Bryant Park (Lake Worth Beach) Fishing

Bryant Park (Lake Worth Beach) is an easy, family-friendly lagoon spot with a fishing pier, shade and restrooms, a short drive from the Lake Worth Beach ocean pier.

• A three-part fishing pier off a spit of land into the Lake Worth Lagoon
• Snook, snapper, sheepshead, jacks and black drum
• Restrooms, picnic tables and grills, and a roofed platform on the pier
• A city boat ramp beside the park

Bryant Park is on the Lake Worth Lagoon (the Intracoastal Waterway) in eastern Lake Worth Beach, just south of the west end of the Lake Avenue bridge to the beach, and is run by the City of Lake Worth Beach.

• Getting there: head east on Lake Avenue toward the bridge; the park is on the west shore of the lagoon
• Parking: park near the ramp and band shell; trailers use the designated boat ramp spaces, which carry a daily fee, and city beach permits are not valid here
• The walk: short, level paths from the parking to the pier
• Surface: paved paths and pier decks
• Hours: sunrise to sunset, for the park and the fishing pier

The lagoon here gets clean water from the Palm Beach and Boynton inlets.

• Spring (Mar-May): snook, jacks and ladyfish, mangrove snapper starting to bite
• Summer (Jun-Aug): mangrove snapper, snook at dawn and dusk, tarpon rolling in the channel
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the mullet run brings snook, jacks and tarpon along the shore
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum on pilings, occasional pompano and seatrout

Light to medium spinning tackle suits the pier.

• Snook: live shrimp or pilchards on a 2/0 circle hook and 30 lb leader near the pilings
• Mangrove snapper: small live shrimp on a knocker rig
• Sheepshead and black drum: fiddler crabs or shrimp on a strong 1/0 hook right against the pilings
• Jacks and ladyfish: small jigs and spoons when bait shows
• Pompano: small pompano jigs on the sandy bottom in winter
• Bring bait with you: city code bars netting or trapping fish within 500 feet of the pier

The Lake Worth Lagoon has two tides a day; NOAA's Lake Worth ICW station, about a kilometer away, shows a mean range of about 2.7 feet.

• The incoming tide brings clearer, cooler water from the inlets and is usually best
• The first and last hours of each tide are good for fishing close to structure
• Early morning and the last hour before the sunset closing are best for snook and tarpon
• Winter cold fronts push sheepshead onto the pilings
• Heavy rain can cloud the lagoon for a day or two

Bryant Park is one of the easier fishing spots in the county.

• Level paths and pier decks suit wheelchairs and strollers
• Watch for boats using the ramp and passing on the Intracoastal
• Leave the pier when summer thunderstorms build
• Bring water and sun protection; shade is limited to the roofed platform on the pier
• Do not swim near the ramp or channel
• No sitting or standing on the pier railings, and children under 10 must be with a responsible person

The park is well equipped for a family outing.

• A fishing pier of three platforms, one with a roofed shelter
• Restrooms
• A band shell, a rentable pavilion, picnic tables and grills
• A playground, swings, benches and horseshoe pits
• A city boat ramp with designated trailer parking
• No bait shop in the park; buy bait on the way

• Fish the platform closest to the deeper water for snook and snapper
• Fiddler crabs are the winter sheepshead bait
• The incoming tide on a calm morning often brings the best water
• Combine a morning here with an evening on the Lake Worth Beach ocean pier across the bridge, which stays open later
• Arrive early on weekends when the boat ramp is busy
• Bag your trash and line; pelicans and herons patrol the pier

Bryant Park and its fishing pier are run by the City of Lake Worth Beach under its city code.

• The pier keeps the park's hours, sunrise to sunset
• No fishing from the Lake Avenue bridge (the Robert A. Harris Bridge) at any time
• No alcohol, no shark fishing from the pier, no netting or trapping fish within 500 feet of it, no cutting bait on the rails and no open-flame lanterns
• Keep clear of the boat ramp
• 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