Clay County Tourism
Green Cove Springs, FL
We're the Largemouth Bass Capital of the World
Located in Northeast Florida, Clay County offers 39 square miles of waterways—perfect for reeling in ‘the big one’ at one of the area’s many fishing spots. From Black Creek to Swimming Pen Creek and the mighty St. Johns River, fishing is a popular outdoor activity in the region with many accessible boat ramps and fishing piers available to those ready to make memories on the water.
Popular with the locals, most fisherman spend their time in Clay County along Black Creek, Doctors Lake and the adjacent St. Johns River. The vegetative Black Creek is deep and known for black crappie year-round and all riverine panfish like redfish and bluegill in the spring, summer and fall months. Typically, during the summer months striped bass take advantage of the creek’s cooler temperatures. In Doctors Lake, boaters have been catching mullets, blue catfish and channel catfish with its brackish water and warm temperatures. The St. Johns River flows north through 12 counties in Florida eventually making its way to the Atlantic Ocean. With that, this river is known to be home to both saltwater and freshwater fish offering a variety of fishing opportunities. From largemouth bass to crappie, catfish and blue gills, the river is also an extremely popular area for catching shrimp too. Many shrimping boats can be found just south of the Buckman Bridge on the St. Johns River.
No matter whether you decide to fish on the shore or on the water, there are plenty of piers, boat ramps and kayak launches in Clay County.