Tackle & Live Bait for the St. Johns
The Way Tackle Shops Used to Be
Remember how tackle shops used to be before the big box retailers came along? Well-stocked with everything you needed to catch fish in local waters, staffed by knowledgeable anglers happy to point you in the right direction, and usually chock full of old photos and other mementos. Highland Park Fish Camp is still like that.
In addition to a complete, hand-picked selection of tackle and live bait for the middle St. Johns, we’ve got rods, reels, snacks, drinks, apparel, and accessories. Almost as important, we’ve got a pot of hot coffee ready, rocking chairs on the porch, and a one-of-a-kind collection of local fishing, boating, and hunting curios.
Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t
Our tackle selection is hand-picked by our seasoned local guides and includes everything you need to catch bass, specks, panfish and more on the middle St. Johns. We sell what works, not what has the best margin. You’ll find a full complement of plastics and hard baits for bass, speck jigs (including hand-tied local favorites), hooks, floats, weights, bait buckets, and whatever else you need.
We also carry Engel coolers, sunglasses, boating and camping essentials, snacks and drinks, Highland Park apparel, stickers, and other gifts.
For out-of-state visitors, we sell 3-day and 7-day non-resident Florida fishing licenses. FWC no longer offers short-term non-resident licenses online.
Best Bait & Tackle Shop on the River
It takes more than just the right merchandise to make a great tackle shop. As lifelong anglers ourselves, we know exactly what fishermen need, and we strive to offer the most convenient one-stop-shop anywhere on the St. Johns.
Open at 6 a.m. — Nobody wants to wait around for the bait shop to open. We’re open and ready to serve you at 6 every morning of the year except Christmas.
Right On the Water — Steps from the water — No need to transport your live bait on the road. Launch your boat at our ramp, tie up behind the shop, then carry your bait straight to the boat.
Ice, Gas & Essentials — Fuel your boat, ice down your cooler, grab your snacks and find boating essentials like oils and fluids right here.
Free Fish Cleaning Station — Clean your catch at our spacious, shady, well-maintained tables, complete with scale. No charge, although you might have to pose for a picture.
Your Source for Wild Shiners (and More)
Highland Park Fish Camp stocks live wild river shiners year-round, as well as domestic shiners, minnows, nightcrawlers, and red wigglers. In spring and summer (panfish season!) we also carry live crickets.
On the St. Johns River and its tributaries, wild shiners are hands-down the best bait for trophy bass. Bass will also hit domestic (farmed) shiners, but farmed baits, which have never been anywhere but a tank, don’t act the way bass expect them to. Wild shiners, on the other hand, are naturally scared of bass and try to escape, triggering the bite. They also swim back into cover far better than domestic shiners.