Swampy's Florida

The Sportsman’s Lodge was built around 1926-27. It was a lodge mostly for fisherman to stay and then launch into the St. Johns River, drop a line and pulling in fish over days or weeks. The site was located along the eastern shore of the St. Johns River in the city of Welaka in Putnam County. This was back when fishing in Florida was king and Welaka was a far better known community.

The location went well until the late ’60s. The early ’70s saw the multi-story lodge close. The building was torn down in 1978. Today, the typical Florida condo structure stands there now with a fraction of fishing occurring.

Most point to the smaller toruist attractions have ing their customers sucked away by the Disney place. Fishing statewide was also hit hard. Especially as realtor/developers eyed land to build homes for the new tourists and the retiree crowd increased in the early ’70s.

This ad comes from ‘Erving’s Guide to Fresh Water Fishing,: Family camping and hunting in Florida’, 1965.
You can purchase your own copy of this publication, if available, by clicking here:
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This publication is part of the swampy’s Florida collection.
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#Flordia #Welaka #Fishing #Fish #Floridafish #FloridaFishing #Sports #FloridaSports