Rich in forage and close to deep water, the ocean inlets of South Florida hold rod-bending fish.
If you’re an offshore fisherman, chances are you’ve traveled through one of the eight major ocean inlets between Boca Raton and Cape Florida. If you live further south, you’re likely familiar with the many channels cutting through the South Biscayne Bay flats and islands. But here’s something many don’t realize on the way offshore or back at the end of the day: You’re passing through some hidden gems, productive and often-overlooked fishing spots teeming with life.
In summer, snook, tarpon, barracuda, and several shark species—like spinner, sandbar, bull, lemon, and nurse sharks—move in and out of these inlets. They use them not only as passageways but also as staging areas for spawning or feeding. Year-round, the rocky and grass bottoms of the inlets and channels house an array of bottom-dwelling species.
You’ll find mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, yellowtail, lane, dog, schoolmaster, and cubera snapper, along with the occasional red, black, Goliath and gag groupers, sometimes even hogfish. Pelagics such as jack crevalle, yellow jack, horse-eye jack, and blue runners move in and out regularly. In the colder months, you might see Spanish and king mackerel, bluefish, African pompano, pompano, and cobia chasing shrimp, mullet, pilchards, sardines, and threadfin herring.
Baits for Inlet Fishing
Live bait is king when fishing the inlets and channels. Shrimp, crabs, pilchards, and threadfin herring fished near the bottom or on the surface will draw strikes. Artificial lures like jigs bounced off the bottom, soft plastics, or diving plugs can be just as effective, especially around jetties, dropoffs, and inlet and channel mouths. Big tarpon will suck in a medium-size blue crab off the surface. Jack crevalle and yellow jacks will harass a live mullet on the surface and then eat once it’s too tired to escape…