Often Overlooked, Ocean Inlets Offer Great Saltwater Fishing

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.

Big sandbar, bull and lemon sharks can be a problem in these inlets. It’s one thing if your tackle is set up to tangle these giants that can reach 300 pounds, but if you hook a nice snapper or snook, some days the fish will get eaten before you get it into your landing net. Spinner and blacktip sharks are here, too. In most cases these are smaller and more fun to target. Often, you will the spinners free jumping around these inlets. Get hooked up and you will quickly see why they call them spinner sharks.

Barracuda are always stalking ballyhoo and Spanish mackerel that hang out seasonally in and around the inlets. Snook school up and can be targeted along the rocky walls. A good sonar recorder will pick them up and a live shrimp, pilchard, or pinfish dropped to their depth often will result in a nice frisky snook. Live shrimp fished near the bottom may get eaten by hogfish, African pompano, groupers, mangrove and yellowtail snappers. A live medium size silver mullet fished on or near the bottom could result in a cubera snapper. If by chance you are reeling in a nice fish and that fish gets way bigger, there’s a good chance an arm-tugging Goliath grouper is now on the end of your line.

The shallower cuts and inlets south of Government Cut are easier to anchor and provide a more relaxed environment for fishing. From the tip of Cape Florida and extending south to the Upper Keys are a series of channels that feed the flats and South Bay of clean ocean waters twice a day. These channels are normally less than 20 feet deep and some are only a few feet deep making them much easier to fish. Anchor in a channel that seems fishy to you and chum with frozen ground chum or live baitfish. If the tide is moving and your baits are in the water, you stand a good chance of scoring a nice fat snapper, grouper, yellow jack, bluefish, pompano, or mackerel.

Most of these waters are in Biscayne National Park and have fishing regulations that are different then state waters.

Big-Water Tip

Fishing the bigger inlets comes with caveats: strong tidal flows, heavy boat traffic, and dangerous waves, especially when an outgoing tide meets an easterly wind. Major inlets like Government Cut and Port Everglades are busy with cargo ships, freighters, and cruise liners. All large vessels, and those navigating through, have the right of way. If you plan to anchor, drift, or troll, in or through these inlets, always ensure you’re not becoming a navigational hazard. Situational awareness is crucial and always keep your head on a swivel.

So, next time you head offshore, or wrap up your day, consider spending a few minutes fishing these overlooked inlets and channels. You never know what might bite. It could be the catch that turns an average day into a memorable one.

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• This article was featured as a “Florida Gem” in the August-September issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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