Mussallem Beachfront Park Fishing

Mussallem Beachfront Park is a St. Johns County beach park on the North Beach side of the St. Augustine Inlet, with its own lot, restrooms and showers and a quick climb over the dune to open surf.

• A walk-on beach with no public vehicle ramp on this stretch
• Whiting, pompano, blues, redfish and black drum
• Restrooms and showers, open dawn to dusk
• Lot on the Intracoastal side of A1A, beach across the road
• Named for Abraham S. Mussallem, who turned St. Augustine's Villa Zorayda into a museum

The park is at 3350 Coastal Highway (A1A), north of the Vilano Bridge, in unincorporated St. Johns County.

• Parking: 48 spaces, 2 of them ADA, according to the county's beach access guide
• Crossing: the lot is on the inland side of A1A, so use the marked crosswalk and signals to reach the beach
• Walkover: a short wooden boardwalk, about 40 feet long, with roughly 20 steps up and over the dune
• Hours: dawn to dusk
• Nease Beachfront Park, a smaller county lot with restrooms and showers, is under half a mile south if this one is full

Open beach north of the inlet, with fish moving along it through the year.

• Spring (Mar-May): pompano and whiting at their best, bluefish and the first Spanish mackerel heading north
• Summer (Jun-Aug): whiting and croaker at first light, Spanish mackerel over bait, flounder in the cuts
• Fall (Sep-Nov): the mullet run brings bluefish, redfish and crevalle jacks close in, with the odd tarpon outside the bar
• Winter (Dec-Feb): black drum and redfish on crab or clam, whiting on milder days

Keep it simple and light enough to carry up 20 steps and across the highway.

• A 10 to 11 ft surf rod and a two-hook dropper rig with #2 to 1/0 hooks and a 3 to 4 oz pyramid sinker
• Shrimp or clam for whiting and croaker; sand fleas for pompano
• A fish-finder rig with a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook and cut mullet or a crab quarter for redfish and black drum
• A spinning rod with small spoons for bluefish and Spanish mackerel when birds are working
• No shark rigs or chum: both are banned from St. Johns County beaches

Two high and two low tides a day. NOAA's St. Augustine Beach prediction station, the nearest on the open coast, about 5 miles south across the inlet, averages about 4 1/2 feet of range and swings from roughly 2 1/2 to 6 1/2 feet between neaps and springs.

• Fish the last half of the flood; whiting and pompano move into the trough as it fills
• Low tide shows the bar, the troughs and any cuts to target later
• Northeast winds bring rough, dirty surf; a southwest breeze flattens it
• In summer, fish early; afternoon storms and crowds build later
• Winter drum and reds bite best on calm, sunny days

Getting to the sand means crossing A1A and climbing a stepped walkover, and the county lists no lifeguard here.

• Cross A1A only at the marked crosswalk and signals
• The walkover has about 20 steps and no ramp listed, so it is not suited to wheelchairs or big carts
• The county lists no lifeguard tower at this park; the nearest seasonal tower it lists is at Surfside, to the south
• Rip currents form in the gaps in the bar: wade no deeper than your knees
• Leave the beach at the first thunder, and shuffle your feet for stingrays

St. Johns County lists a compact set of amenities for a park this size.

• Restrooms, ADA accessible
• Showers
• A 48-space parking lot
• Bike rack and a corn hole set
• No bait, tackle or food at the park, so bring everything you need
• North Beach Oceanfront Park, to the north, is listed as closed until further notice, so do not plan on its lot

• Take a small cart only if it can be carried; the walkover is all steps
• Bait up before you cross A1A; there is nothing for sale at the park
• Walk north or south along the beach to find a trough rather than fishing straight off the walkover
• In fall, watch for mullet schools and birds; bluefish and reds follow close behind
• County beach rules list flashlights at night among things not permitted, and ban flashlights and lanterns from May 1 to October 31, so fish in daylight
• Take all gear home; items left on the beach overnight are removed

St. Johns County runs the park, and the county Beach Code (Ordinance 2007-19) applies on the sand.

• The code bans intentionally fishing for sharks and chumming or blood baiting from the beach or within 600 feet of shore
• A deputy or county lifeguard can order you to stop fishing when swimmers are at risk
• No alcohol, glass, smoking, open fires or overnight camping on the beach; dogs must be leashed, even in the water
• Park hours are dawn to dusk
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• Check current FWC rules (myfwc.com) for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything