McKenney Park, St. Pete Beach Fishing

McKenney Park, St. Pete Beach is a neighborhood park with a short public fishing pier on the channel behind Sunset Beach, a quiet alternative to the busier pass and Gulf spots nearby. It suits families and anyone who wants a relaxed session with the car close by.

• The city lists a fishing pier, restrooms, free parking, a picnic pavilion, grills, a playground and a dog park.
• Egan Park, a short walk south on Blind Pass Road, has a second city fishing pier and a boat ramp.
• Tide moving through the channel brings sheepshead, snapper, trout and snook within reach of light tackle.
• Sheltered from the Gulf surf, so it stays fishable on days the beaches are rough.

McKenney Park is at 9300 Blind Pass Road in St. Pete Beach, just south of the bridge that carries Blind Pass Road over to Sunset Beach in Treasure Island.

• Getting there: follow Blind Pass Road to the bridge over to Sunset Beach; the park and its T-shaped pier are just south of it, off the seawall walk.
• Parking: the city lists free parking at McKenney Park and paid parking at Egan Park, 9101 Blind Pass Road; city code bars parking in park lots from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• The walk: a few steps from the parking to the pier.
• Hours: city code opens St. Pete Beach parks during daylight hours, with each park's hours posted at the park.
• Nearby: Egan Park's pier and boat ramp are a short walk south along Blind Pass Road.

The channel is sheltered bay water with the tide flowing through it, so structure fish are the mainstay and the edges hold the gamefish.

• Spring (Mar–May): sheepshead finish their run on the pilings, snook return and trout feed along the edges.
• Summer (Jun–Aug): mangrove snapper around the pier and the seawalls, snook at dawn and dusk, and jacks and ladyfish chasing bait.
• Fall (Sep–Nov): redfish and trout feed hard, snapper keep biting and flounder show on the sand.
• Winter (Dec–Feb): sheepshead and black drum around the pilings and seawalls, with trout on warmer afternoons.

Light spinning tackle is plenty here: 10–20 lb braid with a 20–30 lb fluorocarbon leader.

• Sheepshead and black drum: a fiddler crab or a piece of shrimp on a 1/0 hook and a short leader, dropped straight down beside the pilings.
• Snapper: a knocker rig with a small live shrimp, lowered among the pilings on light fluorocarbon.
• Snook and trout: a live shrimp or pilchard free-lined along the edges on moving water, or a small paddle-tail jig.
• Redfish: cut bait or a shrimp on the bottom near the seawalls on a rising tide.
• Landing: bring a small drop net, because the pilings cut the line of a fish that runs.

Tides here are small and mixed, often two uneven highs and lows a day, but the channel carries more moving water than an enclosed canal, especially under the bridge just north of the park.

• Best: the hour either side of a tide change, when the current is steady but still easy to hold bottom in.
• Light: dawn and dusk for snook and trout; sheepshead bite through the middle of the day in winter.
• Wind: sheltered from the Gulf, so it fishes when strong westerlies blow out the beaches.
• Water: clean, green water after a few calm days fishes best; heavy rain darkens it for a day or two.

The pier is short and close to the parking, which makes it an easy spot for children and older anglers.

• Boats: the channel carries boat traffic, so watch your line and never cast toward a passing boat.
• Lightning: summer afternoon storms build fast; leave at the first thunder.
• Surface: a wet deck and seawall are slippery, so wear shoes with grip.
• Children: keep them back from the edge of the pier and the seawall.
• Handling: use pliers for catfish and a towel for stingrays, which both turn up in bay waters like these.

The city lists a fishing pier, restrooms, free parking, a picnic pavilion with a water fountain, seven picnic tables, grills, a playground and a dog park at McKenney Park.

• Egan Park next door lists a second fishing pier, a boat ramp, restrooms, paid parking, ball fields and lighted tennis and pickleball courts.
• Bait: none is listed at either park, so bring live shrimp or frozen bait.
• Food: bring your own; the grills and pavilion make it easy to stay for a cookout.
• Lights: none are listed for the piers, so plan a daytime session.

• Work the pilings on the last of the incoming tide for sheepshead from January to March.
• Try both city piers on the same trip; McKenney and Egan are a short walk apart on Blind Pass Road.
• On summer evenings before closing, drop a live shrimp beside the pilings for mangrove snapper.
• When westerlies make the Gulf beaches unfishable, this sheltered channel usually stays calm enough to fish.
• Fish from the park's pier and seawall, not from the road bridge just north of the park, which carries traffic.
• Take old line and hooks home; loose line tangles birds.

McKenney Park and Egan Park are run by the City of St. Pete Beach.

• City code opens its parks and piers during daylight hours, with each park's hours posted, and bars parking in park lots from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt.
• Shore-based shark fishing needs a free FWC permit, and snook and tarpon have their own FWC rules.
• Follow any posted pier rules, and keep Egan Park's boat ramp clear for launching boats.
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything.