Sandsprit Park Fishing

Sandsprit Park is a free Martin County park on the point where the Manatee Pocket meets the St. Lucie River, beside Port Salerno, the old fishing village south of Stuart. Its seawall walk, fishing pier and boardwalk sit over moving water a short run from the St. Lucie Inlet.

• A river-side seawall walk and fishing pier, and a boardwalk around the point at the mouth of the pocket
• Snook, seatrout, mangrove snapper, sheepshead and black drum, plus catch-and-release redfish
• Restrooms, picnic pavilions and grills
• The county's busiest boat ramp, with five launching lanes

Sandsprit Park is at 3443 SE St. Lucie Boulevard (a Stuart address), on the point between the St. Lucie River and the Manatee Pocket. Martin County Parks and Recreation runs it.

• Getting there: off SE St. Lucie Boulevard, east of US 1 and south of downtown Stuart
• Parking: free; the FWC lists more than 130 trailer spaces plus lots by the two kayak launches, at what the county calls its busiest boat ramp
• The walk: short and level from the lots
• Surface: paved paths, a concrete seawall walk, timber boardwalk and pier; sand at the kayak launches
• Recent work: the county set out to replace a storm-damaged boardwalk and fishing pier here in 2023 and 2024; nothing is listed as closed now, but check its park closure notices before you go
• Hours: county code keeps fishing piers and boardwalks open at all times and the FWC lists the ramp as 24 hours; the rest of the park keeps 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. unless other hours are posted

The Manatee Pocket, the St. Lucie River and the inlet tides all meet at this point, so bait and fish move past on every tide.

• Spring (Mar-May): snook moving toward the inlet, seatrout, jacks and ladyfish; sheepshead and black drum hang on into March
• Summer (Jun-Aug): mangrove snapper on the pilings, snook at dawn and dusk, tarpon rolling in the channel on calm mornings
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the mullet run brings snook, jacks and redfish along the seawall; seatrout return to the shoreline edges
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum around pilings, with seatrout and redfish on warmer days

Medium spinning tackle with 15-20 lb braid handles most of the fish here; a long-handled landing net helps with snook from the seawall and pier.

• Snook: live shrimp or pilchards on a 2/0-3/0 circle hook and 30 lb leader, or soft plastics along the seawall at dawn
• Seatrout and redfish: a soft plastic shrimp under a popping cork, or a live shrimp on a light jig
• Sheepshead and black drum: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a strong 1/0 hook tight to the pilings
• Mangrove snapper: small live shrimp on a knocker rig
• Ladyfish and jacks: small jigs and spoons when bait shows on the surface

Tides are small here: two highs and two lows a day, with a mean range of about 1.4 feet at NOAA's Sewall Point station across the river and roughly a foot inside the Manatee Pocket. The current still runs past the point as the pocket fills and drains.

• The incoming tide pushes cleaner water up from the St. Lucie Inlet and suits snapper and trout
• The outgoing tide drains bait out of the pocket; snook and jacks wait at the mouth
• Dawn and dusk fish best, especially in summer
• Heavy rain and freshwater releases down the St. Lucie River can turn the water brown for days; fish the incoming tide then
• Winter fronts push sheepshead and black drum tight to structure

The park is level and easy to walk; the real hazards are boat traffic and summer weather.

• Heavy boat traffic in the ramp lanes and the channel into the Manatee Pocket; keep casts clear of boats
• Summer thunderstorms bring lightning; leave the seawall, pier and boardwalk at the first thunder
• Sun and heat: bring water and a hat
• Do not swim near the ramps or the channel; the county health department has posted bacteria advisories for the water here when samples ran high
• Martin County lists the park as ADA accessible, and the rebuilt ramps added accessible parking and floating docks; paths and the seawall walk are level, while the kayak launches are sand

Sandsprit Park has good day-use facilities, but no bait shop.

• A fishing pier, the river-side seawall walk and a timber boardwalk around the point
• Restrooms (the FWC lists flush toilets at the ramp)
• Picnic pavilions, grills and a playground
• A five-lane boat ramp with floating docks and lighting
• Two sandy kayak launches, one on the river and one on the Manatee Pocket
• No bait or tackle shop in the park that we could confirm; bring bait with you

• Buy live shrimp or pilchards before you arrive; the park has no bait shop
• Fish weekdays or early mornings; the ramp is the busiest in the county
• Work the boardwalk at the point on the outgoing tide, when bait drains out of the Manatee Pocket
• Winter sheepshead crowd the pilings; bring fiddler crabs
• After heavy rain, wait for the incoming tide and the cleaner water it brings
• Watch for tarpon rolling in the channel on calm summer mornings

Sandsprit Park is run by Martin County Parks and Recreation under the county's park code.

• Fishing piers and boardwalks stay open at all times; the rest of the park closes at 11 p.m. unless other hours are posted
• County docks and boat ramps may be fished only while boaters are not using them
• County code bars throwing a cast net onto seagrass from a county park or leaving cast-net leftovers behind; in 2026 the FWC told the county its local fishing rules are preempted and the county is reviewing them, so follow the posted rules
• Do not leave a vehicle or trailer in the park after hours or overnight without county permission; deputies have been citing long-stay trucks and trailers here
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• The FWC's Indian River Lagoon region has release rules for redfish; check FWC before you fish
• Snook have their own seasons and tarpon have release rules; check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything