Blind Creek Beach Fishing

Blind Creek Beach rewards anglers willing to walk: a long, lightly used beach where a nearshore reef keeps a trough full of feeding fish.

• About 1.5 miles of undeveloped shore in a preserve that stretches from the ocean to the Indian River Lagoon
• The county names surf fishing among the beach's favorite uses
• Free to enter and park, open sunrise to sunset
• Clothing-optional under a 2020 county designation, with clothed visitors welcome

The preserve lines South Ocean Drive (A1A) roughly halfway down South Hutchinson Island, and St. Lucie County manages it.

• From Fort Pierce, cross the South Causeway (Seaway Drive) and follow A1A south for about eight miles; the entrance is on the ocean side
• Main south entrance: a free lot the county has been paving, with the main dune crossover to the beach
• North access: a free gravel and grass lot at Little Mud Creek, on the west side of A1A about a mile north, with its own dune path
• If construction closes the main lot, the county sends visitors to the Little Mud Creek lot
• There is no lighting after dark, and the preserve closes at sunset

The reef-and-trough shape of this beach holds bait, and the fish shift with the water temperature.

• Winter (Dec-Feb): pompano and whiting in the trough, with bluefish on the days after a front
• Spring (Mar-May): pompano thinning out, Spanish mackerel when the water clears, croaker and whiting on bait
• Summer (Jun-Aug): snook prowling the first trough early and late, whiting through the day
• Fall (Sep-Nov): mullet schools bring snook, jacks, tarpon, redfish and blacktip sharks within casting range

The usual kit for these middle-island beaches is a medium spinning outfit, pompano rigs, pyramid sinkers and a jig, with a long surf rod when you need the extra reach.

• Bait: shrimp and sand fleas, the local name for mole crabs, which you can dig at the water's edge
• Hop a jig along the floor of the trough to pick up pompano between bait bites
• A rod holder cut from PVC pipe keeps the reel out of the sand; bring two
• Spoons on a wire leader for bluefish and Spanish mackerel
• Mullet on heavier tackle when tarpon, jacks and sharks arrive in fall
• Pack light for the soft-sand walk in

Like the rest of Florida's Atlantic side, the beach sees two tides a day, and the reef decides how they fish.

• Work the trough between the reef and the beach from half tide up to high
• Low water shows the reef line and the breaks through it; remember where they are and fish them on the flood
• Clean water and a gentle swell are ideal; a big northeast swell makes the trough unfishable
• After a winter front, allow a day for the water to clear before chasing pompano
• Calm summer mornings give the best shot at snook

This is a remote, unguarded beach, and help can be a long way off.

• No lifeguards; keep your wading shallow and watch for rip currents, especially near breaks in the reef
• No lighting and a sunset closing; be back at the car by dusk
• Get off the sand when a summer thunderstorm builds
• Green and loggerhead nests are common from March through October; keep clear of staked nests
• The soft-sand dune paths are hard going with a cart, wheelchair or stroller, and the county provides no beach wheelchairs here
• Stay inside the posted clothing-optional boundaries if that applies to you, and ask before photographing anyone

Facilities are minimal and sit near the main lot.

• Portable toilets while the county builds ADA restrooms at the main entrance
• A small shaded shelter and picnic facilities on firm ground by the parking
• A short interpretive trail through the dunes and a tower with a view over the lagoon
• Nothing for sale: no food, water, bait or tackle

• Photograph your catch, not your neighbors; the county's etiquette asks for consent before anyone's picture is taken
• Keep the Little Mud Creek lot in mind when paving closes the main one
• Leave pets, glass, alcohol and speakers at home; the county bans all of them here
• Walk the beach at low tide to learn where the reef breaks, then come back to those places as the water rises
• Dig sand fleas in the wash rather than buying frozen ones

Blind Creek Beach is a St. Lucie County preserve with its own posted rules.

• Open sunrise to sunset; no pets, alcohol, glass, fires or amplified music
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• Shark fishing from shore calls for the free FWC permit
• Snook and tarpon have separate permit, season and handling rules; see FWC
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything