Apollo Beach Nature Preserve Fishing

Apollo Beach Nature Preserve is a small, well-kept county preserve on the southeastern shore of Tampa Bay, with a sandy beach, trails and county-listed shoreline fishing on open Tampa Bay.

• A 2-acre sandy beach and shoreline on open Tampa Bay, with rock breakwaters offshore.
• Redfish, snook and seatrout along the edges.
• Restrooms, picnic tables and an accessible observation tower.
• After-hours fishing is possible with a county permit.

The preserve is at 6760 Surfside Boulevard, at the north tip of Apollo Beach off US 41 in southern Hillsborough County.

• Getting there: from US 41 take Apollo Beach Boulevard west, then follow Surfside Boulevard to the preserve at its end.
• Parking: a lot beside the observation tower; it is small and can fill on busy days.
• Hours: 8 a.m. to sunset, year-round.
• The walk: a short sandy path from the lot to the beach.
• After hours: the county's site-specific After-Hours Fishing Permit, sold to annual pass holders, is valid here; read its rules before you buy.

Open bay water gives a mix of flats fish and passing pelagics.

• Spring (Mar–May): redfish and seatrout on the grass edges, Spanish mackerel passing, sheepshead late in their run.
• Summer (Jun–Aug): snook along the shoreline early in the day, jacks, ladyfish and mangrove snapper, tarpon rolling offshore.
• Fall (Sep–Nov): schooling redfish, bigger trout, Spanish mackerel with the bait.
• Winter (Dec–Feb): sheepshead and black drum near rocks, trout on warm afternoons.

Light to medium spinning tackle covers everything here.

• Redfish: cut mullet or pinfish on a fish-finder rig, or a gold spoon cast along the edges.
• Snook and seatrout: live shrimp under a popping cork, or a paddle-tail soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jig head.
• Sheepshead and black drum: fiddler crabs or shrimp on the bottom near the rocks.
• Spanish mackerel: small spoons when birds are working within range.
• A 20–30 lb fluorocarbon leader handles most fish.

This part of Tampa Bay has two uneven highs and lows on most days and only one on some; the nearest NOAA station shows a daily range of about 2 to 3 feet. Fish the moving tide.

• Rising water pushes redfish and trout up onto the grass.
• Mornings are best in summer, before the sea breeze and storms.
• An east wind flattens the water on this shore; a strong west wind makes it rough and murky.
• The channel beside the point is deep, and tidal current can run hard there.
• Cold snaps push fish toward deeper water; winter afternoons fish better.

A gentle spot on land, but treat the water with respect.

• No swimming is allowed at the preserve, and county code bans wading outside designated swimming areas.
• Keep children well back from the water's edge near the channel at the point.
• Leave the beach when summer thunderstorms build.
• Little shade on the sand; bring water, a hat and sunscreen.
• The observation tower is wheelchair accessible; the path to the beach is short but sandy, and pets are not allowed on the tower.

The preserve has the basics for a comfortable visit.

• Restrooms.
• Picnic tables.
• A 37-foot wheelchair-accessible observation tower.
• Marked trails around the preserve's restored habitat.
• Pets are allowed, except on the tower.
• No bait or tackle sales are listed; bring your bait.
• No shade on the beach; bring your own.
• A trail map on the county's page; in the rainy season many trails hold standing water.

• Arrive early on weekends; the lot is small.
• Redfish often cruise the edges on the last of the rising tide in fall.
• Bring cut bait as well as shrimp; catfish and pinfish strip shrimp quickly in summer.
• Annual pass holders can add the county's after-hours fishing permit for the evening snook bite.
• Special events and vendors are not allowed here.
• Stay on the marked trails when you walk the preserve.

Apollo Beach Nature Preserve is run by Hillsborough County's Conservation and Environmental Lands Management department.

• County code allows fishing in county parks and preserves only where designated; the county lists fishing here.
• Hours are 8 a.m. to sunset unless you hold the county's After-Hours Fishing Permit, whose rules ban trotlines, set hooks, nets, traps, gigs and spears.
• No swimming or wading; no special events or vendors.
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt; shore-based shark fishing needs the free FWC permit.
• Snook, redfish and tarpon have their own rules; check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything.