The Two Fishing Piers Of Fort Desoto

If you are in the Saint Petersburg Florida area then you have probably heard about Fort Desoto park. It is one of the best parks there are in Florida, and maybe even the entire United States. There are many activities that can be done at the park but here I will be talking about the fishing in Fort Desoto Park.

One option of fishing that can be done at the park is by boat, seeing that there are plenty of boat ramps in the park. You can fish the mangroves, under bridges or right off of Eggmont Key, all known to be exceptional for saltwater fishing.

For those of you that do not have access to a boat there is still great fishing that can be done at the park. Two of my favorite spots to fish are the Fort Desoto fishing piers, which are open all year, both day and night, and you can walk away with a cooler full of fish on a good day.

The first pier that I usually go to is called the Gulf Pier, and it seems to be more populated with fishermen then the Bay pier is. The Gulf Pier is roughly a quarter mile long, and they also have a bait and tackle shop right before the pier that is open during the day.

During the day the waters around the Gulf Pier are usually populated with porpoises, which means that bait fish are running. But if you are fishing there some of the fish you can expect to catch are sharks, snook, snapper, grouper, sheepshead, and many other species of saltwater fish.

The other fishing pier that is in the park is called the Bay Fishing Pier, which is slightly smaller than the Gulf Pier. This is where all the tour boats will drop off and load tourist to take them on various types of boat trips that the park offers. Nonetheless, it is also an excellent place to catch some fish.

For night time fishing I recommend fishing at the Bay Pier. For one it is not as windy, and you do not need as heavy fishing tackle as it has docks that are close to the water. During the day they have a tackle shop also where you can purchase bait and stuff.

Both piers are well lit up at night so you can see what you are doing. The lights also aid in attracting fish, especially by the Bay Pier at night time. The piers are less than a mile apart, and are located at the most south part of Fort Desoto Park.