# Bridge out where to Surf fish



## ohiofisher (Jan 15, 2017)

Driving down from Ohio in late may early june and booked an airbnb in warrington. planned to just drive across the bridge and fish for shark on pcola beach all week.(appreciate all the help for a succesful trip last year!)

I see the bridge is closed. Will it be open by the end of May if not is it worth shark fishing in Perdido or should I rebook in maybe Navarre?

Thanks


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

Best ask Skanska about that, but they'll lie. They first said "30 days" when they didn't even know what the damage was. You might want to look at your other options.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

just go on over to perdido. closer without the hassle. i don't see any difference in the gulf either place. still gonna be a shark or two.
jack


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

What he said. The tourists taste mostly the same in all those spots. Mouth feel could be a little different, but sharks usually don't care too much. Good luck!


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

But then again, you may want to go to pcola beach on memorial day in may. that's when you can catch a big one. lol.
jack


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## ohiofisher (Jan 15, 2017)

We are heading down the weekend after memorial day to avoid crowds. We kayak out the baits and looking from GOogle Earth The first couple yards looked different in perdido vs Pcola/Navarre was wondering if theres any truth to that? Last year same time we caught a bunch of decent sized sharks,


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

ohiofisher said:


> We are heading down the weekend after memorial day to avoid crowds. We kayak out the baits and looking from GOogle Earth The first couple yards looked different in perdido vs Pcola/Navarre was wondering if theres any truth to that? Last year same time we caught a bunch of decent sized sharks,


Not sure exactly what you mean, but I wouldn't worry too much about Google earth today. On the beach it'll look different all the time and certainly by then. Heck hurricane season 2021 will be starting and we ain't done with 2020 season yet!


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

like wrm said, the weather and water changes the sand on the surf constantly. the troughs and sandbars you see today might not be there next week.
jack


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

I think what we are trying to say is don't overthink it. I'd avoid staying in Pensacola proper. Otherwise, Enjoy!


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## Play'N Hooky Too (Sep 29, 2007)

WRM said:


> Best ask Skanska about that, but they'll lie. They first said "30 days" when they didn't even know what the damage was. You might want to look at your other options.


They said "30 days", it's now been 34 days and they haven't even finished tracking down and retrieving all of their construction equipment. I hear that the crane barge that is still resting along the beach on Garcon Point is in a protected marsh so it can't be accessed by land, the water is too shallow to land the equipment necessary to move it, and the two barges that the crane is mounted on have broken apart.  

I was also told that it is the only crane barge of that size on the Gulf Coast and that they can't really move forward with construction without it.


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

And, are we surprised by this? No, no we are not. Hell, it's 2020. TEOFTWAWKI


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## ohiofisher (Jan 15, 2017)

Awesome thanks for the help sounds like not to count on that bridge being open.

anywhere we can park at night for free to fish the surf in perdido? Looks like to the East is a state park that is expensive and closed at night


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

First time I saw that barge I knew it was going to be a problem for them. They dicked around with some tugs near it a couple weeks back and, when I saw it was still there, I knew it was a problem.


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

ohiofisher said:


> Awesome thanks for the help sounds like not to count on that bridge being open.
> 
> anywhere we can park at night for free to fish the surf in perdido? Looks like to the East is a state park that is expensive and closed at night


If you want to do that, I'd lean to Navarre. I don't frequent Perdido since it became a condo canyon, so others may differ. I just think you'll pull that off a lot easier in Navarre. Twenty years or so ago you probably coulda done either.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

ohiofisher said:


> Awesome thanks for the help sounds like not to count on that bridge being open.
> 
> anywhere we can park at night for free to fish the surf in perdido? Looks like to the East is a state park that is expensive and closed at night


if yoo're pulling a camper, checkout the fort morgan road. it's got plenty of rv parks and maybe gulf state park.
and then it's a short drive to the gulf at perdido state park. don';t forget the fishing license.
jacck


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## kingfish501 (Oct 7, 2007)

jack2 said:


> if yoo're pulling a camper, checkout the fort morgan road. it's got plenty of rv parks and maybe gulf state park.
> and then it's a short drive to the gulf at perdido state park. don';t forget the fishing license.
> jacck


And the mandatory shark fishing class and land based shark fishing permit. Both are required.


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## ohiofisher (Jan 15, 2017)

Yes we buy our week license and take the land based shark course last year and will again this year. We are staying in an Airbnb no camper so sounds like perdido really won’t accommodate night time fishing very well?


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

You’ll be hard pressed to find night spots on perfido key unless staying on the beach. Alabama point is good. Fish off the sea wall por jetties.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WRM (Jul 31, 2012)

I thought the class and shark permit were a tongue in cheek joke. Shows how out of the loop I am. In high school, we used to just sneak onto the Navarre Pier at night and fish off the end. But, everything gots a permit now. 

I too would skip Perdido for this venture. You might find a way, but it likely would be a pain.


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## BananaTom (Feb 16, 2008)

ohiofisher said:


> We are staying in an Airbnb no camper so sounds like perdido really won’t accommodate night time fishing very well?


I live in Warrington, do you know what part you will be in?
ON what street?


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## sbrettphill (Aug 21, 2016)

ohiofisher said:


> Driving down from Ohio in late may early june and booked an airbnb in warrington. planned to just drive across the bridge and fish for shark on pcola beach all week.(appreciate all the help for a succesful trip last year!)
> 
> I see the bridge is closed. Will it be open by the end of May if not is it worth shark fishing in Perdido or should I rebook in maybe Navarre?
> 
> Thanks


About Perdido-
I’d check in with Johnson’s Beach National Seashore or back in with us to see if/when the rest of the park has reopened. Johnson’s Beach has most of the public beach area in Perdido but the road to most of it is blocked (Sally damage/cleanup) after the main parking lot. I was there Sunday and seemed like the main lot was more crowded because of the reason I’ve explained plus I think more people going to Perdido vs Pensacola because the bridge is out. Aside from Johnson’s Beach there’s basically a couple of small public access beaches and 2 perdido key SP beaches. So come May if the Pensacola bridge is not reopened or if Johnson’s Beach is not fully opened I’d consider Navarre.


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## Play'N Hooky Too (Sep 29, 2007)

I would focus on Navarre. Besides the public state beaches there's also the 8 or so miles of National Seashore that should be reopened by then. Parking on the GINS is limited to the public lots, but with a little ingenuity (ie: one person doesn't mind walking to and from the lot to drop off and retrieve the vehicle) you can have a lot of beach to yourself.


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## ohiofisher (Jan 15, 2017)

All the advice is appreciated and cancelled our Airbnb in warrington. Looking in Navarre now just need a place for a freezer we love how blacktip tastes!!!
Hopefully we can meet up with some guys for a kayak trip or shark trip. We have all tackle!


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