Two canals work Lake Howard's shoreline: north to Lake Cannon — and through it Mirror, Hartridge, and the lock to the North Chain — and south to little Lake May, the chain's dock-and-dine stop and only on-water fuel, then on to Lake Shipp. The whole South Chain is navigable from here without a lock.
FWC's chain forecast is Howard's calendar: wild shiners and slow-worked plastics around the cattails and buggy whips through winter's fronts, spawners shallow January into April on the Kissimmee-grass edges, crappie over the open middle through March, bream all summer. Howard is one of the chain's bigger basins, so afternoon sea-breeze chop is real here — mornings fish calmer, and the canals give you protected water when the middle whitecaps.
Plain English Summary
| Largemouth bass | Statewide regulations apply: five black bass daily, only one 16 inches or longer. Tournament traffic is a way of life on this chain — expect weigh-in mornings at the Shipp ramps. |
| Canal etiquette | The canals are the chain's streets: idle speed, single file, patience at the blind bends, and courtesy at the low fixed bridges — know your air draft before committing, especially the very low Cannon-Mirror bridge and the Cypress Gardens Boulevard crossing near Lake Roy. |
| The Hartridge-Conine lock | The public, self-operated lock on the Hartridge-Conine canal connects the South and North chains. It is currently open; questions go to the Lake Region Lakes Management District at 863-293-1441. Read the posted instructions and take your turn — it's simpler than it looks. |
| Full legal text | Official boating regulations → |
Can I boat the whole Winter Haven Chain from here?
Where does the chain's water go?
Can I boat to a restaurant from Lake Howard?
Why is Winter Haven called the Water Ski Capital of the World?
Lake Howard is where Winter Haven lives on its chain: 631 acres brushing the edge of downtown, ringed by neighborhoods, anchored by Old Man Franks' dock on the south shore — the kind of place where boats outnumber cars at dinner on a good Friday. One short canal south, Lake May stacks Tanners Lakeside, Twisted Prop, and the chain's only water-accessible fuel at Marine Supply. Dr. Westcott named the lake for a friend in his 1849 survey; the town has treated it like one ever since.
Access is the quiet superpower: Howard holds two of the chain's few 24-hour ramps. The East ramp off Lake Howard Drive launches around the clock but has no dedicated trailer parking — a drop-and-shuttle affair for anything on a trailer. The West ramp, run by the century-old Lake Region Lakes Management District, adds staging docks and three trailer spots, also 24 hours. Launch before light, work the grass lines while the lake is glass, idle to May for fuel and a late breakfast, then let the afternoon chop chase you into the canals — this basin builds real wind chop by two o'clock most summer days. Daytime comfort lives at the Shipp ramps ten minutes south by water.