Shore Fishing
September 23, 2022 at 3:08 p.m.
Shore Fishing
By Kimball & Les [email protected]
Even the most avid kayak anglers need a break every now and then. The Venice Fishing Pier is an interesting alternative that lets fishermen fish the near shore gulf even when conditions aren’t right for launching a kayak for a trip into the gulf.
This pier extends seven hundred feet into the gulf from Caspersen Beach at Sharky’s Restaurant. It’s the longest gulf pier in this area. There is no charge to use this pier, and a fishing license is not required. There’s a bait shack with live shrimp, snacks, and beverages on the pier. Note that it can be hazardous to walk on the pier. Watch for fishermen carelessly swinging rods, lines, and hooks behind them that can injure innocent bystanders. Sharky’s, at the end of the pier has cold beverages and an interesting selection of lighter fare. Even if you’re not fishing, a walk on the pier can show you what others are catching, or not.
The water at the end of the pier is around eighteen feet deep depending on the tide. The near shore gulf in this area only gets 20-30 ft. deep as far as you can see. With the exception of some artificial reefs and this pier, it’s mostly a flat, barren, sand bottom. This pier and the groynes along Caspersen Beach create the only structures along the shore. When baitfish travel through with predators not far behind, they pause around structure. Other local gamefish also hang around these pilings and groynes because, well, that’s where the food is.
Advantages of fishing from the pier include the structure it creates. But some folks still come to the pier and cast as far as they can, out onto that barren sand. Elevation is another advantage of the pier. It helps anglers see schools of bait and gamefish over the sandy bottom. This height advantage comes with the issue of lifting fish up to the pier deck. But when one fisherman hooks a trophy, there’s usually an angler nearby with a pier net that can assist.
Other more subtle structures along the beach include the sand bars that parallel the shore. As we’ve said before, a lot of the fish we catch are between the beach and that first sand bar, often only 10-20’ from dry sand. Beyond that first bar, there’s another about fifty feet further out and occasionally a third bar beyond that. On a low tide, the first trough becomes too shallow and pushes fish into the troughs further out. Pompano and other prize beach fish are found in those areas between the bars. The Venice Fishing Pier lets you fish spots past the second bar without a heavy surf rod and a long cast. Just walk out on the pier past that second bar and fish from there. You’ll catch fewer weeds and more fish. Smaller fish like pompano, whiting, and juvenile permit are easily raised to the deck. Heavier fish like redfish, snook, black drum, sheepshead, sharks, and rays may require a pier net, or a long walk back to the beach.
There’s usually a breeze on the pier which helps with bugs if you decide to fish the late shift. Some anglers visit this pier for a late-night cast or two. Others take it more seriously and bring along enough gear to fish all night. The pier lights draw baitfish to snook waiting in the shadows. We usually bounce a barbless jig along the shadow line hoping for a strike. The barbless hook helps fish release themselves if we can’t crank them up.
Give the Venice Fishing Pier a try. It’s free, it’s easy and anglers can take a break for a cold beverage, some shade, and even something to eat right there, particularly in the off-season.