Kayak Fishing: Top Summer Inshore Spots

Happy Monday Spacefish!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend, and I hope all of the mother’s out there had a wonderful mother’s day! So today I am going to switch gears a bit from some of the usual spot reporting that I do, and actually offer up a sampler pack of sorts. Today I am going to talk about some of my favorite summer inshore fishing spots for kayak fishing here on the Space Coast.

The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway wrote a few books that people seem to like, he was an avid angler and penned multiple highly acclaimed literary works that heavily featured fishing; The Old Man & The Sea, and Big Two Hearted River are probably what comes to mind for most people – for me I think often of The Sun Also Rises, because inshore fishing Florida’s Space Coast from May-September, it is important to remember that in addition to beautiful sunsets across the Indian River Lagoon, and the St. John’s River, the sun rising from the Atlantic is equally as beautiful to behold, but provides a more consistent bite than that of the dusk, low light period.

Summer is my favorite time of the year to fish. I hate waking up early, but at the same time I love waking up early, I love getting on the water and seeing the sun rise over the eastern horizon, and I love being able to catch good numbers of fish on topwater. Early summer can be a really good time to fish, because air temps are high but the water temps sometimes lag behind, and the bite can stay pretty good throughout the day, as we get into July/August it becomes more of the “dog days” but the early morning bite during that time is usually pretty strong, so as long as you are up and at em, you can usually be productive early.

That all being said, when it comes to picking the right summer spots for inshore fishing there is a particular formula I am looking to hit.

• 1
  Western Shorelines, or larger spoil islands. But not just any shoreline, I am looking for ones with taller trees, houses/buildings, or even tall mangroves – the longer it can provide shade the better!
• 2
  Variety of structure, and variety of water depths. Whatever spot I pick I understand that within paddle/pedal range I need to have a variety of things to target so I am not wasting time fishing in a dead zone.
• 3
  Convenient launch accommodations – by June 21st, which is the summer solstice, the sky will be bright by 6 am, every minute is critical, I don’t want to go fish somewhere that takes me longer than needed to get unloaded and on the water.

Northern Brevard

My top spot for the northern space coast is the Haulover Canal Kayak Launch – located within the confines of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. You will need to print out a free fishing permit before you fish; which you can do here – https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/boating-and-fishing-brochure-2022-2023-merritt-island-nwr.pdf. There is not an actual address to this spot per se, but if you type it into Google Maps you will be able to figure it out.

Why this spot?

Once you launch you can go north or south, and get ample shoreline that will block the sun, personally I have only gone south. I fished this spot last summer, and while I did not have a banner day in terms of catching large fish, I caught a good number of fish – in this area I have caught Trout, Snook, Redfish, Mangrove Snapper and I even saw rolling Tarpon.

North Central Brevard

As a kayak or paddle board angler, it is hard to argue against the Thousand Island Conservation area in the Banana River Lagoon! This area is a labyrinth of mangrove islands, and shallow water flats; but it also has easy access to canals with deeper water, docks and seawalls. For launch spots I would go Ramp Road Park, located at Ramp Road Park, 401 Ramp Rd, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931; or you can launch from Constitution Bicentennial Park, located at 801 W Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach, FL 32931 – and head south!

Why this spot?

This is probably one of East Central Florida’s “bucket list” fishing spots, it is a “no wake zone” throughout the area, and there are a ton of great areas to fish that are only accessible by paddle craft. This is a great place to catch Sea Trout in good numbers, but also has a good Redfish population. In the summer you will run into a lot of Juvenile Tarpon in this area as well. The one species that has eluded me over the years here is Snook, I have never been able to catch Snook in quantity, or quality. This area is a fantastic place to hit before day break in the summer, because the topwater bite for Trout is usually en fuego.

Eau Gallie River - Baby Tarpon

The Eau Gallie River/Elbow Creek: For the morning bite I usually launch from Ballard Park – 924 Thomas Barbour Dr, Melbourne, FL 32935 – and then head south along Elbow Creek down to the US Highway 1 bridge, fishing the western shoreline.

Why this spot?

I have consistently caught good numbers of Snook along this shoreline on topwater plugs, swimbaits and jerkbaits in the mornings. However, the big draw for me to fish here is that from May-October there is a good population of Juvenile Tarpon that hang out in Elbow Creek and with the right tactics and approach can make for some exciting kayak fishing! Get on the water early, try and get down to the stretch of the creek in front of the Boat House before the sun rises and you will have a chance to catch the Silver Prince

Southern Brevard

Heading south down the Space, the next spot on the list is Fisherman’s Landing – 5795 S, 5795 US-1, Grant-Valkaria, FL 32949.

Why this spot?

The picture posted at the top of this section is the launch spot, I am standing from where I parked. It is extremely easy to get on the water here. It is the perfect place for a quick trip, because you can paddle out 100 yards or so to that island with the houses, and just south of that is another great spoil island! Now if you are in it for the long haul, and have an unlimited time to fish – you can kick it across the IRL to the areas around Honest John’s Fish Camp/Mullet Creek – this area can easily rival the Thousand Islands as being one of East Central Florida’s best kayak fishing spots! In trips where I have launched from this spot I have caught Snook, Tarpon, Trout, Redfish, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Mangrove Snapper – the whole cast of characters basically.

Treasure Coast

Last, but certainly not least on this list of top spots for inshore kayak fishing is the Wabasso Causeway, located at 1820 Wabasso Beach Rd, Vero Beach, FL 32963. When I launch here I like to head north, round the tip of Marsh Island then head over to Orchid Island, and I have had

Why this spot?

There are two big draws for me here…Snook, and the chance to catch lots of Snook. The Thousand Island is a Trout factory, you can catch small Trout all day there. Well the Pelican Island Refuge is a Snook factory, in the warmer months you can catch Snook till you get tired of it if you enter the refuge and beat the bushes. Trout will stack up along depth contours of the ICW, and don’t be surprised to find good sized adult Trout silently gliding along the shorelines of the refuge. Schools of big Jacks will cruise the open waters busting bait at day break, there are a few backwater areas within the refuge where Tarpon can be found.

Once you round Marsh Island, headed towards Orchid Island you will be able to head north, or south and have ample western shoreline to get a good two hours of topwater fishing in. This area has become one of my top spots to go fish for fun when I am not fishing a new place to report on.

Conclusion

That’s it for me today folks! If you are a new kayak angler in the area, or maybe you are a salty vet who is looking for a new spot to try, I hope this report helps, or inspires you to go try one of these places out. One of the best things about living along Florida’s Space Coast is that we are blessed with some really cool places to go fish!

I’d like to give a big THANK YOU to Kayaks By Bo, for partnering with us here at Spacefish to support our kayak fishing reports – as we enter the most fun and exciting time of year for kayak fishing, if you need to get that first kayak, or upgrade what you have – check out Kayaks By Bo, they have an awesome selection of kayaks, as well as all of the gear, accessories, and apparel you could ever need.

Thanks for reading…stay safe, be happy, and hook ’em in the mouth this week! Until next time!