Land based or bridge fishing it’s a very popular way to go fishing in the Florida Keys. With 42 bridges that connect our islands on the overseas highway the Florida Keys are like one huge fishing pier. Visitors are able to fish on many of those bridges. Most are listed below. Add that to the opportunities to Fish from land in several different areas. Add all of that accessibilities with our amazing businesses that provide Bait and Tackle this makes the Florida keys a great destination for the DIY land based fisherman.
Fishing Licenses
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Give it a go on your own from land. Just make sure to follow the rules. Read up on current saltwater fishing regulations on my blog Saltwater Fishing Regulations. And yes, if you are over 65 or under 16 years of age saltwater fishing licenses are required to fish from land. Anglers can either get the Land based Florida fishing license or the Saltwater fishing license that covers all of it.. These can be purchased online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or by calling 1-888-FISH-FLORIDA.
Fishing Gear
If you have your own fishing gear, great! But if you do not, any of the local tackle shops would be happy to sell you a nice set up for fishing the local area. Heck, even if you do have your own fishing gear, stopping by one of the local tackle shops can be very helpful to you. They can give local advice on where to fish, when to fish, and what is the best bait to use.
Places That Rent Fishing Gear
- Keys Vacation Supply Rentals – https://keys-vacation-supply-rentals.booqableshop.com/collections/fishing-gear
- NAS Key West MWR – https://www.navymwrkeywest.com
- Key West Bait & Tackle – 241 Margaret St, Key West, FL 33040
- Captain Hook’s Marina and Dive Center
- 11833 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050
- 29675 Overseas Hwy, Big Pine Key, FL 33043
- 1708 N Roosevelt Blvd, Key West, FL 33040
- The Tackle Box – 1901 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050
- Bud N’ Mary’s Marina – 79851 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada, FL 33036
- Abel’s Tackle Box at Three Waters Resort & Marina – 84001 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada, FL 33036
Etiquette
- DO NOT fish in Marina’s, it’s not only against the rules, but also very rude and can be potentially damaging to the fish that live there as well as the boats that stay there. Entering a marina to just Fish there is considered trespassing and many have been prosecuted for it.
- DO NOT invite yourself to a residents back yard. That is trespassing and many will prosecute. Doing this at night can be very dangerous.
- Clean Up After Yourself don’t leave dead fish or bait where you were fishing dispose of your packaging and garbage.
- DO NOT abuse the fish unessasarily be humane and Keep only what you will eat.
- DO NOT feed the birds, leftovers or scraps with bones.
Llist of Land Based Fishing Spots
- Channel 2 (MM 73)
- Channel 5 (south end, MM 71)
- Long Key (MM 63-65)
- Long Key State Park
- Tom’s Harbor Cut (MM 61.2)
- Tom’s Harbor Channel (access from north end only, MM 60.6)
- Curry Hammock State Park
- Old Seven Mile Bridge (south end only, MM 40)
- Sombrero Beach
- Bahia Honda State Park
- Spanish Harbor (MM 34)
- South Pine Channel Historic Bridge (MM 30)
- Niles Channel (MM 25)
- Kemp Channel (MM 23)
- Bow Channel (MM 20)
- Park Channel Bridge (MM 18.5)
- Shark Channel Bridge (MM 12)
- White Street Fishing Pier (South end of White Street on Key West)
- Smathers Beach: The rock jetties on the west side of the beach are a good place to fish from.
- Fort Zachary Taylor State Park: Fish from the rocks on the west side of the park.
- Mallory Square
- Truman Waterfront Park
- Simonton Beach
- You can also fish from the dock of your waterfront rental home unless stated otherwise.
More Land Based Bridge Fishing Tips
When visiting the Florida Keys for fishing, it’s really fun to catch a fish that is legal size and eat it. Near Key West check out my article about local hook and cook or cook your catch places that you can bring your fish to and have it cooked up. A great way to learn more about which bridges and spots to fish are most productive is to visit our Facebook group Florida Keys fishing there you’ll find loads of information about this about land based or bridge Fishing.
Don’t lose your car many places that do allow fishing. Don’t allow parking or free parking. Be very careful about where you park. Look for signs and make sure you’re not gonna get towed.
In the future, keep an eye on this article as we will update it with names of companies that actually offered guided land based or bridge fishing trips.
Have fun follow the rules and enjoy your time here in the Florida Keys.
