State Road 4. A 107-acre man-made impoundment, Bear Lake has an average depth of 8 feet with maximum depth of 23 feet. No gasoline boat motors are allowed.

For more information contact Blackwater Fisheries Center at (850) 957-6177.

• Largemouth bass
• Bluegill
• Redear sunfish (shellcracker)
• Black crappie
• Hybrid striped bas
• Channel catfish

Blackwater and Yellow Rivers – located in north Santa Rosa County about 15 miles northeast of Milton in Blackwater River State Forest. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has stocked these rivers with striped bass in an effort to re-establish the species in the area and to create a trophy fishery. Use caution when fishing these rivers due to submerged debris from Hurricane Ivan.

For more information contact Blackwater River State Park at (850) 983–5363

• Striped bass
• Largemouth bass
• Spotted bass
• Redear sunfish
• Bluegill
• Spotted sunfish
• Warmouth
• Shadow bass

Choctawhatchee River – runs about 96 miles from south Alabama to Choctawhatchee Bay near bordering Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville and portions of Walton County. Choctawhatchee River is the third largest river in Florida.

For more information contact Blackwater Fisheries Center at (850) 957-6177

• Bluegill/bream
• Redear sunfish
• Largemouth bass
• Hybrid striped bass
• Longear sunfish
• Spotted sunfish
• Redbreast sunfish
• Warmouth
• Spotted bass
• Sunshine bass
• Crappie

Dead Lake – a 6,700-acre lake located on the Chipola River near Wewahitchka in Gulf County. Several fish camps are situated along the lakeshore.

For more information contact Dead Lakes State Park and Recreation Area at (850) 639-2702.

• Bluegill
• Redear
• Black crappie
• Spotted sunfish
• Redbreast sunfish
• Largemouth bass

Deerpoint Lake – 5,000-acre impoundment fed by freshwater streams. Located north of Panama City on County Road 2311 in Youngstown.

• Largemouth bass
• Redear sunfish
• Bream
• Crappie
• Catfish

Escambia River – flows south out of Alabama into Escambia Bay with access ramps in Pace on Highway 90 and Santa Rosa County south of Highway 184. Escambia River ranks as the fourth largest river in the state. A fishing pier is also located in Pace along Highway 90.

For more information contact Blackwater Fisheries Center at (850) 957-6175.

• Shadow bass
• Warmouth
• Bluegill
• Longear sunfish
• Redear sunfish
• Spotted sunfish
• Spotted bass
• Largemouth bass
• Black crappie
• Chain pickerel
• Blue catfish (state record 61.5 pounds caught in Escambia River)
• Channel catfish
• Flathead catfish (state record 43.5 pounds caught in Escambia River)
• Sunshine bass

Hurricane Lake – 318-acre man-made impoundment with an average depth of 7 feet and a maximum depth of 25 feet. Located in northwest Okaloosa County in Blackwater State Forest about 12 miles northwest of Baker. No gasoline boat motors are allowed.

For more information contact Blackwater Fisheries Center at (850) 957-6175.

• Largemouth bass
• Bluegill
• Redear sunfish
• Channel catfish
• Black bass – catch and release only

Karick Lake – a 65-acre man-made impoundment designated as a Fish Management Area. Karick Lake is located in northwest Okaloosa County off County Road 189 about eight miles north of Baker. No gasoline boat motors are allowed.

For more information contact Blackwater Fisheries Center at (850) 957-6175.

• Largemouth bass
• Bluegill
• Redear sunfish
• Channel catfish
• Black bass – catch and release only