Juno Park, Juno Beach Fishing

Juno Park is a neighborhood county park on the Intracoastal, with courts, ball fields, a long waterfront and a boat ramp at its south end. It suits an unhurried session from the bank, and the county lists no fee for parking a car.

• Roughly 1,150 feet of shoreline on the Intracoastal Waterway
• Warm-water snook and mangrove snapper; sheepshead and black drum once winter arrives
• Restrooms, grills at the picnic areas, and a playground for the family
• Not the same place as Juno Beach Park, the oceanfront park with the pier

You will find the park at 2003 Juno Road, Juno Beach, along the east bank of the Intracoastal Waterway; it is a Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation park.

• Hours: sunrise to sunset for the waterfront; only the lighted courts and ball fields stay open until 10 p.m.
• Parking: car spaces, for which the county lists no fee, plus boat trailer spaces; a trailer needs the county's $15 daily permit, available on site, and overnight parking is not allowed
• The walk: a short stroll from the lot to the water
• The single boat ramp and its staging slip sit at the south end of the waterfront

Juno Park's frontage lies on the Intracoastal between the Jupiter and Lake Worth inlets, and the water here behaves more like an estuary than the open ocean.

• Spring (Mar-May): snook wake up and start working the shoreline, and jacks and ladyfish harry the bait
• Summer (Jun-Aug): the prime months for snook and mangrove snapper, above all at the start and end of the day
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the mullet run sends bait down the waterway, and snook, jacks and the odd tarpon follow it
• Winter (Dec-Feb): sheepshead and black drum settle around structure, and a seatrout turns up now and then

Nothing heavy is needed along this bank: a 7-foot spinning rod with 10 to 15 lb braid and a 20 lb fluorocarbon leader covers it.

• Snook: swim a small paddle-tail along the edges and into any shade, or drift live shrimp or pilchards
• Mangrove snapper: a light knocker rig baited with a small live shrimp
• Sheepshead and black drum: in winter, put fiddler crabs or shrimp on the bottom beside hard structure
• Jacks and ladyfish: throw small jigs or spoons as soon as you see bait on the move
• Where it is allowed, a small cast net or a sabiki rig will catch live bait

Tides here follow the Atlantic, two highs and two lows a day, though the flow along this bank is gentler than it is near the inlets.

• Fish while the water is moving, especially the opening and closing hours of each tide
• In summer, go early in the morning or in the evening to dodge the heat
• The cleanest water usually comes in on the flood
• A heavy summer downpour can leave the water murky for a day or two
• Winter cold fronts drive sheepshead and black drum onto structure

The park is easy to get around, though a working ramp shares the waterfront.

• Give boats at the ramp and the staging slip plenty of room with your line
• Wakes from passing boats run up the bank, so keep children away from the edge
• At the first rumble of summer thunder, leave the water's edge
• Bring sun protection and plenty to drink
• Access: only a short walk separates the parking area from the water

The park covers the basics well.

• Restrooms
• Picnic areas with grills and a chickee hut
• A playground, tennis and basketball courts and ball fields
• A boat ramp, a staging slip and canoe and kayak access
• A paddleboard rental kiosk run by a separate company
• A nature area
• We found no bait shop or food in the park, so arrive with bait and drinks

• Fish the edges at first light, when snook are most active
• Trees line much of the frontage; the open bank just north of the boat ramp is the easiest place to cast
• Avoid the ramp area on weekend mornings, when boats are launching
• In winter, fiddler crabs fished slowly near structure catch sheepshead
• Launch a kayak from the park to reach quieter shorelines nearby

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation manages Juno Park.

• Open from sunrise to sunset
• Fishing from the shore is permitted; stay out of the way of the ramp
• Overnight parking is not allowed, and parking a boat trailer requires the county's daily permit
• You need a Florida saltwater fishing license unless an exemption applies to you
• Snook and tarpon come with their own seasons and release rules, so read the FWC snook rules before you keep one
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything