The Suwannee Bass is found in the Suwannee river drainage basin where it enjoys pools and riffles.

The Suwannee River Drainage

The Suwannee river is some 400km long/250 miles and is located in the southern United States to the west coast of Florida. The river has over 20 natural springs that contain a wide variety of fish from Largemouth Bass, Tarpon and Redfish to Suwannee Bass. These natural springs are one of the reasons why this river drainage is filled with an abundance of life.

The Suwannee river starts off in the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia and runs southwest into Florida where the river grows after receiving the waters of the Alapaha river and the Withlacoochee river. The Suwannee river empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

Suwannee Habitat

The Suwannee Bass is found in the Suwannee river drainage basin where it enjoys pools and riffles. Like all freshwater bass, the Suwannee Bass prefers the cover during day with rocky structures and river banks.

The Suwannee river is filled with an abundance of nutrients that come from a large number of freshwater springs in the last 100 miles of the river. Keep in mind that the river is also shared with a lot of other fish species. While an ultra light line is excellent for catching Suwannee Bass, be warned that there are plenty of large Largemouth Bass and Florida Largemouth Bass in the same river sections so choose your line and bait appropriately or you will end up going home with a broken line and a lost lure or two.

Withlacoochee River

As many local anglers are aware, the Withlacoochee river and Santa Fe river feed into the Suwannee river and contain the largest population of Suwannee bass due to the rich mineral waster and abundance of animal and plant life due in part to the warm climate and part to the abundance of springs previously mentioned.

The Suwannee Bass prefer locations with underwater debris such as logs and rocks along the river banks with slow to moderately quick flowing water especially where there is a steep river bank by soft silty bottoms where lily pads are located.