Lake Panasoffkee
is a 4,460-acre Fish Management Area located by
the town of Lake Panasoffkee. Panasoffkee is
truly unusual, a natural spring-fed lake, water
depths seldom exceed four feet. Lake Panasoffkee
connects to the
Withlacoochee
River which is well over 157 miles long
flowing out to the Gulf of Mexico. I-75 runs
along the eastern edge and C.R. 470 along the
southern and western shore. A public ramp is
available on the Outlet River, west of the lake
on C.R. 470.
There's
abundant numbers of threadfin shad (excellent
bass forage) and largemouth bass in the 1 to 4
pound range with very big stomachs. Bass are
feeding heavily on the readily available
threadfin shad. Fishing floating Rat-L-Trap or
shallow diving crankbaits with chartreuse in it
(to match up with the threadfin’s yellow/green
tail). Jerkworms and spinnerbaits will also
produce schooling-size bass.
There are also large numbers of smaller sized
bluegill around eel grass beds and near shore.
Fishing crickets or grass shrimp around eel
grass beds should work well for the available
bream.
Lake Panasoffkee
Fishing Reports:
Lake Panasoffkee History Information and Map:
Lake Panasoffkee WMA
lies along the eastern shore of Lake
Panasoffkee, in north central Sumter County.
This nearly 9,000-acre area was acquired between
1990 and 1997 to preserve the lake and its
associated floodplain forests. Four spring-fed
creeks enter the lake. Pinelands and oak scrub
are found at higher elevations. Wild turkey,
feral hogs, white-tailed deer, armadillo, hawks,
turtles, and wading birds are common residents.
Lake Panasoffkee WMA is part of the
Great Florida Birding Trail. On the loop
trail through the open pasture kestrels,
meadowlarks, and killdeer may be observed. The
spur to Little Jones Creek is a good spot to
hear and observe warblers. Over eight miles of
shared trails are available for bicycling, and
18 more miles of trails are open for horseback
riding and hiking. Visitors can picnic in the
open pavilion. Lake Panasoffkee offers separate
primitive equestrian and group campsites.
Pavilion and campsites may be reserved for group
use with the Southwest Florida Water Management
District upon request. Fishing, boating, and
paddling are available on the lake, which is
accessible from a nearby county boat ramp.
Panasoffkee is a
lake, but it was almost a city. Only by a
strange set of circumstances is it still a
typical cypress swamp, carpeted by rare jungle
flowers and inhabited by birds and wild animals
such as are seen in their native habitat by only
a few Florida tourists.
All of this might
have been a metropolis. The Florida Gazetteer of
1887 show Panasoffkee twice the size of
Jacksonville. There was no Orlando in those
days. Even before that year, however a
settlement existed on the lake. In the earlier
1880's, when the Florida Central Railroad
extended south from Wildwood, the first new
station stop was Panasoffkee.
