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Lake Talquin Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Tallahassee's stump garden: an old Ochlockonee impoundment famous for crappie tonnage, live-oak shorelines and January limits.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
84 / 88 F
Wind
S 12 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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 early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Lake Talquin stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 12 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 88. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 89 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

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.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp84 F
High / Low88 / 78 F
WindS 12-18 mph
Pressure1013.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 53%
Sunrise / Sunset07:16 / 19:57
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 88/78 F, wind 12 mph, rain 53%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Lake Talquin 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)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 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 Lake Talquin today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 9 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

Florida license. Crappie 25/day: check FWC. Navigation: unmarked stumps lake-wide.

Access

Williams Landing, Coe Landing, High Bluff (county/state ramps); fish camps along SR-20.

About this water

8,850 acres on the Ochlockonee River, Leon/Gadsden counties, FL. Tallahassee's historic crappie water.

Fishing Lake Talquin: the full guide

The capital's crappie pond

Talquin flooded the Ochlockonee in 1927 and kept its timber: today's lake is a stump field wearing Spanish moss, and its speckled perch (crappie) fishery ranks with Florida's best. Winter is the season: January-March fills coolers as fish school the river channel: the state's northern crappie culture centers here.

Speck seasons

Winter: drift or spider-rig minnows along the channel edges at 12-20 ft: the proven Talquin program: then March pushes spawners to the shoreline cypress and pads (jigs under corks). Summer specks suspend over the deepest holes at dawn: locals troll tiny jigs and call it a morning by nine.

Bass in the wood

The largemouth fishery works the endless cover: flipping stumps and cypress knees, frogs across the pad fields, and a spinnerbait bite after winter rains stain the river end. Talquin bass run chunky if not enormous: 8-lb fish come every spring from water most boats idle past.

Stump-field seamanship

Navigation is the lake's tax: stumps everywhere, marked lanes limited, and plane-speed shortcuts punished. Idle the unfamiliar, follow the channel markers, and fish the hazards: every prop scar on the lake maps a crappie school. Bank access at the state forest and fish camps keeps boatless anglers in the game.

Common questions

When is crappie season at Lake Talquin?

December-March on the channel schools, with the March shoreline spawn the finale: it is Florida's best big-water speck run north of Okeechobee's latitude.

Is Lake Talquin dangerous to run?

Only at speed in ignorance: stumps rule the lake. Idle-and-learn the first trips, run marked lanes, and the hazard becomes the habitat you fish.

Is fishing good at Lake Talquin 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 early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Lake Seminole28 miSaint Marks River33 miApalachicola Bay55 miPanama City Beach75 miSteinhatchee88 miChoctawhatchee Bay104 mi
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