Navarre Beach Fishing Pier

Navarre Beach Fishing Pier is the longest fishing pier in Florida and the Gulf, built on angled concrete piles to stand high above storm waves. It is the best place in Santa Rosa County to reach king mackerel and cobia from land.

• 1,545 feet long and 30 feet above the water, with an octagon at the end
• Deep, clear water at the end for kings, cobia and little tunny; surf species near the beach
• Daily fishing pass includes your fishing license
• Bait and tackle shop, rod rentals and a restaurant on site

The pier is at 8579 Gulf Boulevard on Navarre Beach, reached across the Navarre Beach Bridge from US 98 in Navarre.

• Getting there: from US 98 in Navarre, cross the bridge to Navarre Beach and turn west on Gulf Boulevard
• Parking: public beach parking around the pier; busy on summer weekends
• Entry: fishing passes (license included) or a low-cost walking pass at the pier house; weekly and annual passes are sold, and disabled veterans and mobility or visually impaired visitors get in free
• Hours: summer, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.; winter, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Surface: a wide wooden deck on concrete piles, with an accessible entrance ramp; a long walk to the end

The length of the pier gives it both nearshore and deep-water fishing in one visit.

• Spring (Mar–May): cobia sight-fishing from the rails, pompano near the beach, Spanish mackerel and bluefish, first kings in May
• Summer (Jun–Aug): king mackerel and little tunny off the end, Spanish mackerel, tarpon passing, whiting and redfish close in
• Fall (Sep–Nov): kings and big bull redfish with the mullet run, pompano back in October, flounder
• Winter (Dec–Feb): Gulf whiting, sheepshead around the pilings and occasional pompano on warm, calm days

Bring a light rod for bait and mackerel and a heavy rod for kings and cobia.

• King mackerel: live cigar minnows, hardtails or blue runners on a stinger rig with light wire, fished from the end
• Cobia: bucktail jigs or live eels sight-cast to fish cruising along the rails; 50 lb class tackle
• Spanish mackerel: gotcha plugs and silver spoons on 30 lb fluorocarbon leader
• Pompano and whiting: pompano jigs or a double-drop rig with sand fleas or shrimp in the first troughs
• Catch bait with a sabiki rig at first light along the middle of the pier; sabikis are not allowed on the octagon
• A pier net or rope gaff is essential at 30 feet above the water

Gulf tides are small and often diurnal here; water clarity, current and bait matter more than tide height.

• Clean, green water pushed in by a light south or southeast breeze is best for kings and cobia
• A moving tide gets bait schools moving along the rails
• After a strong blow, murky water sends pelagics offshore; fish bottom baits near the beach instead
• Dawn and dusk are the prime windows in summer; the lit deck fishes into the evening
• The spring run begins as the Gulf warms into the low 70s °F

The pier is high, wide and railed, and one of the more accessible fishing spots in the Panhandle.

• Leave the pier when thunderstorms build; summer lightning is the biggest hazard
• No shade on most of the deck; bring water, a hat and sunscreen
• Crowded rails during mackerel and cobia runs; keep treble hooks under control
• Never swim near the pier or jump from it; rip currents form along the Navarre Beach bars
• An accessible entrance ramp and 16 accessible railing spots; free admission for disabled veterans and mobility or visually impaired visitors

Navarre Beach Fishing Pier is well equipped.

• Bait and tackle shop with rod rentals at the pier
• An outdoor restaurant at the foot of the pier with Gulf views
• More than 90 low, turtle-friendly lights along the deck for evening fishing
• Monofilament recycling stations on the pier
• No fish cleaning tables on the pier, so plan to clean your catch elsewhere

• The end platform is where the kings are caught; get there early during a run
• Cobia arrive in late March and April; stand high with polarized glasses and a jig ready
• Spanish mackerel often feed hardest mid-pier over the second bar at first light
• Watch the water color from the beach before paying; green water means a good day
• Weekly passes are good value if you are staying on Navarre Beach
• Keep line and fish scraps out of the water; sea turtles feed around the pier

The pier belongs to Santa Rosa County and is run by a concession; pier rules are posted at the entrance.

• The daily fishing pass includes a fishing license, so anglers fishing from the pier are covered; off the pier, a Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• County pier rules: no pets, glass, running, jumping, camping or cooking, no sitting or standing on the rail, no personal lights and no sabiki rigs on the octagon, where all tackle except one rod and reel stays in the center
• Leave no fish on the pier, and never discard fish waste, bait or line; recycle monofilament in the bins
• The waters here are critical habitat for Gulf sturgeon; release any sturgeon immediately and follow the posted guidelines for turtles, birds and dolphins
• Shore-based shark fishing needs the free FWC permit; check with the pier before targeting sharks
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything