Overview
Lake Talquin is an approximately 8,800-acre reservoir on the Ochlockonee River between Leon and Gadsden counties, about 10 miles west of Tallahassee. Jackson Bluff Dam was completed in 1929 for hydroelectric power; the C. H. Corn plant has been operated at times by the City of Tallahassee, while the dam and surrounding public lands are under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection / Lake Talquin State Forest. The lake is an Outstanding Florida Water.
For a Florida reservoir, Talquin is relatively deep—averaging about 15 feet with a maximum near 40 feet—and has more than 40 miles of wooded, inlet-rich shoreline. Standing timber, creek channels, and rolling hills give the lake a distinctly different character from the state's shallow marsh lakes.
Talquin is nationally known for black crappie and also produces largemouth bass, striped and white bass, bluegill, and redear sunfish, with fisheries managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Multiple public ramps and fishing piers on both the Leon and Gadsden shores, plus fish camps and state forest access, support heavy regional use.
USGS and FERC describe usable storage between a minimum operating level of 60.0 feet and a normal pool of 68.5 feet above mean sea level (NGVD29). The project is typically run near normal pool, but rainfall and generation can move stages, so monitoring current lake levels helps with stump navigation, fishing, and shoreline access.
Current Conditions
Lake Talquin is currently 0.56 feet below full pool and has fallen slightly over the past week.
- 7-day trendFallingLatest movement can differ from the seven-day trend.
- 7-day changeDown 0.35 ft
- 30-day changeDown 0.09 ft
- Drought conditionsAbnormally Dry
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Lake Talquin is a 8,800-acre reservoir on the Ochlockonee River managed by Florida Department of Environmental Protection.