Blue Heron Beach, Fort Pierce Fishing

Blue Heron Beach, Fort Pierce sits where the condominiums of the island's north end give way to open dune and forest. The inlet is close enough that migrating bait and the fish behind it pass this beach, and the access itself is small and unguarded.

• Four acres of county beachfront with a 30-car paved lot
• A short run south of the Fort Pierce Inlet, on the path of bait moving along the coast
• Snook, jacks and tarpon in the fall run; pompano and bluefish in the cooler months
• Wild dune and forest on the south side of the access

The beach is at 2101 Blue Heron Boulevard, at the road's east end off A1A on South Hutchinson Island, and St. Lucie County manages it.

• From Fort Pierce, cross the South Causeway, turn south on A1A and then east on Blue Heron Boulevard
• The paved lot holds 30 cars, according to the county
• A sandy path winds over the dune from the end of the lot to the beach; a short boardwalk beside the woods stops in open sand well short of the water
• Blue Heron Boulevard is also the north end of the county's 13.2-mile A1A bike path from Waveland Beach, so you can ride in with light gear
• Open dawn until dusk, and county code closes county land, this access included, from sunset to sunrise; no fee is listed

Inlet traffic sets the seasons here, and the fall run is the headline.

• Spring (Mar-May): Spanish mackerel and bluefish chase glass minnows along the beach, and pompano stay in the trough into April
• Summer (Jun-Aug): snook cruise the shoreline early and late, with ladyfish and jacks when bait is close in
• Fall (Sep-Nov): big schools of mullet pour south from the inlet, trailed by snook, crevalle jacks, tarpon and bluefish; flounder show on the bottom late in the season
• Winter (Dec-Feb): pompano and whiting in the first trough, with bluefish after fronts and the odd black drum on cut bait

Carry two outfits: a surf rod for bait and a lighter spinning rod for casting lures.

• Pompano and whiting: a pompano rig with bright floats, 1/0 hooks and a 3 to 4 oz pyramid sinker, baited with store-bought sand fleas or clam strips
• Fall snook and tarpon: a live finger mullet on a 50 lb fluorocarbon leader, or a large swimbait worked through the bait school
• Jacks, bluefish and mackerel: a 1 oz spoon or a jig with a short wire bite leader
• Flounder: a finger mullet or a jig bounced slowly along the bottom of the trough
• Keep a pair of long pliers and a towel handy; bluefish and jacks are hard to unhook

Tides here follow the Atlantic's twice-daily rhythm, with ranges of about 2 to 3.5 feet at NOAA's station on the Fort Pierce Inlet south jetty, a couple of miles north.

• A clean, rising tide usually fishes best; an ebb out of the inlet can tint the water near the beach with darker lagoon water
• Light onshore wind keeps bait close; a hard northeaster makes the surf unfishable
• Fall mullet runs peak with the first cool fronts of the season
• Early morning and the last hours of daylight beat midday; the access is open only from dawn to dusk
• Thunderstorms build over the mainland on summer afternoons and move out to the beach

Nobody guards this stretch, so wade no deeper than your knees and keep an eye on the surf.

• Rip currents form at gaps in the sandbar, often where the water looks calm and dark
• Lightning is the main summer risk; get off the beach at the first thunder
• Stingrays lie in the wash; shuffle your feet when you step in
• Handle bluefish and jacks with care, and release unwanted sharks in the water instead of dragging them up the sand
• Access: a paved lot and a sand path over the dune; soft sand all the way, with no ramp to the water

The county keeps this access simple: parking and a way to the beach.

• A paved lot with room for 30 cars
• No restrooms, showers or drinking water are listed
• No bait or tackle on site; stop at a shop near the causeways before crossing
• The county's guarded beaches are Pepper Park, north of the inlet, and Waveland Beach, far to the south
• Bring shade and water; the dune gives none

• Watch for pelicans diving and mullet flipping in the fall; the snook and jacks are underneath
• Fish the outgoing tide's last hour and the incoming's first hour if you want the inlet's bait
• Ride the A1A bike path in with a rod holder and a small cooler to skip the parking hunt
• Walk south along the forested stretch, where no buildings back the beach
• Pack out every scrap of line; the dunes here are nesting habitat

Blue Heron Beach is a St. Lucie County beach, and the county lists fishing among its amenities.

• Open dawn until dusk; county code closes county land, beach accesses included, from sunset to sunrise
• Dogs are not allowed on county beaches here; Walton Rocks and Wild Cat Cove are the exceptions
• Do not dig or remove beach sand or disturb the dune plants
• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt; shore-based shark fishing needs the free FWC permit
• Snook, tarpon and flounder have their own FWC rules; check them before keeping or handling fish
• Check current FWC rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything