Well that's a good question. To me there are two kinds of Florida fish camps I divide up as salt water and fresh water fish camps. And since I love to bass fish, I decided to focus mainly on just fresh water fish camps since they are now going by the wayside sort of like the buggy whip, but the salt water fish camps are doing very well indeed.
To describe an old style Florida fish camp I have go back in Florida history to the days of when access to this state was still dirt roads. People who moved in here were wise to homestead land along some of our great rivers and lakes. And this is how many of our old Florida fish camps got started.
Usually, they would be about the only access to a particular lake or section of a river. This was in the days before our state government began building and developing public boat ramps all over the state.
But back in the late 1800's and early 1900's as more and more people from up north either visited this state on vacation or moved here, some would buy or homestead large tracts of land next to a large lake or a river and start up their own fish camp to take advantage of northern money and northern interest in Florida fishing. And in the early 1900's Florida bass fishing was big business and the heyday of great backwoods Florida fish camps out in the middle of no where Florida.
So as fish camps developed over time, they would usually have a fish lodge where the office was located and in there they would usually have a bait and tackle type of little store so customers could buy what they needed to fish with right there at the fish camp. Some would open up their own restaurant, some of which became famous over the years like in Jacksonville, Florida area Whitey's fish camp became known for its fried catfish, which back in the early to mid 1900's was all caught right there in the waters around Whitey's fish camp, but today that is no longer the case, but Whitey's still sells its famous fried catfish even if the catfish is now trucked in from who knows where.
Another part of old Florida fish camp life that developed with the fish camps was a marina where people could store their boats for a price. You could buy fuel, oil, and some could even service your boat and do repairs if necessary. And along with the growth of a marina at the fish camp came boat rentals for guests to rent and go fishing in. Some fish camps also offered guide services too and made extra money helping the unfamiliar northern guests catch some big bass.
And since a lot of these old fish camps were located in remote backwoods locations far away from main roads and cities and towns, the fish camps had to also develop some lodging for customers, and so began the days of Florida fish camp cabins! And now that RV's are the way to go, many old fish camps offer RV hookups and rentals. And, some fish camps developed their own campgrounds as well.
The backwoods old Florida freshwater fish camp lifestyle was very laid back and slow. You fish when you want to, enjoy the restaurant food, the peace and quiet of the woods and water scenery and the comradery of fellow fishermen telling stories and fishing advice around a fire in the lodge or a bon fire outside the lodge where the guests would gather around until one by one people would drift off to their cabin, tent, or RV.
For many decades this was how a lot of locals and northerners got onto the water to fish here in Florida. Fish camps were about the only places with real boat ramps, and all the supplies someone would need to go bass fishing.
Today growth and public boat ramps have caused many old Florida fish camps to go out of business. In some cases, the old guy who started it died off and his inheritors did not keep it alive like the old fish camp on Lake Delancy run by Karl. Once he died, his fish camp died with him.
There are not a lot of freshwater fish camps left in Florida these days, and some have changed with the times like Whitey's up in north Florida is now more restaurant and bar party place than it is a real fish camp any longer. But the atmosphere is still there. The past can still be felt there, but there is nothing quite like going to an old Florida freshwater fish camp and spend some time there taking it all in before it is gone.
My young sons are only 2 and 4, but they have already been to at least two old style Florida fish camps and we plan on visiting as many more as we can find and go back to some we have already been to.
This past weekend was spring break for college students. So anything along the beach here in Florida was a mad house with drunken college kids, so I wanted to take my boys to a more quiet place to do some fishing and this past weekend we rented a cabin at Highland Park fish camp just west of Deland. The Bassmaster elite series tournament was just north of us on the St. Johns River. Some of those pro bass fishermen venture as far South as Lake Dexter on the river for the tournament, but if you go a little bit further South on this same great river you run into Lake Woodruff and Lake Woodruff Nation Wilderness Park which is about as remote and backwoods Florida as you can get out there, and that is where Highland Park fish camp is located.
They have a lodge, a bait and tackle store, bass fishing pond, marina, boat storage, free hot coffee in the morning, campground, RV park, cabins, the works, except they do not have a restaurant, but all of the cabins and RV's have kitchens. My boys loved it out there! And we plan on going back soon.
http://www.hpfishcamp.com/
At Highland Park Fish Camp, Fishing Is A Tradition!
Highland Park Fish Camp in Deland, Florida is proudly frozen in time – it’s the way “old Florida” used to be, before theme parks arrived on the landscape. In 2014, we are celebrating our 52nd anniversary of the family owned fish camp, where the largemouth bass are biting year round. This rustic destination has updated conveniences over the years, but nature has been preserved. Highland Park Fish Camp is an authentic haven carved out of the wilderness and the perfect place for the fisherman, the family that loves camping and the nature lover.
Highland Park Fish Camp is a 30 acre gem located on the Norris Dead River, a portion of the St. Johns River that is neatly situated on the boundaries of Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, a 23,000 acre preserve that has been left untouched by development. It is a nature lover’s paradise that has been left natural, unlike the growth and development of Central Florida, but only five miles from the center of historic downtown DeLand where there is plenty of unique restaurants and shops to enjoy.
You see that lodge above? Walk inside and take a look at the massive bass mounted on the wall inside. Numerous 15 pound plus bass hanging in there. Bobcats, alligators, and bucks galore hanging in there. A history of success inside this old lodge.
These are all St. Johns River bass which flows through Lake Woodruff near this old fish camp...
Highland Park fish camp bass!
Us Floridians really should keep places like this a secret!
