Recently Ive been taking my son to a tutor over on IOP for honors 6th grade math, boy do I miss algebra. I have an hour to kill waiting on him each time and I go to the beach to do a little scouting and check it out. Ive been walking the beach around 25th, theres not a whole lot of bars out there but Ive seen a few. The pier has caught my eye so I made my way down to it on the beach and its posted private and they have some fences up trying to discourage people from accessing it from the beach. Is the public not allowed to fish there? Has anyone tried it? Whats the deal? Will it not hold big reds like the folly pier and if not why, whats the difference between the two piers, Ive never fished either one of them and know nothing about either.Ive always enjoyed the space and freedom of the wide open beaches and enjoy the sand between my toes, but its made me curious.
The IOP pier is owned by the Sea Cabins, the condos next to it. Unfortunately it is not a public pier. I have relatives who own a condo there, and have fished off it a few times the past couple years. I usually have better luck fishing from the beach on IOP. Only thing I have caught off the end of the pier is sharks. You can catch lots of whiting about halfway out in the breakers, but I can do that anywhere from the beach. Only red I ever caught around there was 2 years ago I was fishing from the beach under the pier and caught a nice 22" red using cut mullet. The guys fishing from the end of pier that morning were getting skunked. Since the county park is right there the only time you can really fish without worrying about the crowds and surfers is off season and off hours. Not worth it in my opinion. Head north on IOP and look for cuts and troughs and you will catch more fish, and avoid the crowds.
Thank you graceandhayes, good stuff I will take your advice, saw a couple of people fishing there and didnt see anyone catching anything, appreciate it.
If you are in that area, there is usually a trough around 22nd Ave. Either park along the bend in Palm Blvd and hit that beach access, I guess it would be 21st Ave, and walk left up the beach toward 22nd Ave. There is also beach access at 23rd Ave. Park there and head right towards 22nd Ave. Not my preferred spot and usually crowded during the summer, but this time of year you shouldn’t have to worry. Again, not my preferred spot, but best spot in that area of IOP if you only have an hour. Otherwise you need to go farther north towards Wild Dunes, or go farther south towards Breach Inlet. Tight Lines!