Lake Blue Cypress
About Lake Blue Cypress
Lake Blue Cypress is located on the Treasure Coast of Florida about 20 miles west of Vero Beach, covers 6,555 prime central Florida acres of land. Perfectly situated beneath Farm 13, the lake’s name comes from the lake’s cypress trees’ bluish glow, as the brilliant morning sun reflects off the lake’s surface.
Lake Blue Cypress is reportedly the St. Johns River‘s headwater, which flows northward more than 300 miles to Jacksonville and the Atlantic Ocean. The St. Johns River Water Management District owns most of the 21-mile shoreline, surrounded by 29,000 acres of marshes, swamps, and cypress forests. The lake is about 7 miles long and 3 miles wide.
The area is part of the District’s 150,000-acre reclamation project to reverse decades of pollution and restore marshes. Lake Blue Cypress is one of the cleanest in the St. Johns District. The Indian River County’s Park on the lake’s west side provides two boat launches, a floating dock, parking, two covered pavilions, primitive camping, canoeing and hiking, and restrooms and showers.
You’ll find plenty of these large, fish-eating members of the hawk and eagle family at this Lake. Osprey is frequently confused with the Bald Eagle due to its white head. A full-sized adult has a body length of 23 inches with a wingspan of over 5 feet.
Top Lake Blue Cypress Fish Species
Fishing the Lake
The lake’s average depth is only 8 to 9 feet, allowing a good deal of water vegetation to grow. Though not ideal for swimmers, these aquatic conditions create terrific opportunities for bass anglers. As anglers will gladly tell you, Lake Blue Cypress is a fisherman’s paradise similar to Lake Oconee. Some of the cleanest water in Florida makes the perfect home for bluegill, catfish, chain pickerel, crappie, largemouth bass, shell crackers, and warmouth.
Best known as one of Florida’s premier destinations for bass, the giant largemouth on record at the lake weighed an impressive 18 pounds, 2 ounces. It makes sense, as the lake’s shallow depths create prime conditions for lily pads, sawgrass, and submerged logs to weave among the cypress roots, the perfect homes for all the lake’s fish. The FWC did a restocking of the lake in 2008. To watch the video, please click here!
RESERVE A FISHING TRIP
Lake Blue Cypress
Best
Lake Blue Cypress
Lake Blue Cypress
Lake Blue Cypress Reviews
Blue Cypress Rocks!
CLICK HERE TO WRITE A LAKE REVIEW
Top Lake Blue Cypress Captains
How to get started
To start your fishing day, put-in at the boat ramp at Indian River County’s Lake Blue Cypress Park. Head under the bridge and out the channel to the lake. Turning north will take you along the most picturesque part of the lake, and you’ll be sure to see many ospreys in the cypress trees. Within the first mile north of the boat ramp, several small creeks are feeding off the lake.
The first one you’ll spot is Thum Creek, followed 1/2 mile later by Blue Cypress Creek. These make exciting side-trips and an opportunity to explore the cypress swamps, complete with sub-tropical ferns, alligators, and mosquitoes.
At about 2.5 miles, you hit the north end of the lake. Going east for another mile takes you to Moonshine Bay. After fishing there, head southwest for 3 miles across the lake. If you still have the energy to burn, south of the fish camps, the scenery changes dramatically with Kissimmee grass replacing the cypress trees.
At 2 miles south, you’ll come to Fisher Creek and a small canal with limited access.
Lake Apopka Boat Ramps
Location
Lake Blue Cypress positioned at 27°45′15″N 80°44′37″W. It is the headwaters of the St. Johns River. The lake is 21 mi (34 km) in diameter, and it is over 6,500 acres (26 km²) in size. It is directly west of Fellsmere, 11 miles away. To the north is Palm Bay, to the west is Yeehaw Junction, and to the east is Fellsmere.
Additional information on lake status, go to fola.org, floridaconservation.org, FWC.org, wikipedia.org