At one time, Dania Beach was the most popular destination for offshore kayak anglers. It is located just South of the Fort Lauderdale harbor entrance so benefits from the movement of nutrients in and out via the tides. The beach is super narrow, so it is a short walk from the Parking lot to the shore. The shore is well in the lee of the Bahamas, so there is rarely any surf. Usually comparable to launching on a big lake. There is an active fishing pier nearby, and with that lights, chum, and attraction of small baits. Abandoned pier structures are dead compared to active pier in regard to an area to catch bait fish. The area offshore lacks wrecks but makes up for it with a rocky limestone bottom. If one is keen on wrecks there are many a short distance away off adjacent Fort Lauderdale beach. The last key feature of Dania is accessibility. The 595 Interstate is just a short distance away. It can take a good 30 minutes or more after leaving the interstates to access other beach launching locations. The 595 makes it easy for a kayaker from South Miami or Northern Boynton to reach Dania Beach because the drive is almost all interstate.
Sadly this era has come to an end thanks to the City of Dania Beaches' desire to upscale their image. It started a year ago when they decided to hire a security guard to prevent the use of the parking lot during hours of darkness after 11 p.m. and before 6 a.m. Normally serious kayak anglers show up at 4 a.m. to be in the water by 4:30 a.m. so that they can catch sufficient bait before sunrise. This closure time is normal on most Florida beaches, but because it is normally enforced by the Police( who are aften fishermen themselves) Kayak anglers are rarely run off.
Now if one wants to fish Dania, they have to either buy bait at $8/goggle eye( if they are even available, usually in poor shape) or fish for bait during prime fishing time. Normally goggle eyes stop feeding after sunrise.
A group of kayak anglers rallied at the next city council meeting to express ways of compromise to allow kayak anglers early-hour access. The mayor was sympathetic and promised to get back to us on that....LOL.
A year later, no definitive solution from the mayor, and the city decided to double the parking tariff from $2.50 to $ 5.00 an hour. The lot is huge and rarely gets completely full. I imagine the pier merchants must be angry. The fishermen who frequent the pier go there because they can't afford a boat, so how is that going to help them? Being a beach city, there are no free parking side streets to access as an alternative.
A buddy of mine wanted to hit his favorite grouper hole before the season closed for the year. He paid $40 for parking. Normally stuff is way cheaper in Florida than the West Coast because average incomes are much lower. Is that a normal parking rate $5/hour for Redondo to La Jolla parking lots these days?
10-17-2023, 05:57 PM
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