Seaplane photography in the Dry Tortugas
A visit to a National Park should be full of family fun. But when you're out in nature, bad things can - and do, happen. Fatal accidents can occur from a fall, or drowning, or even from a motor vehicle crash. In data supplied by Kuhl, they show that your chance of getting injured while visiting a park is low, but it's never zero. And when you look at the numbers it shows that Florida has one of the safest National Parks, but also one of the deadliest National Parks in America. I'll let you guess which.
Which is Florida's deadliest National Park? Is it the Everglades National Park, or Dry Tortugas?
I would have guessed the Everglades, with the alligators and other swamp creatures. But it's not. It's the Dry Tortugas.
The Dry Tortugas Park is 7 islands and the coral reefs west of Key West. It's also the home of 19th-century Fort Jefferson. But before you rush off, the US National Parks Safety index ranks it as the 5th most dangerous in the country.
The deadliest national parks index takes many things into account.
It shows the number of deaths, search and rescue missions, number of park rangers, and distance to the nearest hospital. Factor in the number of visitors and they find that the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona is the most dangerous park to visit. The park averages about 10 deaths a year and a whopping 233 search and rescue missions. One in every 503,455 visitors to that park will die!
Here in Florida, Dry Tortugas is ranked as the fifth most dangerous in the country. And when it comes to fatalities, it does not fare much better. In some ways, worse. Your chance of death in this park is 1 in 184,070. How? The most common cause of death is drowning. Snorkeling, scuba, and water toys are big there.
Accidents happen, but what do you do if you're in trouble? Well, there's 2 park rangers and the nearest hospital is miles away. Dry Tortugas, however, has a lot less visitors than some of the other parks, the home to Fort Jefferson only averages just over 69,000 visitors a year.
As for the Everglades National Park? It's the 23rd safest park in the country. The safest in Florida. One in 1,180,155 visitors will die, and the park averages 30 search and rescue missions a year. More than a million people visit the park each year. So - about one death a year. Finally, I do have one more stat to share with you.
The data shows that 74.1% of fatal accidents happen to male park visitors.
"Hold my beer, watch this" is real.
Florida Has 3 Of The Top 10 Bass Fishing Lakes In The Country
The state of Florida continues to show as a top destination for fishing in the latest "Top 10 Best Bass Lakes of 2023." The annual rankings come from the highly regarded Bassmaster. Theyshow that when it comes to bass fishing lakes, Florida is a clear choice. And with winter approaching in the north, many will be flocking down here to Florida to fish.
In a press release, Roger Young, FWC Executive Director stated, “We take a tremendous amount of pride in managing our freshwater fisheries. The recognition of multiple Florida waterbodies in the Best Bass Lakes is a testament to our commitment to preserve the well-being of our aquatic ecosystems while promoting recreational fishing in Florida,”
Fishing is a big part of the Florida lifestyle. Whether you're out in the gulf fishing for grouper, or just passing the time at the retention pond at your Fort Myers condo. People here love to fish. But sometimes you want to hit a lake and do some bass fishing. Fortunately for us, 3 of the top 10 lakes in the U.S. for catching bass are right here in Florida.
If you're up for a road trip, number one on the Bassmaster list is the O.H. Ivie Lake. The lake is a reservoir on the Colorado and Concho Rivers, 55 miles east of San Angelo, Texas. The reservoir was formed when a dam was built in 1990. They're seeing a lot of double digit bass being pulled from there this year. Some of these spots will be best if you wait until spring. Do your research, but here's some ideas to get you started.
Here's the Florida lakes that made the top 10.
5. Fellsmere Reservoir
Sometimes known as Headwaters Lake or Lake Egan, this is a 10,000-acre manmade lake in Indian River county. This place was made to be a bass fishing lake with underwater features and am ideal habitat. Recommended lures are topwater lures and weedless soft plastic jerkbaits or stickbaits. When the lake was originally flooded, it was stocked with 1,000,000 Florida bass.
8. Orange Lake
This lake is 20 miles southeast of Gainesville. A lot of vegetation on this lake, making some areas inaccessible. The deeper areas are good fishing for largemouth bass. This lake also features a handicap-accessible pier with a fish attractor to provide for good fishing.
10. Lake Okeechobee
In the Seminole language, this literally means 'big water'. Because Lake O is so heavily affected by rainfall, it's levels vary. The current restriction "For largemouth bass only one may be 16 inches or longer in total length per angler per day, with no minimum length limit. The bag limit remains the same, at five." Because the releases of Lake O always make negative headlines here in SWFL, it's easy to forget that it's a really good spot for bass fishing.
Some Florida lakes that just missed the top 10.
Lake Tohopekaliga
Lake Toho is an 18,810-acre lake located southeast of the city of Kissimmee. The FWC has installed fish attractors, so check here for locations of the best spots.
Lake Seminole
A reservoir at the juncture of the Florida, Georgia, and Alabama state lines. 80% of this lake is in Georgia, but Florida fishers can fish up to an imaginary line. More details on that here. Beautiful place.
Lake Placid
Lake Placid has 27 freshwater lakes. Cool small town. I like it because it's not too far from here. My neighbor has a place on one of those lakes and it's a really nice change of pace from Southwest Florida.
Lake Panasoffkee
This place is more well known for it's trails, but four spring-fed creeks enter the lake which provides for some solid bass fishing. Bass as big as 8 pound on up to double digits. Just to the northwest of Orlando.
Lake Istokpoga
Lake Istokpoga is five miles northeast of Lake Placid. There's fishing resorts on the lake with accomadations. Excellent largemouth bass fishing can be done from the bank near the canal.
Lake Rousseau
West of Ocala, this is a man made reservoir on the Withlacoochee River. A real old Florida feel out here. You might even see a manatee.
Rodman Reservoir
This one comes as a recommendation from Captain Debbie Hanson, host of ESPN Reel Talk Radio. This man made lake is a premier largemouth bass fishery located in Putnam County in Northeast Florida. North of Ocala.
