Catching Dinner

Written By Kelli Casey

Seasons

Winter (December - February)

  • Sheepshead, Black Drum, Stone Crabs, Penaeid Shrimp

  • Prime time for night shrimping off docks

Spring (March - May)

  • Spotted Seatrout, Redfish, Blue Crabs, Snook

Summer (June - August)

  • Blue Crabs, Mangrove Snapper, Snook, Redfish, Spotted Seatrout

  • Target early mornings, late evenings, or nighttime under dock lights

Fall (September - November)

  • Redfish, Southern Flounder, Black Drum, Shrimp, Stone Crabs

  • Mullet Run (Sept - Oct): Snook and Redfish follow mullet into a feeding frenzy around docks and inlets.

Crabs

  • Atlantic Blue Crab

    • Year-round

    • No minimum size

    • Must release egg-bearing females

    • Limit of 10 gallons of whole crabs per person

  • Florida Stone Crab

    • Only harvest the claws (and then return to water)

    • Minimum 2 7/8 inch from elbow to lower tip

    • Season: October 1 - May 1

Locations in NSB

  1. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park (riverside docks)

  2. JB’s Fish Camp

  3. Smyrna Dunes Park

  4. Riverside Park

  5. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  6. Canaveral National Seashore

Fish

Black Drum (cut crab or live shrimp)

Locations

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  2. Smyrna Dunes Park

  3. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  4. JB’s Fish Camp

  5. George R Kennedy Memorial Park

  6. Canaveral National Seashore

Mangrove (Gray) Snapper (live shrimp or mud minnows)

Locations

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  2. Smyrna Dunes Park

  3. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  4. JB’s Fish Camp

  5. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

  6. George R. Kennedy Memorial Park

Redfish (Red Drum) (live shrimp, cut mullet, soft plastics)

Locations

  1. JB’s Fish Camp

  2. Canaveral National Seashore

  3. Smyrna Dunes Park

  4. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  5. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

Sheepshead (fiddler crab, cut shrimp, or sand flea)

Locations

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  2. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  3. Smyrna Dunes Park

  4. Riverside Park

  5. JB’s Fish Camp

  6. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

Snook

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  2. Smyrna Dunes Park

  3. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  4. JB’s Fish Camp

  5. Riverside Park

  6. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

Southern Flounder (live mud minnow or jig)

Locations

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  2. Smyrna Dunes Park

  3. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  4. JB’s Fish Camp

  5. Riverside Park

  6. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

Spotted Seatrout (live shrimp)

Locations

  1. JB’s Fish Camp

  2. Canaveral National Seashore

  3. Smyrna Dunes Park

  4. Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

  5. North Causeway Boat Ramp

Shrimp

Penaeid Shrimp (white, brown & pink)

  • Late fall through winter

  • Use shrimp lights (green or white underwater LED lights) at night to attract them to the surfact, then scoop them with nets.

Locations

  1. Ponce de Leon Inlet

  2. Smyrna Dunes Park

  3. North Causeway Boat Ramp

  4. Riverside Park

  5. JB’s Fish Camp

Kelli Casey
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