Kenansville Lake is a shallow 2,500-acre SJRWMD impoundment — average depth about 3 feet per FWC — at the seam of the Blue Cypress and Three Forks conservation areas in the Upper St. Johns River Basin, with no navigable connection to other water. FWC's index still notes 'formerly Blue Cypress Reservoir'; Blue Cypress Lake, the natural lake, is separate water to the south. The lake sits in Indian River County; the Kenansville mailing address is an Osceola County town.
FWC's current forecast (July 2026) has the bluegill and redear bite good this quarter — work the vegetation edges, the deeper perimeter canals and the internal levees. Abundant vegetation is the lake's engine and its obstacle: FWC warns that thick growth combined with lower spring water levels can make navigation a challenge on a lake averaging just 3 feet. Bank fishing runs along the access canal and the north end. Plan around the clock, not just the calendar — the ramp is daytime use only — and around fall hunting seasons on the surrounding Upper St. Johns River Marsh WMA lands.
Plain English Summary
| Black bass | FWC special regulation, verbatim: 'S.N. Knight Tract, Indian River County (locally known as Kenansville Lake): Black bass must be released immediately.' Full catch-and-release — same family of trophy-management rules as Stick Marsh and Headwaters Lake, listed side-by-side on FWC's special-regs page. |
| Navigation | Rows of submerged fence posts throughout the lake, plus interior levees, over an average depth of about 3 feet — FWC flags navigation as a challenge, especially at lower spring water levels. |
| Hours | Daytime use only at the ramp (FWC inventory) — no pre-dawn launches, no night fishing from a trailer boat. |
| Hunting | The lake sits within lands covered by the FWC-run Upper St. Johns River Marsh Wildlife Management Area (including the Blue Cypress and Three Forks conservation areas) — seasonal hunting runs on the surrounding marshes; expect it in fall. |
| Panfish & catfish | Statewide limits apply to bluegill, redear, crappie and catfish. |
| Full legal text | Official boating regulations → |
Is Kenansville Lake the same as Blue Cypress Lake?
Can you keep bass?
What are the fence posts people talk about?
Is the lake in the town of Kenansville?
How do you get there?
What's the sandy 10-HP launch just up the road?
What facilities are at the ramp?
Kenansville Lake is a 2,500-acre SJRWMD impoundment over flooded ranchland — the S.N. Knight Tract — at the seam of the Blue Cypress and Three Forks conservation areas, averaging about 3 feet deep. Rows of submerged fence posts still stand from the ranch days, and FWC's regional index still footnotes the old name, Blue Cypress Reservoir; the current name comes from the little Osceola County cattle town to the west. Every black bass must be released immediately under the S.N. Knight Tract special regulation — the same no-harvest family as Stick Marsh and Headwaters Lake — and as of July 2026 the TrophyCatch ledger reads 203 Lunker Club, 28 Trophy Club and 3 Hall of Fame entries. Three 13-pound-class bass from 2,500 shallow acres is quietly remarkable.
Panfish carry the everyday load: FWC's current forecast likes bluegill and redear on the vegetation edges, the deeper perimeter canals and the internal levees, with bank fishing along the access canal and the north end. Come in from the west off US 441/15 — the grade doesn't go through from Fellsmere — and stock up in Kenansville town, because the ramp is one concrete lane, a gravel lot, six trailer spots, no toilet, daylight hours only. Idle out the access canal, fish the outside grass edges and canal mouths, and work the fence rows like structure — they're the best cover in the lake. Thick vegetation and spring low water can pinch the running lanes, so watch your prop. Stick Marsh and Headwaters are the loud siblings; this is where you go to avoid them.