| New York Times Article Mentions Shrimping in Florida |
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This article appeared in the NY Times on December 31st, 1989! It lists a bunch of good locations at the bottom of the article. The link to the article online is below but you can also read it right here. Gone Fishing On the Bridges of Florida http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE3DD103DF932A05751C1A96F948260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink By HENRY LEIFERMANN; HENRY LEIFERMANN IS A WRITER WHO LIVES IN FLORIDA. Published: December 31, 1989 In the Keys, bridge fishing is a virtual art form and way of life because there are so many bridges, so little beach for surf casting and such spectacular scenery. This year the state Department of Transportation began turning over many old Keys bridges they have replaced with new ones to other state and local agencies for use as fishing bridges. The old Seven-Mile Bridge is among the most popular. David Krug, a Marathon resident and supervisor in the Keys for the highway department, also recommended the bridges on either side of Craig Key, which is south of Key Largo and north of Marathon. Those bridges, called Channel Two and Channel Five, Mr. Krug said, ''are probably the two best fishing bridges in the Keys. You can walk the whole length of them on the catwalks. On Channel Two, get there early before the shrimpers.'' In the Lower Keys, the Kemp Channel Bridge at Summerland Key and the Spanish Harbor Bridge at Bahia Honda State Recreation Area are designated as fishing bridges. In the Upper Keys, try the Card Sound Bridge (State Road 997 to Key Largo from the mainland) and visit Alabama Jack's, an open-air restaurant and gossip shop. As improbable as it may seem, people do catch shrimp as well as fish from the coastal bridges. Shrimp spawn year round in Florida, but the best spawning runs, and therefore the best shrimping times, are from January through March, especially after a cold snap. Veterans recommend shrimping at night, three days before or after a full moon, on an incoming or outgoing tide. Hang a lantern or some other light above the water. The light attracts the shrimp drifting by on the tide, and the shrimper simply dips them out of the water with a fine-meshed, long-handled net available in most fishing tackle shops. The light and the shrimp also attract fish, and anglers can pick up a bonus catch by tossing out a bottom rig just beyond the lighted area. For bait, try a fresh shrimp. There is almost as much advice available for beginning fishermen as there is - potentially - fish to catch. A generally accepted recommendation is to have your bait, tackle, chairs and coolers on the bridge and ready to fish a half hour before the tide starts to change. There are four tides a day, two lows and two highs, each lasting six hours. Experts like Jerry Metz, an Indian River guide based at Little Jim Bait & Tackle, said it is best to fish the first two hours of the outgoing (low) tide through the last hour of the incoming (high) tide. Peak feeding and fishing occurs on the tide change, he said. Nearly everyone recommends using live bait (shrimp, mullet, pigfish, pinfish, goggle-eyes or whatever the regulars use). Generally, that is whatever small baitfish they can catch or buy. More experienced bridge fishermen recommend taking two rods for this kind of fishing, one light enough to be sporting on the mostly small species that make up the bulk of the catch (rigged with 10-pound line, for example) and the other heavy enough to lift a large, struggling fish 10 to 15 feet into the air (20-pound line). The veterans often take with them personalized fish-landing systems like a long-handled net. They also avoid leaders with snap-fasteners for attaching the hook, because the device frequently straightens out and releases the hook under the stress of reeling a thrashing fish up to the bridge. There are potential hazards for fishing lines around a bridge. Barnacles, coral and shellfish as well as rough pilings can slice a line. Some veterans recommend using a six-foot section of heavy leader line. If you let it, bridge fishing, like any other type of fishing, can overwhelm you or delight you with the available gimcrack gewgaws and do's or don't's lying in wait as bait for beginners. It requires no skill beyond congenialty and conversation, with a taste for the scenic in nature and the individual in people, to savor the best that bridge fishing has to offer. Getting a line on bridge fishing If you go Florida bridge fishing, you can buy supplies and get advice from most bait and tackle stores listed in local phone directories. Here is a sampling of some popular spots. Fort Pierce Little Jim Bridge, on State Route A1A, the North Beach Causeway leading from U.S. 1 and the Fort Pierce mainland across the Indian River lagoon to North Hutchinson Island; Little Jim Bait & Tackle, at Little Jim Bridge; open seven days, 7 A.M. to 9 P.M.; 407-461-9890. Miami and Miami Beach MacArthur Causeway, U.S. 41 leading from Interstate 395 to State Route A1A (try the bridge over the channel at the eastern end); Junior's Tackle Shop, 541 West Avenue, near the Miami Beach foot of the bridge; open seven days, 6:30 A.M. to 6 P.M., 7 P.M. Friday and Saturday; 305-672-3089. Florida Keys U.S. 1, traveling south; Card Sound Bridge, turn left onto County Road 997, Old Card Sound Road, at Florida City and park at the north end of the bridge, which is about 11 miles south of the intersection of U.S. 1 and County Road 997; Jack's, 35410 South Dixie Highway, in Florida City just north of the intersection; open 24 hours, seven days; 305-245-5550. Also, Channel 2 and Channel 5 bridges, either side of Craig Key, on U.S. 1, Long Key and the Long Key State Recreation Area beaches; Caloosa Cove Bait & Tackle, Mile Marker 73.5 near the Channel 2 bridge on Lower Matecumbe Key. (Locations in the Keys are given by referring to mile-marker signs.) Open 7 A.M. to 5 P.M., seven days; 305-664-8057. At Marathon: Old Seven Mile Bridge, fishing catwalks at either end off Knight Key and Little Duck Key; Seven Mile Marina, Mile Marker 47.5 just before the bridge in Marathon; open 7 A.M. to sundown, seven days; 305-743-7712. Also, Big Pine Key, Spanish Harbor Bridge just east of Big Pine and Kemp Channel Bridge nearby to the west; John & Jerry's Bait & Tackle, Mile Marker 30.5 on Big Pine; open 7 A.M. to 7 P.M., seven days; 305-872-9872. St. Augustine Vilano Bridge; take A1A, the May Street-Vilano Road causeway, from U.S. 1 to Vilano Beach; Hook, Line and Sinker at Camachee Cove Yacht Harbor on the causeway just west of the bridge; open 6 A.M. to 7 P.M., seven days; 904-829-6073. Dunedin Honeymoon Island bridges, the first over the Intracoastal Waterway, the second at the edge of Honeymoon Island; take County Road 586 west off Alternate U.S. 19; Dunedin Bait & Tackle, 1307 Bayshore Boulevard (Alternate 19) two miles south of County Road 586; open seven days, 6:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M., 8:30 P.M. on Friday and Saturday; 7 P.M. Sunday; 813-736-3474. Pensacola Bay Old Three-Mile Bridge, U.S. 98, in Gulf Breeze across the bay from Pensacola; vehicles may park on the bridge for 24 hours for $1; Gulf Breeze Bait & Tackle, 825 Gulf Breeze Parkway; open 24 hours, seven days; 904-932-6789. H. L. |
