Kayak Fishing Report: Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area

Happy Sunday SpaceFish,

So today I am going to talk about Three Forks Marsh Conservation Area. I have now fished this area 3 times, once in the early summer, once in the early fall, and this past weekend. Not to put a damper on the report before you dive in, but this is one of the areas I have covered that I will come out and say from the onset, it’s not as friendly toward the kayak (paddle powered) angler as it is if you had a boat. But that being said, it’s fishable, it is a beautiful place to paddle and fish, and there are certainly fish to be caught there!

Where to Launch:
Thomas O. Lawton Recreation Area. Located just south of Heritage High School, Malabar Road runs out and there you are. There is a two laned boat ramp, there are also restrooms on the premises. For someone looking to fish from the bank, there are levee trails you can walk down and you would be able to cover a lot of water fishing from land. If you have a bike with rod holders and that’s your thing, you would really enjoy this place!

Where to Fish:
So let me first explain why it is better for the boater. When looking at the satellite imagery on google maps you will see that this wetland has been cut in a grid shape to create a series of canals for boats, and airboats. The place I’ve heard is loaded is the back pond in the southwest part of this area. However, if you’re paddling to get down there, and then have to paddle back, probably not going to happen. However, if you do check this area out, look at how you would navigate there.

I followed that path going south of the boat ramp, then bending southwest until it straightened out into the east-west canal. Each time I fished a little while in transit, but didn’t slow down and pick it apart. I caught 2 total fish in 3 trips down the canal. Not saying it’s un-fishy, I really didn’t do much fishing along the way. Following that canal you will see a 4 way intersection. That’s the area that I really start fishing, you can go north or south out of here. Things open up on each side of the intersection, and this is where I have spent a good deal of time. There are a lot of nooks and crannies that most people in a motorized vessel probably move past on the way to the back that can be a good fishing for a kayak angler. Especially if you take a left and head south. There are a line of submerged trees that fish a lot like those at Stick Marsh, you can get in and out of those in a kayak, and get into the area behind it. But you will see from satellite imagery there are a lot of “pockets” of water that can be explored.

Getting back on the main canal, you can head west again until you reach the levee that divides the Three Forks area from the St. John’s River, once again you can turn left or right and things open back up. There is much more water if you head south, and at that point it would be up to you to decide how far south you go.

Going back to the first canal that runs south from the boat ramp. You could also take that straight down several miles south, and you could also take a path that leads back east. I have not went to those area because there doesn’t seem to be as many fishing opportunities to justify the paddle. The juice doesn’t look like it is worth the squeeze there. But if you are reading this and you have, I’d love to hear about it!

What Worked For Me:
Starting with this past Saturday. It was overcast, and a bit chilly, but the fish were active. I got out on the water later on in the morning due to it being a little on the chilly side. I had my best day out there catching 14 total. With my biggest being the fish in the picture above, which was right at 19 inches. None of the others I caught were above 15 inches. The biggest was caught on a Gambler Ribbontail Worm in Xmas color which is like a deep purple, almost like Fanta Grape Soda with red and green flakes. But the two baits that caught the most were a Yamamoto Swimming Senko in Black/Blue and a Zoom Ultravibe (speed worm) in Junebug Red. I rigged the Ribbontail on a Texas Rig with a ¼ oz weight pegged with a bobber stopper with a 4/0 Gamakatsu hook, the Swimming Senko was rigged on a 4/0 Owner twistlock hook with a ⅛ oz belly weight, and the speed worm was also Texas Rigged on a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook, with a 3/16 oz weight pegged.

What Didn’t Work:
Topwater. Once I started getting bites and with the overcast weather I fished a black Whopper Plopper, and also fished a black hollow body popping frog but got 0 bites or blowups. I also fished a swimbait and got nothing.

Earlier Trips:
To be honest my first 2 trips out there were not great, which is why I haven’t written about it yet. The first trip I caught 2, and the 2nd trip I caught 3. Both times it was hot with very little cloud cover, so it wasn’t an ideal fishing condition, but they were slow days. I think having the ability to flip and punch would have brought more fish in the summertime.

Conclusion:
I always enjoy reading Terry’s reports here and I know that he has a ton of success fishing Three Forks, if you have questions, he is probably the guy to ask! It’s a cool spot to go check out if you haven’t been before, as far as the scenery goes, it is absolutely breathtaking. If there is a downside to Bass fishing in Florida it is that there are so many famous lakes that sometimes it is easy to overlook other spots that may not show up on a google search of best Bass fishing in Florida, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t fish there, and it doesn’t mean that your catch of a lifetime isn’t swimming there waiting to thump whatever you throw at it.

I hope everyone has a great week, and is able to go out and set your hook into something. Until next time!