Ocean Reef Park Fishing

Ocean Reef Park gives Singer Island anglers a compact county beach with good facilities and only a short walk from the lot to the sand. It is best for a few hours of surf fishing at either end of the day, away from the busy swimming area.

• No charge for entry or parking; restrooms and outdoor showers on site
• Cool-season pompano, whiting and bluefish; snook, jacks and mackerel whenever the bait moves through
• An ADA beach mat eases the walk across the sand
• Neither fishing nor surfing is allowed inside the guarded swimming area

Ocean Reef Park sits at 3860 North Ocean Drive, Riviera Beach, on Singer Island, and Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation runs it.

• Getting there: take Blue Heron Boulevard over to Singer Island, then turn north onto Ocean Drive
• Fees: none; this is not one of the two county parks that charge for beach parking
• Hours: sunrise to sunset
• The walk: a short one from the lot, past the dunes, with an ADA beach mat covering part of the sand
• Surface: soft sand where the mat ends
• It is a small park, so on busy days walk up or down the beach to find room to cast

Singer Island's open beach shares the seasonal runs of the whole north county coast.

• Spring (Mar-May): the tail end of the pompano and bluefish season, passing Spanish mackerel, and snook drifting back to the beach
• Summer (Jun-Aug): early-morning snook along the wash, plus jacks, blue runners and trough whiting
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the busiest season, when the mullet run pulls snook, tarpon, jacks, ladyfish and bluefish in close
• Winter (Dec-Feb): pompano and whiting hold in the troughs, and bluefish and Spanish mackerel follow the cold fronts

Most days call for two rods: a surf rod to reach the troughs and a lighter spinning outfit for prowling the wash.

• Pompano and whiting: sand fleas, clam or shrimp on a double-drop rig with 1/0 hooks, held down by a 3 to 5 oz pyramid sinker
• Pompano jigs: bounce a small yellow or pink one through the first trough as the tide comes in
• Snook: at first light, swim a white bucktail or paddle-tail along the edge of the wash, or fish a live mullet there
• Bluefish and Spanish mackerel: when bait sprays, cast silver spoons or small plugs into it
• Spool 15 to 20 lb line with a short fluorocarbon leader, and add a bite leader once bluefish are about

Singer Island sees two Atlantic tides a day; more than anything, look for clean water.

• For pompano and whiting, the rising water up to the high is usually the time to fish
• Snook often feed in the wash at dawn and dusk, frequently while the tide is falling
• Clear green water over a light swell is ideal; a large swell, or brown water after a blow, fishes badly
• In fall, northeast winds push the mullet down the beach with the predators hard on their tails
• In winter, give a cold front a day or two, then fish as the water clears

Lifeguards watch the swimming area, but the rest of the beach calls for care too.

• Rip currents run along this beach; keep your feet on the sand while you cast
• Set up well outside the flags, away from swimmers and surfers
• Summer lightning means leaving the beach at once
• Stingrays settle in the shallows, one more reason to stay out of the water; watch for Portuguese man o' war once onshore winds have blown
• Shade on the sand is scarce; bring water
• Access: the ADA beach mat crosses part of the sand, and the lifeguards can provide a beach surf wheelchair

You will find what a morning or evening session needs, though nothing aimed at anglers.

• Restrooms and outdoor showers
• Picnic areas with grills and a reservable group pavilion
• A playground and a dune ecosystem overlook
• We could confirm no bait shop or food concession, so pack bait, food and plenty of water
• No lights for fishing after dark, and the park closes at sunset

• Fish the first hours of daylight, before the beach fills and the lifeguards set out the flags
• Walk away from the swimming area before setting up; the sand either side is usually quieter
• Sand fleas are the top pompano bait here, but buy them beforehand; digging them in a county park breaks the park code
• Birds diving and bait spraying give away bluefish and mackerel passing the island
• When the ocean is rough, switch to the lagoon at Phil Foster Park, under the Blue Heron Bridge, a few minutes south
• Rinse your reels at the outdoor showers before you leave

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation is in charge of Ocean Reef Park.

• Open sunrise to sunset
• The guarded swimming area is off limits to fishing and surfing
• Under county park code, swimming and wading are allowed only where designated, so fish from the sand rather than wading into the surf
• Dogs may not go on county beaches unless they are service animals, and balloons are banned in the park
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is needed unless you qualify for an exemption
• No shark fishing or chumming: county code bans both on county beaches with guarded swim areas, and Ocean Reef's beach is guarded
• Collecting animals of any kind other than legally caught fish is against the county park code, so bring sand fleas rather than raking them
• Snook and tarpon each have FWC seasons and release rules; look them up before you keep a snook
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything