Deer Point Lake: 5,000 Acres of Shellcracker Water Above Panama City

Major and minor solunar windows shift daily with the moon’s transit. Fish the windows above, or check the Seasonal Playbook below for Deer Point Lake’s current pattern.

Spring is shellcracker season, and it is what Deer Point Lake is best known for. Florida's wildlife agency puts the redear sunfish fishing from April through June, with earthworms as live bait. It adds that fly fishing for shellcracker can be productive in spring in the early morning, late afternoon and evening. Bluegill fishing is good in spring as well, on crickets and earthworms. Largemouth bass are at their best from spring into early summer, the agency says, on plastic worms and crankbaits, and broken-back minnow lures work for bass when fished near the shoreline. Panfish hold along the weed lines of the old river channels and near structure. Bass follow Florida's statewide rule: five a day, only one of them 16 inches or longer. No dated spring report is published for the lake that we can cite, so treat this as the agency's standing advice and not a catch report from this year.

No dated summer report is published for Deer Point Lake that we can cite, so this section keeps to what the state agency says about the lake. Shellcracker fishing runs through June on earthworms, and the agency's bass window covers spring to early summer, on plastic worms and crankbaits, with broken-back minnow lures near the shoreline. Its advice for the low-light hours applies in the heat: target bass around vegetation at dawn or dusk with topwater baits such as buzzbaits and frogs, dark-colored artificial worms, or live shiners. Bluegill and redear sunfish can be found along the weed lines of the old river channels and near structure, and worms or crickets work for both. The four fish attractors, brush piles installed in the fall of 2022, are marked with white and orange buoys. A fishing pier stands near the boat ramp on the west side of the dam, the agency says, for anglers without a boat.

Fall is the second bass season on Deer Point Lake. Florida's wildlife agency says bass fishing should pick up during October and November as the water cools. It says to fish early in the morning or late in the afternoon along the weed lines of the old creek channels in Bear Creek, Econfina Creek, Cedar Creek and Bayou George. Anglers also do well near the docks in the main lake and by the four fish attractors, sunken brush piles marked with white and orange buoys. Around vegetation at dawn or dusk the agency suggests buzzbaits, topwater frogs, dark-colored artificial worms or live shiners. Black crappie pick up this time of year too: the agency points to the Highway 2301 bridge in Bear Creek, with a 1/16 to 1/8 ounce feather or curly-tailed jig, or a live minnow. Bluegill and shellcracker stay on the weed lines and take worms or crickets.

Florida's wildlife agency gives no winter pattern of its own for Deer Point Lake, and no dated winter report is published that we can cite. What it does say carries over from late fall. Black crappie fishing picks up as the water cools, and the agency's spot is the Highway 2301 bridge in Bear Creek, fished with a 1/16 to 1/8 ounce feather or curly-tailed jig, or a live minnow. Bluegill and redear sunfish can be found along the weed lines of the old river channels and near structure, on worms or crickets. The four fish attractors put in during the fall of 2022 are marked with white and orange buoys. One fish camp is named on the agency's page: Tharp's Camp, off Resota Beach Road, at 850-265-2330. Five ramps and one hand launch are mapped on this page with GPS. The bass limit is five a day, only one of them 16 inches or longer.

David W. Hutchinson Park Boat Ramp

Youngstown, FL

Parking

spots

Fee

Launch fee (Bay County)

Bay County park on the upper lake, two launch lanes.

Ira Hutchinson Park Boat Ramp

Panama City, FL

Parking

spots

Fee

Bay County park at the dam end, two launch lanes, no launch fee listed in the state inventory.

McCall-Everitt Park Boat Ramp

Panama City, FL

Parking

spots

Fee

Bay County park at the dam end, two launch lanes. The state inventory calls it the lake's draw-down ramp.

Bayhead North Public Boat Ramp

Youngstown, FL

Parking

spots

Fee

Bay County, one launch lane, no launch fee listed.