Santa Fe Lake fishing: Sunshine Bass
Target species: Sunshine Bass
Best months: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr for Sunshine Bass
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Santa Fe Lake Park, 2 lanes, concrete.
The lake
Santa Fe Lake covers 5,188 acres in Florida, across 2 counties: Alachua and Bradford. It is a lake: the deepest point measured is at least 28 feet (8.5 m). Our records hold 19 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 28 ft (8.5 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. We hold 77 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–2 ft: 0.1% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 0.5% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 1.5% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 3.1% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 5% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 6.1% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 7.6% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 9% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 11.5% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 11.1% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 12% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 7.8% of the water
- 24–26 ft: 13.1% of the water
- 26–28 ft: 11.6% of the water
The target fish: Sunshine Bass
- Sunshine Bass (hybrid striped bass, hybrids) — Best months: Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr. A trophy starts at 5 lb. Holds in open water, drop-offs, current and canals. What works here: lipless crankbait, spoon, swimbait, jig and jerkbait.
Also recorded here: Common Carp.
Water and conditions
Water clarity runs 4.5–8 feet on our readings, averaging 6.5 feet, from 815 readings. Our water temperature readings average 78°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 58°F and the warmest is 88°F; the warmest monthly average is 86°F. pH averages 6.6. These readings span 2016–2025.
Stocking: 27,315 fish in 2012
FWC records list 27,315 fish released into this water in 2012. The latest stocking on record is from 2012, more than three years ago.
- Sunshine Bass: 27,315 phase I fish in 2012
4 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps.
- Santa Fe Lake Park — 2 lanes, concrete, parking for 14 trailers (paved), no fee, portable restrooms, dock. Melrose, Alachua County. 42500 NE SR 26, Melrose 32666 · website alachuacounty.us/Depts/pcl/Pages/Details.aspx?park=Santa%20Fe%20Lake%20Park
- Little Santa Fe Lake — 2 lanes, concrete, parking for 8 trailers (firm unpaved), no fee, open around the clock, portable restrooms, dock. Keystone Heights, Bradford County. 3786 SE CR 21B, Keystone Heights 32656 · phone (904) 966-6327 · website bradfordcountyfl.gov/parks
- Melrose Boat Ramp (12 HP or smaller) — 1 lane, concrete, parking for 2 trailers (paved), no fee. Melrose, Alachua County. 6116 Trout Street, Melrose 32666 · website alachuacounty.us/Depts/pcl/Pages/Details.aspx?park=Melrose%20Boat%20Ramp
- Camp Mckinney — 1 lane, marina, concrete, paid. Melrose. 572 Se 16th St/73rd, Melrose 32666
3 of the 4 places listed have both a fee and opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 5,188 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Alligators live in Florida fresh water. Keep clear of the bank edge at dawn and dusk, and keep pets away from it. Summer water sits at 86°F: heat and afternoon lightning are the real risks, not the fishing.
Where this data comes from
- Florida FWC — FWC Florida lake bathymetry: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
