Surrounded by rivers, lagoons and the deep blue sea, it’s no wonder that the fertile waters of New Smyrna Beach have produced a rich fishing heritage that is centuries long. 

Ponce de Leon Inlet toward the north provides deep water access for sport fishing; New Smyrna Beach’s wide, long shoreline is fed by the Gulf Stream, making inshore fishing a blast; and, if that weren’t enough, our rivers are full of trophy bass!

So, what kind of fish can you catch in New Smyrna Beach? Almost any kind! I would be remiss if I didn’t start by saying that New Smyrna Beach is known as “The Redfish Capital of the World” and our Indian River Lagoon is ripe with them. The summer months are a time when 10-40 pound tarpons are prevalent and, if you use live bait, you could catch one up to 100 pounds! It is also fun fishing weed lines, wrecks and reefs for mahi mahi, cobia, kingfish and sails or you can bottom fish for amberjacks, barracudas or some tasty grouper and snapper. You don’t have to go far from shore for an exciting day of shark fishing; and our spotted sea trout are plentiful year-round.

The moral of this story is that you might want to perfect your jigging and casting, go get you some sand fleas or fiddler crabs and bait up!