Shore Fishing
August 29, 2022 at 1:01 p.m.
Shore Fishing
By Kimball & Les [email protected]
Englewood is ideally situated in Southwest Florida for anglers that enjoy beach, bay, and inlet fishing. New Pass and Big Pass into Sarasota Bay are close enough for day trips. Even closer to home we have Stump Pass and Boca Grande, also excellent spots for day trips. But a great spot many anglers overlook is the Venice Inlet.
We had family in Venice and Nokomis going back over 40 years and always enjoyed the fishing at Venice Inlet. Another pass we grew to love was Midnight Pass, but we’ll talk about that another time. Inshore of Venice Inlet, Lyons Bay, Roberts Bay, and Dona Bay offer some pretty good dock fishing but the real treasure here is Venice Inlet. The tidal flow through this inlet moves water from northern Lemon Bay to southern Blackburn Bay into the gulf and back so the current in the inlet is impressive.
This inlet is stabilized with massive rock jetties on both sides of the channel. The addition of asphalt to the top of these rocks has produced a relatively safe platform for anglers. Stormy seas create waves that easily wash across these jetties, so a little common sense is still needed. We particularly used to enjoy fishing on the jetties at night. Those rocks are slippery and hard but years ago we took those risks. The prize was, and still is, big snook. We are more cautious now and avoid hopping across these rocks in the dark. Our balance is fading, and gravity seems to be getting stronger.
Driving from Venice or Englewood, the south jetty is closer and probably better fishing overall. Even when we were in Nokomis, we often drove the extra distance to fish that south jetty. Our favorite places along the jetty were at the base on an incoming tide and at the western end on a falling tide. An incoming tide creates an eddy at the base of the jetty where the rip rap turns southeast. It’s an easy cast with a fly rod towards the channel marker that creates a seam here. At night the lights attract bait. Some nights, these factors work together, and we release snook and lady fish till our arms give out. Small Clousers with some flash or white shrimp patterns are all that’s needed.
In the daytime, the south jetty is still a good bet. Jetty walkers make fly casting a challenge, so we usually take spinning gear and live bait. We see anglers spending their time re-rigging because they try to fish on the bottom where thousands of others have donated tackle before them. You’ll catch more fish and fewer rocks if you drift a bait about 5’ under a cork. This controlled depth fishing lets you show the fish a naturally drifting bait or lure without losing tackle on the bottom. Just flip this free lined rig up current about 15’ off the rocks and let it drift past your position. Try different depths and distances from the rocks but don’t let your offering just drag and spin in the current. Try this with sand fleas for the sheepshead in the winter months.
Too many anglers ignore the good fishing on the beach side of both jetties. The beach side can produce flounder, sheepshead, snook, whiting, and pompano while the channel side of both jetties is more likely to give up snook, sheepshead, mackerel, and bluefish. You’ll also get to catch and release small grouper on both sides.
The north jetty has some good fishing too. The beach north of the north jetty is usually occupied with swimmers so anglers head towards the west end. This jetty forms a natural barrier forcing bait schools moving south along the beach to detour into the deeper water at the end of the jetty, a perfect ambush spot for snook and other predators.
Don’t forget the part about the hard and slick granite on these jetties. Check these rocks out carefully in the daytime if you plan to fish at night. While an angler can cast from the asphalt, landing and releasing big fish means getting close to the water. Remember, snook and redfish are still illegal to keep now. Please release these fish alive. And don’t ever stand on wet rocks.