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Call
1-352-445-2755
for Fishing Charters, Guide Service or area
information.
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Book your Yankeetown fishing charter today.
We fish inshore for Trout, Redfish, Snook,
Sheephead, Tarpon, Cobia, and Sharks. Our
Nature Coast charters and guide service use
only local fishing guides. We also offer
scalloping charters during season. Call
today to book your trip.
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Izaak Walton Lodge was originally built by
Mr. A.F. Knotts and was completed in 1924,
serving as a winter retreat for his wealthy
northern friends. Mr. Knotts was a lawyer
and civil engineer who helped plot the city
of Gary Indiana so he had much knowledge of
planning and development.
He did entertain many for short visits
including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and a
few presidents. The area boasted some of the
finest hunting and fishing to be found.
Fishing and hunting still abound in the
area.
The name Izaak Walton refers to a 1600’s era
Englishman that was an outdoorsman and was
particularly concerned with water
conservation. In 1630 he published the very
famous work “The Compleat Angler”, a guide
to fly fishing, which is still in print
today. The Izaak Walton League was formed as
a conservation group and named inhis honor.
There are currently some 250 chapters
nationwide. Mr. Knotts, who was also
familiar with his works, similarly paid
tribute by naming his lodge The Izaak Walton
Lodge.
At this time there were many local
fishermen, and those left over from the
phosphate days of the early 1900’s, who came
to call the area Yankeetown, and as hard as
Mr.
Knotts fought against it he finally had to
give in and embrace it. He even erected “See
Yankeetown” signs throughout central
Florida.
Phosphate was a booming industry in the
region. It was brought by trucks and trains
to Dunnellon and then loaded on barges and
taken down river to the gulf where an island
city was created by Captain Inglis, another
entrepreneur of the time, and name-sake of
Yankeetown’s city of Inglis.
The phosphate was then transferred to ships
and taken back to Germany and other parts of
Europe to make gun powder. Recognizing the
danger of the unstable European countries
rearming themselves after WWI the federal
government shut down the export of
phosphate, thus halting the main commerce.
Mr. Knotts and his family continued to live
in Yankeetown for the remainder of their
lives. Some descendants still reside here.
The sleepy little town was re-awakened again
briefly in 1961 when Elvis spent the summer
here filming his movie “Follow that Dream”.
Hwy 40 now bares the name “Follow That Dream
Parkway”. Many locals were here then and
recall his visit fondly.
In 1999 the original lodge was destroyed by
fire. It was rebuilt in the same foot print.
There are no longer rooms upstairs.
The atmosphere is of nature and Old Florida.
The flowing Withlacoochee River passes by
the lodge on its way to the end of the road
where it spills into the Gulf of Mexico. You
will see Eagles, Osprey, Tarpon, Snook and
more from the bank of the river. Izaak
Waltons is located in Old Yankeetown where
tall Oak and Pine trees line Riverside
Drive.
Fishing here has always been good. Many
commercial shrimpers, Yankeetown fishing
charters and guides dock their vessels in
the deep-water channels of the
Withlacoochee. This also provides protection
from storms and bad weather.
If you drive from one end Riverside Drive to
the other you take in the beauty of Nature,
nice homes and friendly folks. There are no
24-hour stores or big shopping centers. We
are just a friendly little town.
Call
1-352-445-2755 for
Fishing Charters, Guide Service or area
information. |
6301 Riverside Drive
Yankeetown Fl 34498
Also the Visit the Crab Plant Seafood
Restaurant on Kings Bay in Crystal
River. Try their fresh Seafood Market.
www.CrabPlant.com
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