Hurricane Lake: 318 Electric-Only Acres Northwest of Baker

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

Florida's wildlife agency gives no spring pattern for Hurricane Lake, and no dated spring report is published that we can cite, so this section keeps to what its page supports. Hurricane Lake is a 318-acre impoundment in Blackwater River State Forest, about 12 miles northwest of Baker in Okaloosa County. It averages 7 feet deep and reaches 25, and the state has stocked it with largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and channel catfish. Bluegill and redear sunfish leave their gravel beds for deeper water late in the year; fish near the bottom with crickets or wigglers on 4 to 6 pound line, small hooks and split shot two to three feet up. Concrete ramps with courtesy docks are in both the north and south campgrounds, reached from Beaver Creek Road north of State Road 4, and the state inventory lists a launch fee at each.

No dated summer report is published for Hurricane Lake that we can cite, and the agency's written forecast does not cover the hot months. The north campground has a wheelchair-accessible fishing pier and sites with electric and water hookups; the south campground is primitive, with earthen fishing fingers built for bank anglers. Channel catfish take night crawlers or beef or chicken liver on the bottom in deeper water. Concrete ramps with courtesy docks are in both the north and south campgrounds, reached from Beaver Creek Road north of State Road 4, and the state inventory lists a launch fee at each. Gasoline motors are prohibited and electric trolling motors are allowed. The lake is a Fish Management Area, so its limits are the ones printed for such areas in Florida's freshwater regulations. The deepest water is near the dam and along the old streambed, and a considerable amount of flooded timber remains as fish cover.

The agency's forecast for Hurricane Lake is written for the cooling months. For the year's biggest bass the agency points to deep water along the earthen dam, around standing timber, and near the fish attractors marked with orange and white buoys. As the water cools it says to fish midday in the warmest water you can find, with sunfish or shad imitations, suspending crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps or slow spinnerbaits. Channel catfish take night crawlers or beef or chicken liver on the bottom in deeper water. No dated fall report is published for the lake that we can cite, so this is standing advice and not this season's catch. Gasoline motors are prohibited and electric trolling motors are allowed. The lake is a Fish Management Area, so its limits are the ones printed for such areas in Florida's freshwater regulations.

Cold weather is what the agency's Hurricane Lake forecast is about. For the year's biggest bass the agency points to deep water along the earthen dam, around standing timber, and near the fish attractors marked with orange and white buoys. As the water cools it says to fish midday in the warmest water you can find, with sunfish or shad imitations, suspending crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps or slow spinnerbaits. Bluegill and redear sunfish leave their gravel beds for deeper water late in the year; fish near the bottom with crickets or wigglers on 4 to 6 pound line, small hooks and split shot two to three feet up. The north campground has a wheelchair-accessible fishing pier and sites with electric and water hookups; the south campground is primitive, with earthen fishing fingers built for bank anglers. Concrete ramps with courtesy docks are in both the north and south campgrounds, reached from Beaver Creek Road north of State Road 4, and the state inventory lists a launch fee at each.

Hurricane Lake North Recreation Area

Baker, FL

Parking

spots

Fee

Launch fee (Florida Forest Service)

Concrete ramp with courtesy dock and an accessible pier. Electric motors only.

Hurricane Lake South Recreation Area

Baker, FL

Parking

spots

Fee

Launch fee (Florida Forest Service)

Concrete ramp with courtesy dock in the primitive campground. Electric motors only.