Maximo Park Fishing

Maximo Park is St. Petersburg's big waterfront park at the meeting of Boca Ciega Bay and Tampa Bay, and the city lists shoreline fishing as one of its features. It is a practical, drive-up spot with room to spread out along the water.

• Moving water between two bays, with grass edges, sand and hard shoreline to fish.
• Snook, redfish and trout for much of the year, sheepshead in winter and mackerel on the spring and fall runs.
• Restrooms, picnic shelters, a beach and seven boat ramps on site.
• The largest of the city's four archaeological sites, with signs about the people who once lived here.

The park is at the southern end of St. Petersburg, at Sunshine Skyway Lane South and Pinellas Point Drive South, with the boat ramps listed at 34th Street South and Pinellas Point Drive South.

• Getting there: head south on 34th Street South (US 19) toward the Sunshine Skyway and turn onto Pinellas Point Drive South.
• Hours: the city lists the park as open from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset; the boat ramps are listed as open 24 hours.
• Parking: use the park lots and follow the posted signs.
• The walk: short and flat from the lots to the shoreline and Maximo Beach.
• Closures: a city notice on Hurricanes Helene and Milton lists the observation tower and some boat ramps as closed until further notice.

Two bays meet here, so the shoreline sees both grass-flat fish and the fish that follow bait through the channels.

• Spring (Mar–May): Spanish mackerel and ladyfish arrive, snook return to the shoreline and trout feed over the grass.
• Summer (Jun–Aug): snook at dawn and dusk, mangrove snapper and jacks around structure, and tarpon passing farther out.
• Fall (Sep–Nov): redfish school on the flats and trout are at their best, with mackerel passing through again.
• Winter (Dec–Feb): sheepshead and black drum along the hard edges and shoreline structure, and trout and reds on warmer afternoons.

Medium spinning tackle with 15–20 lb braid and a 25–30 lb fluorocarbon leader handles most fish from this shoreline.

• Snook and redfish: a live pilchard or shrimp free-lined along the edges, or a paddle-tail soft plastic on a 1/4 oz jig head.
• Trout: a shrimp under a popping cork over the grass, or a topwater plug at first light.
• Sheepshead and black drum: a fiddler crab or shrimp on a short leader with a small egg sinker, fished tight to hard structure.
• Mackerel and ladyfish: small spoons or jigs cast to birds working bait.
• Wading: shuffle your feet, and carry a small net and pliers so released fish stay in the water.

Tides at the mouth of Boca Ciega Bay are small and mixed, usually two uneven highs and lows a day, but water squeezing between the two bays gives the shoreline a steady current on a bigger tide.

• Best: the first hours of the incoming tide for clean water, and the start of the outgoing when bait drains off the flats.
• Light: dawn and dusk for snook and trout; overcast days keep fish shallow longer.
• Wind: a light northeasterly usually leaves the water clearer; strong southwesterlies stir it up.
• Water quality: the city's beaches page links water-quality information for Maximo Park Beach, so check it before you wade.

The shoreline is easy to reach from the parking lots and mostly flat, but the ramps and the water carry their own hazards.

• Boat ramps: busy at weekends; never cast across a ramp or its approach.
• Stingrays: shuffle your feet when wading the sand.
• Lightning: summer storms roll in fast; get off the water early.
• Heat and sun: bring water and sunscreen for a long session.
• Warnings: obey any water-quality or closure signs the city posts, including any fencing around the observation tower.

The city lists restrooms, picnic shelters, a covered playground, a disc golf course, recreation trails, an Indian midden, Maximo Beach and seven boat ramps.

• Closed: a city notice after the 2024 hurricanes lists the observation tower and some boat ramps as closed until further notice.
• Bait and food: none are listed in the park, so bring bait and water with you.
• Shelters: the city rents them out, so some may be reserved on weekends.
• Hours: the park closes 30 minutes after sunset, so plan a daylight session.

• Fish the shoreline nearest the channel on the first of the incoming tide, when clean water and bait push in from lower Tampa Bay.
• Watch for diving birds in spring and fall; mackerel and ladyfish are usually underneath them.
• In winter, work the hard edges away from the ramps slowly for sheepshead on calm, sunny afternoons.
• Avoid the ramps on weekend mornings, when the lots and ramps are at their busiest.
• Check the water-quality link on the city's beaches page before wading in summer.
• Walk the shoreline and look for bait pushed against the edges before settling on one place.

Maximo Park is run by the City of St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation, which lists it as open from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.

• City code bans cast netting from city property unless signs allow it in that area.
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt.
• Stay out of closed areas, including the observation tower and any fenced boat ramps, and keep the working ramps and their docks clear for launching boats.
• Shore-based shark fishing needs a free FWC permit, and snook and tarpon have their own FWC rules.
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything.