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Clearwater Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Clearwater Lake: a Forest Service recreation area with a lakeside campground and beach just outside Paisley in the Ocala National Forest.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
77 / 78 F
Wind
NNE 14 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Clearwater Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NNE around 14 mph, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 78. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:02 AM-12:02 PM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Florida requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents. What a Florida licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with FWC before you keep anything. The season dates for Florida, read off the agency, are on the Florida seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp77 F
High / Low78 / 56 F
WindNNE 14-20 mph
Pressure1017.1 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain39% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:32 / 18:48
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Clearwater Lake this week

The best day on Clearwater Lake this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:02 AM-12:02 PM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM
Minor period
4:23 AM-5:23 AM
Sun
07:32 to 18:48
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 14 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Clearwater Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

When to come: the Clearwater Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Clearwater Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 79 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 78 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

A Florida freshwater fishing license is required. FWC's statewide limits (as published July 20, 2026): 5 black bass a day, only one of which may be 16 inches or longer; 50 panfish; 25 crappie. Check FWC's special-rule and Fish Management Area lists before fishing.

Access

Clearwater Lake Recreation Area, 24511 CR 42, Paisley (facility phone 352-669-0078). The campground gate locks at 6 p.m. in daylight-saving months and 4 p.m. from November to March. No boat ramp was confirmed on an official page.

About this water

A lake beside Clearwater Lake Recreation Area, on the southeastern edge of the Ocala National Forest near Paisley, Florida.

Fishing Clearwater Lake: the full guide

On the forest's southeastern edge

The National Forests in Florida listing on Recreation.gov places Clearwater Lake Recreation Area on the southeastern edge of the Ocala National Forest, just outside the community of Paisley. It has a shaded campground with lakefront sites, a day-use picnic area, a beach and the 1.3-mile Clearwater Lake Loop Trail. The forest covers 383,000 acres in four counties.

Fish the listing names

The same listing says campers can fish for largemouth bass, bream and catfish, swim in the lake and rent canoes at the campground, and that a 7-mile canoe trail lies nearby. It warns that alligators live in the area and that bears and raccoons are common, so all food must go in approved containers.

Nearby trails and pet rules

A segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail and the 22-mile Paisley Woods Bicycle Trail are reachable from the recreation area. Pets are allowed only in the campground, on a leash; they are not allowed in the day-use area, the bathrooms, the lake or on the trail around the lake.

Common questions

What fish are in Clearwater Lake?

The Forest Service listing on Recreation.gov names largemouth bass, bream and catfish.

Can I swim there?

Yes. The recreation area has a beach and the listing mentions swimming in the lake. Alligators live in the area, so use caution around the water.

Can I bring a dog?

Only into the campground, on a leash. Pets are not allowed in the day-use area, in the lake or on the lake trail.

Is fishing good at Clearwater Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Saint Johns River13 miSt. Johns River15 miLake Harris21 miMosquito Lagoon48 miOrange Lake49 miLake Tohopekaliga55 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 28.9794, -81.5550 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.