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Pet Friendly Florida
A man fishing from a pier railing with a cooler beside him

Fishing With Dogs in Florida

Surf, pier, inshore, boat, kayak and charter fishing with a dog aboard - town by town, plus what to do when a hook, line or fish goes wrong.

Florida calls itself the fishing capital of the world, and plenty of anglers want the dog along. The gear is the hazard, not the water: hooks, line, bait and freshly landed fish. These guides cover how to fish each way with a dog, which towns actually allow it, and what to do when something goes wrong.

Start here

Complete Guide Fishing With Your Dog in Florida: Complete Guide The dog is part of the trip, not part of the tackle

How you are fishing

Surf Fishing Surf Fishing With a Dog in Florida Three things must line up before you go Pier Fishing Pier Fishing With a Dog in Florida The densest concentration of hooks on the smallest deck Inshore Inshore Fishing With a Dog in Florida Hooks belong in tackle, dog belongs in a safe zone Freshwater Freshwater Fishing With a Dog in Florida Alligators - and the shoreline itself is the hazard zone Boat Fishing Fishing From a Boat With Your Dog in Florida Give the dog a designated place gear never goes Kayak Fishing Kayak Fishing With a Dog in Florida One rod, one small box, one very settled dog Paddleboard Paddleboard Fishing With a Dog in Florida Only for a dog that already knows how to stay put

Charters

Dog-Friendly Charters Florida Fishing Charters That Allow Dogs Operators who say yes in their own words Finding a Charter How to Find a Pet-Friendly Fishing Charter in Florida Ask about this exact trip on this exact boat

Where to go

Best Towns Best Florida Fishing Towns for Dog Owners Ranked by whether the dog can legally be there too Best Beaches Best Florida Fishing Beaches for Dogs Where dog access and legal fishing actually overlap Best Piers Best Florida Fishing Piers Near Dog-Friendly Areas Fish the pier, then walk the dog nearby

City by city

St. Augustine Fishing With Dogs in St. Augustine, Florida The rare place with legal dog beach AND surf fishing Jacksonville Fishing With Dogs in Jacksonville, Florida Beach dog hours change with the season Daytona Beach Fishing With Dogs in Daytona Beach, Florida Williams Avenue to Seabreeze Boulevard is the zone Tampa Bay Fishing With Dogs in Tampa Bay, Florida Inshore charter first, dog beach after St. Petersburg Fishing With Dogs in St. Petersburg, Florida Fort De Soto does both jobs in one park Sarasota Fishing With Dogs in Sarasota, Florida Brohard Paw Park is the county’s only dog beach Fort Myers Fishing With Dogs in Fort Myers, Florida Bonita Beach Dog Park is the off-leash payoff Naples Fishing With Dogs in Naples, Florida Great fishing town, no dogs on city beaches Panama City Beach Fishing With Dogs in Panama City Beach, Florida Dog sand is one specific stretch west of the pier Pensacola Fishing With Dogs in Pensacola, Florida Two dog beaches, and Fort Pickens pier bans pets outright Florida Keys Fishing With Dogs in the Florida Keys The strongest place in the state for dog-friendly charters

When it goes wrong

Fish Hooks Fish Hooks and Dogs: Emergency Guide Do not pull the line, and do not induce vomiting Fishing Line Fishing Line and Pets: Entanglement and Ingestion Safety Swallowed line is a linear foreign body - never pull it Bait Bait and Dogs: What Is Toxic? If it is meant to catch a fish, it is not dog food Fish Spines Fish Spines, Catfish and Dogs in Florida A landed fish is sharper than it looks Pufferfish Pufferfish Poisoning and Dogs in Florida Tetrodotoxin - and a dead one is still dangerous

Gear

Fishing Gear Best Fishing Gear for People Traveling With Dogs in Florida A compact kit that keeps hooks contained and the dog cool