Madeira Beach area --- inshore fishing?

[theo]

A bit off topic timeshare-wise, but hopefully harmless enough anyhow...

Younger brother is an avid fisherman who will be spending an early February 2013 week in Madeira Beach.
He knows he needs to buy a non-resident FL salt water fishing license (he won't be fishing in fresh water).
He has all top-notch fishing gear, but no previous familiarity with that particular geographic area at all.

He is not interested in hiring charter captains or taking any offshore trips --- just doing some early morning fishing from the shoreline, before others in the household awaken and enlist him into other family activities. Looking at area maps, Johns Pass seems (...to me, anyhow) like a good potential spot, as it connects between the Gulf and inshore bay waters. I told him I'd put out some feelers here to see if perhaps any local first hand knowledge or suggestions could maybe be obtained here.
When it comes to fishing, I know that there is really no knowledge like local knowledge.

Any specific thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations would be welcomed and genuinely appreciated.

 

[wcfr1]

Is he staying in a gulf front property? Many people cast lines right from the beach.

From John's Pass there are several spots to fish from.

No piers in the immediate area unless you head to Redington and you can fish the Long pier.

You usually see people off the Tom Stuart Causeway in Mad Beach or any of the sea walls in that area.

Stop in any bait shop for the latest info on whats running and where's a good spot.

 

[Sea Six]

I can tell you John's Pass (named for the Pirate Jean Lafitte (sp?)) is considered the Hammerhead Shark capital of the world. Generally, where fresh water flows into salt water is a VERY good area for fishing. Ask me how I know...

 

[theo]

Thanks!

Thanks for the above input; I will refer 'bro directly to this thread. Although I know that he is indeed staying "right on the beach", I'm also betting that he wants to find and fish more "moving water" and not just fish the beachfront. Whether he wants to tango with hammerhead sharks, however, is another matter...

 

[Don]

Make sure he knows to familiar himself with the kinds, number, and sizes of fish he can keep. As an example, when I first moved down here, I didn't know that the "slot" size for redfish is 18" to 27". In VA these are called "puppy drum" because they are just youngsters, and there was no max size limit.

Here's an address to get the saltwater chart of current regs. He'll need to chack it before coming down for any changes.

http://myfwc.com/media/2075522/saltwater_regulations_chart.pdf