Hollywood North Beach Park Fishing

Hollywood North Beach Park gives shore anglers long boardwalk piers on the Intracoastal Waterway, with a beach park across the road. The county allows fishing off every fishing pier on the east side of the Intracoastal here.

• Boardwalk piers along the Intracoastal, strung between small pocket parks off A1A
• Snook, mangrove snapper, jacks and sheepshead along the pilings and mangroves
• Restrooms at some of the pocket parks and PayByPhone parking close to the water
• Anne Kolb Nature Center faces it across the waterway

The park is at 3601 North Ocean Drive (A1A) in Hollywood, north of Sheridan Street, and is run by Broward County Parks and Recreation. Its Intracoastal side is a string of pocket parks named for sea turtles: Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, Kemp's Ridley and Hawksbill.

• Getting there: take Sheridan Street east over the Intracoastal to A1A, then turn north; the pocket parks are on the west side of the road
• Parking: PayByPhone, first come, first served; the main North Beach Park lot lists $10 a day per car, or $6 after 2 p.m.
• Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; closed on Christmas Day
• The walk: short and flat from the pocket-park parking to the boardwalks
• Surface: wooden boardwalk piers along the water

The Intracoastal here holds resident mangrove fish and gets a steady flow of migrants along the waterway.

• Spring (Mar-May): snook moving along the mangroves and pilings, jacks and ladyfish chasing bait
• Summer (Jun-Aug): snook early and late, mangrove snapper under the boardwalks, tarpon rolling in the waterway
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the mullet run brings snook, tarpon and jacks after bait along the banks
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum around the pilings, with mangrove snapper still biting on warm days

Light-to-medium spinning tackle covers most of what swims past the boardwalks.

• Snook: a 7-foot medium spinning rod, 20-30 lb braid and a 30-40 lb fluorocarbon leader, with live shrimp or pilchards free-lined along the pilings
• Mangrove snapper: a small shrimp on a light knocker rig dropped beside the pilings
• Sheepshead and black drum: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a 1/0 hook, straight down next to structure
• Jacks and ladyfish: small bucktails, spoons and soft plastics cast across the current
• A long-handled landing net is worth carrying; the boardwalks sit above the water

The Atlantic has two tides a day, and the Intracoastal between Port Everglades and Haulover inlets runs steadily as they rise and fall.

• Best: the middle hours of either tide, when bait moves along the pilings
• The first light of the morning is the prime window, since the park closes at 6 p.m.
• An outgoing tide pulls bait out of the West Lake mangroves across the waterway
• Calm weekday mornings bring the fewest boat wakes
• Summer afternoon storms build quickly; plan to be off the boardwalk before they arrive

The boardwalks are an easy, stable place to fish, but the waterway beside them is busy.

• Boat wakes slap the pilings; keep gear and children back from the edge
• Boats are moored in the county's mooring field near Loggerhead Park at the south end; keep casts well clear of them
• Lightning and heat are the main summer hazards; there is little shade on the boardwalks
• Never swim or wade in the Intracoastal
• Accessibility: flat boardwalk piers close to the parking; the county mounts life rings at Loggerhead Park

Facilities are spread across the pocket parks and the main park.

• Restrooms: the county lists them at Loggerhead, Leatherback and Hawksbill parks
• Picnic areas at the pocket parks, and a concession cafe listed for the main North Beach Park
• The pocket parks are dog-friendly; dogs are not allowed in the main North Beach Park
• No bait or tackle shop is listed; bring shrimp and tackle with you
• Lights are not listed, and the park closes at 6 p.m.

• Walk the boardwalks and fish the corners and bump-outs, where current swirls around the pilings
• Come early: the best light is at opening time, and the park closes at 6 p.m.
• Live shrimp is the all-round bait; pilchards are better for snook
• In winter, drop crabs straight down the pilings for sheepshead
• The county also allows fishing from the park shorelines, not only from the piers
• Parking is first come, first served, so weekday mornings are easiest

Hollywood North Beach Park and its pocket parks are run by Broward County Parks and Recreation, and county park rules apply.

• The county allows fishing off all the fishing piers on the east side of the Intracoastal and from the park shorelines
• Park hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; the park is closed on Christmas Day
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• Snook and tarpon have their own seasons and release rules; check FWC before keeping any snook
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything