This bridge is legit. It holds a ton of fish. Its close enough to the pass to be hot all year long and deep enough and at edge of the danker ICW areas that you can find fish here even in the middle of Winter.
Parking
You can park on either side of the bridge. Both sides close at 10pm, I believe, but the east side is almost never shut down. Every now and then the cops get a hair up their ass and start closing the gate but its been a couple years since I’ve seen that happen. There’s also a fair amount of homeless camps that come in and out of the east sides parking lot.
Fishing The NE Flat
At low tide there is a long stretch of sandbar that is fully exposed. It’s still only a foot deep or less at the highest of high tides. Walking/wading this flat can be very productive even in the middle of the day.
- At this spot there is a very skinny channel that’s just a touch deeper than the rest of the bar and its where the majority of water flows in and out of the lagoon on the eastern side. During the summer, especially towards the end, in August and September, coming out here right as the tide is turning outgoing to incoming can be an amazing top-water bite. Right as the water starts to come in the snook line up at the mouth of this little inlet and just get chewing.
- I’ve pulled in plenty of trout and snook at the mouth of this little inlet that feeds a small cove. Paddle tails, rigged weedless, are ideal here. Or a weedless gold spoon can get you a nice red fish.
- This is a small cove that seems inaccessible but you can actually climb on a sea wall by the mangroves and walk back into it. I’ve had some great bites on top water and paddle tails back in there, throwing at the couple of docks and boathouses.
Fishing The Bridge
- Fishing the shadow lines here can be very productive with a paddle tail or fast retrieving a rapalla. Top water can get smacked as well though you may need to filter through quite a few lady fish before connecting with a snook or trout.
I really like throwing an NLBN Lil’ Mullet down along the edge of the flat though. I’ve had some pretty sizable hook ups there and the bite can be hot where you pull in 5 or 6 snook in no time. - Juvenile Tarpon! Throwing off north side of bridge at night with some little greenbacks is how I’ve gotten the majority of my juvenile tarpon. You gotta see them though, mostly visible in Summer nights looking down on an incoming tide. They will be swarming in the shadow line. Throw a live fish, freelined with no waits and let it flow into the shadow and HOLD ON. Use heavy leader because they will try and break you off on the bridge structure.
- Lastly, like any bridge, you can find some big mamas hanging on the main fenders. I haven’t fished these a ton but I’ve seen pics of what it can produce. You can throw lighter lures into the lights at the end of the fenders and also drag deeper heavy lures on the bottom. Just work with the water the way its flowing.
Fly Fishing
The NE Flat mentioned above is where I’ve seen most people fly fishing. I’ve done very little with the fly myself but all reports are its one of the better areas to cover grown due to the shallow sandbar that stretches out and both sides tending to hold fish.