Fishing at Miami Beach

[ChrisEU]

Hi,

 

I am coming over to the US (Miami Beach, FL) for a week in middle march this year and I'd like to try some fishing in the US. Unfortunately I come over for work and won't have much time, maybe a couple of hours early in the morning before I go to work (exhibition at the convention center), and eventually some extra on saturday/sunday before leaving Miami Beach.

 

I suppose I could go try to fish at the beach with some bigger lures and hope for whatever species you have there, but if sea fishing is like here in Eruope probably some freshwater bass will have better chances to catch something? I will have room for just one travel combo in my luggage so I need to understand what possbilities of fishing I have in the area (please consider I'll be by feet, no car) and I'd like to not depend on a fishing guide but "explore" myself.

 

What rules are to be respected? Do I need a license and how do I know where I am allowed to fish and where not?  So basically for now I am trying to understand what will make more sense for the little time I have, not asking for any hotspots or anything, just some general information.

 

Thank you very much

Chris

[Chris at Tech]

Yes you will need a license.  I’ve never done it myself, but I hear Miami has lots of canals that are accessible on foot

[Aaron_H]

You will for sure need a license. If you stick to ponds and canals then you should be fine with a freshwater license, you can get it online from FWC (Go Outdoors Florida is the site they use for licensing). Just hop on Google maps around where you are going to be staying and look for ponds/canals you can walk to. Lots of largemouth bass, peacock bass, mayan cichlid, etc. to be found in freshwater. Even the occasional snook, redfish, and tarpon are tolerant of freshwater and sometimes get landlocked in ponds, and clown knifefish are in a few bodies for something super exotic.

 

Just be sure to observe any no trespassing/no fishing signs.

[ChrisEU]

So basically if I get the freshwater license I can fish any canal/pond that has no fence or signs forbidding fishing?

 

what rod strength would you recommend? I like to fish as light as possible, what is the minimum you would use allowing me to handle most fish? Will a 3/8 be enough? Better 1/2 oz or even 3/4 or 1 oz?

 

Sorry for the many questions and thx for the already provided info

[Aaron_H]

2 hours ago, ChrisEU said:

So basically if I get the freshwater license I can fish any canal/pond that has no fence or signs forbidding fishing?

 

Essentially, yeah. Some of the canals are saltwater IIRC so be wary of that. A saltwater/freshwater combo license isn't much more and could be worth it just for the peace of mind. Not to say that you can't still get kicked out, you might end up on private property that just lacks signage. If you get approached to leave, just apologize, let them know you didn't see any signage and that you'll leave right away, and just head on to your next spot on the list. There are a massive amount of ponds and canals in the Miami area since so much drainage is needed, if one is private or doesn't allow fishing, you will have no shortage of other spots to try your luck at.

 

The FishBrain app might be useful for you here. I've never used it personally, but it has a large number of users that log their catches for specific bodies of water. Should give you an idea of what spots allow fishing and what species you can target there.

 

2 hours ago, ChrisEU said:

what rod strength would you recommend? I like to fish as light as possible, what is the minimum you would use allowing me to handle most fish? Will a 3/8 be enough? Better 1/2 oz or even 3/4 or 1 oz?

 

If you want to stay lighter, a 7' medium/fast will be more than enough for most of what you might be throwing. A 7' medium-heavy/fast might give you more options and is what I'd go with if I could only take one.

[ChrisEU]

14 hours ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Essentially, yeah. Some of the canals are saltwater IIRC so be wary of that. A saltwater/freshwater combo license isn't much more and could be worth it just for the peace of mind. Not to say that you can't still get kicked out, you might end up on private property that just lacks signage. If you get approached to leave, just apologize, let them know you didn't see any signage and that you'll leave right away, and just head on to your next spot on the list. There are a massive amount of ponds and canals in the Miami area since so much drainage is needed, if one is private or doesn't allow fishing, you will have no shortage of other spots to try your luck at.

 

The FishBrain app might be useful for you here. I've never used it personally, but it has a large number of users that log their catches for specific bodies of water. Should give you an idea of what spots allow fishing and what species you can target there.

 

 

If you want to stay lighter, a 7' medium/fast will be more than enough for most of what you might be throwing. A 7' medium-heavy/fast might give you more options and is what I'd go with if I could only take one.

 

Thank you very much for the info! I've found a Shimano Zodias Travel Rod (I think a new series they made last year, seems to be a JDM product), it is a 7' Medium Spinning rod rated 3/16-1/2+ oz (5-15 gr.), you think this will do? My biggest Largemouth here was a 48/49 cm - 4-5 lbs (didn't weigh him), and I catched it on a 5/8 oz Zodias Spinning rod which should be similar to the travel version, had no problems landing it.

 

The alternative would be to get a casting rod rated up to 3/4 oz, but I am more comfortable with spining gear tbh, I use casting mainly in streams for trout and chubm but that's specific BFS gear which has nothing to do with bass oriented stuff.

 

I'll take a look at the app and check it, thanks again for all the advice!

[Aaron_H]

That spinning rod sounds good to go. ?

[soflabasser]

Make sure to bring a couple saltwater topwaters, spoons, and jigs to fish in the ocean.

[ChrisEU]

On 1/28/2022 at 11:26 PM, soflabasser said:

Make sure to bring a couple saltwater topwaters, spoons, and jigs to fish in the ocean.

 

yeah I was thinking that FW fishing will be near impossible to me, I didn't realize that Miami Beach is all SW basically and as I have no other transport as my feet I'll have to stick to Miami Beach, which I believe will not hold any Freshwater species? If so, I'll probably bring my SW travel rod only... Do you have any suggestions on where you're allowed to fish?

 

I am having a hard time finding information as where you can fish on the beach, for now I just understood that there is a Pier where you can fish at South Beach, but it's pretty far away from where the hotel is...

 

 

[soflabasser]

8 hours ago, ChrisEU said:

Do you have any suggestions on where you're allowed to fish?

 

I am having a hard time finding information as where you can fish on the beach, for now I just understood that there is a Pier where you can fish at South Beach, but it's pretty far away from where the hotel is

 

 

The pier in South Beach is a good place to catch different species of fish so it is worth a try if you enjoy multi species fishing. The whole inlet has good fishing for tarpon, snook, jacks, and other species of fish. Make sure to bring the appropriate tackle if your goal is to catch these fish since they are hard fighters.

[ChrisEU]

16 hours ago, soflabasser said:

The pier in South Beach is a good place to catch different species of fish so it is worth a try if you enjoy multi species fishing. The whole inlet has good fishing for tarpon, snook, jacks, and other species of fish. Make sure to bring the appropriate tackle if your goal is to catch these fish since they are hard fighters.

 

The SW Travel Rod I have is a 8 feet 2 oz spinning rod, I'd put a Shimano 5000 size reel on it, using a 28 lb braid line 200m, should have me covered in most situations?

 

When you say inlet do you mean along the beach? I'd like to avoid pier fishing due to various reason (probably crowded, no fishing net, difficult to animate hardbaits correctly from above the water etc...), I'd really prefer fishing from the beach but I read that most part of the beach fishing is not allowed? 

 

Can someone confirm this?

 

I'll be staying about 350 m from this position (hope google maps link is allowed) https://goo.gl/maps/iiAQYUpWjsZgqKtC8 so this will be the closest where I could go fishing, how can I find out if I can fish there (before arriving)?

 

Thank you again, I am aware that this is a Bass fishing forum and probably SW fishing is not "on topic"

 

[soflabasser]

You can fish the South Point Pier and anywhere on the inlet that allows fishing. I recommend you contact FWC since they can help you find places you can legally fish in South Beach. The rod and reel you mentioned should be enough for most of the fish you will probably catch, make sure to use the appropriate leaders depending on what species of fish you will be fishing for.

[Captain Phil]

I would be wary of fishing just anywhere in South Beach itself.  I remember when no one went to South Beach except surfers and panhandlers.  Now you can pay $500 for a dinner that looks like a picture.  In and around South Beach, you will be fishing in salt water.  Miami Beach itself is a thin strip of land separate from the mainland.  If you wish to fish in that area, I would start at the pier or an inlet.  You can catch some nice fish from shore.  The nearest fresh water of any consequence is on the mainland.   South Florida is full of canals and all of them hold fish.   Ask first because many are on private land or you must trespass to get to them.  You can hire a local guide that will pick you up at your hotel and bring you back.   There are many good fishing opportunities in South Florida if you take the time to find them.

[ChrisEU]

10 hours ago, soflabasser said:

You can fish the South Point Pier and anywhere on the inlet that allows fishing. I recommend you contact FWC since they can help you find places you can legally fish in South Beach. The rod and reel you mentioned should be enough for most of the fish you will probably catch, make sure to use the appropriate leaders depending on what species of fish you will be fishing for.

 

I have followed you advice and sent a message to FWC, hope they'll be able to give me some detailed info, as I said I'd like to avoid Pier fishing have had some bad experience in Italy hooking a big fish and not being able to get it out, leaving it a lure with hooks in it's mouth.

 

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

I would be wary of fishing just anywhere in South Beach itself.  I remember when no one went to South Beach except surfers and panhandlers.  Now you can pay $500 for a dinner that looks like a picture.  In and around South Beach, you will be fishing in salt water.  Miami Beach itself is a thin strip of land separate from the mainland.  If you wish to fish in that area, I would start at the pier or an inlet.  You can catch some nice fish from shore.  The nearest fresh water of any consequence is on the mainland.   South Florida is full of canals and all of them hold fish.   Ask first because many are on private land or you must trespass to get to them.  You can hire a local guide that will pick you up at your hotel and bring you back.   There are many good fishing opportunities in South Florida if you take the time to find them.

 

I'd love to fish on the mainland but unfortunately I have no car for the week, so probably the only option would be a local guide as you suggested, I have seen some high values for just even a 4 hour trip, I understand they are making a living out of it, but it probably exceeds my personal budget, I still might go this route if Saltwater fishing proves to be difficult close to where I stay.

 

Thank you to all for any advice received, sunny greetings from Italy!

Chris

[soflabasser]

On 2/2/2022 at 9:42 AM, ChrisEU said:

I have followed you advice and sent a message to FWC, hope they'll be able to give me some detailed info

FWC should be able to offer you good advice where you can fish legally. Right now is a good time to fish the inlets. Make sure to bring lots of saltwater topwaters, spoons, jigs, along with the appropriate tackle and you should do well.