I'll start by giving away an un-usable secret. Between the Bay pier and the Gulf pier at Ft. Desoto is a stretch of shore that directly faces the deepest part of the Tampa Bay inlet. If you look at nav charts, you can hit them with a kayak provided you set up at the right spot. Ansel plotted this out a while back and we finally decided to drive west instead of east for a fishing trip, making this experience happen.
We got there around 4:00, unpacked the van, set up our spot, paddled 3 baits out and cast 2 more from the surf rods.
It was about 6:00 by the time that was all done, so now it's dinnertime. I'm AWESOME at barbecue chicken (NOTE: sauce made from scratch 
)
Gulf coast sunset...
At 9:00,after getting no action, we got a visit from Park Ranger Bryant and she read us the riot act! She came storming out of her truck like a pitbull! 
"You can't fish here!!! You have to fish from the pier!!!" After she realized Ansel and I were nice and cooperative, she turned out to be a nice woman. She shot the breeze with us at she supervised us packing up our gear. Turns out she's a animal lover and appreciated we were participating in the tag and release program (though she didn't know much about it, we informed her).
QUESTIONS she got us thinking about.
1 - "You're not allowed to kayak your bait out. It will make the other fishermen upset." Is this a rule at the pier? I don't understand how this would be a problem to anyone.
2 - "You must fish from the pier." I think she may have said "after sunset", Ansel can back me on that. But why could we not fish there? Damn shame, that spot has loads of potential.
3 - "While I wish it was illegal, you can gig for rays from the pier once you pack up." Again, an animal lover. But it shows what fishermen are up against when laws are written.
I'm afraid it will be a while before we return to Ft. Desoto. Sorry to say the experience was a disappointment 
, but I'd like to learn from it so please chime in.
What a shame and such a great spot to fish.We need to send emails to whoever is the head of the Florida's State Parks and protest the ABSURDITY OF THE NO FISHING Rule from a public state park,,,,makes no sense.Stay fishing on the pier though because some 
massive sharks have been caught right from the pier before the 11 pm close time.Thanks and Good luck.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
I was recently studying some of my Tampa Bay nautical charts and have been drooling over that exact spot. Never fished it, but my charts show it dropping off to 43ft about 90yds out from the beach. Could be an incredible spot for all species of shark. Richard Otts (stellarol) said he surf fished it once, but that the ferry running from the bay pier to Egmont runs too close to the beach to run lines out. As far as fishing there, I have a feeling the ranger was way over-stepping her bounds. There is no rule stating you "have" to fish the pier. Desoto is known, above all else, as a premier wade/flats fishing area. You most certainly are not confined to any piers. The only rule I know of that could hinder shark fishing is the fact that the park closes early (I think at 9:00) and the piers close at 11:00. Perhaps this was what she was talking about; the rest of the park was closing but the pier was still open. Desoto is also a popular eco-tour and inshore kayak fishing locale, so no problem with the yak. I believe 9:00 is the closing time for the park, and that is why the lady was forcing you back to the pier. DON'T STOP FISHING THAT SPOT!! Like you said the potential for that area is awesome, even for during daylight hours, and I'd love to read a report on here about you hooking into one of the legendary TB hammerheads or oversized bulls that cruise the pass for tarpon. Hit it during the day and I'll bet you'll be fine. You can always pack up and head to the pier and then to Bunces Pass after the park closes if you want to keep fishing through the night. Good luck and let's see what that spot has to offer!!
Hey Will just to give you a heads up before you or anybody else stirs stuff up by contacting the wrong people Fort Desoto is a PINELLAS COUNTY PARK not a state park. If you want to contact them Pinellas County Park and Rec. phone # is (727) 582-2100.
And Ninja, that spot is a great spot and you can fish there until sunset. If you want, next time you go pm me and I can show you around all the spots at Desoto (The redfishing there is awesome). I'm in Lakeland so I'm not far from you. I know you are not from the area but it is a good idea wherever you go to look at the website or call the place before you go there to find out the rules or you can find out the hard way. Here is a link for Fort Desoto rules page (Please note there are more rules on signs at the park such as at the fishing pier): http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/parkrules.htm
They specifically state that the park is open until dusk except the fishing piers which are open until 11:00pm so the ranger had the authority to tell you to leave at the time she did based on where you were. When it comes to kayaking baits off the pier I do not believe there is such a rule preventing you from doing it. Then again I have never heard of anybody doing it off either piers. The current running through there is so strong that it would be very difficult to get back.
Thanks for the correction.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Haha! Yeah, the park closing at 9:00 explains everything. I know I'll fish there again. Ft. Desoto is nostalgic to me, it's the first place I fished for shark. Back then there was no $5 entry fee and we fished until 2:00AM no problem.
William, I would definitely be interested in calling the county and pushing for more liberal fishing rules there. I'll let you know if I get anywhere, I'm sure I'll learn something.
Rudy, we went to the Bay pier and came inland, so we weren't too close to the ferry. The deployment was easy, the water is knee deep for 50 feet or so, then BAM!!! Underwater cliff!!! We waded out with the surf rods and got deep with no problems there. Kayaking was a little different...
Midnight, the "no kayaking baits" just sounds like the ranger knew other people would nag about it and wouldn't want to deal with the headache. You're 100% right about the current! We planned our arrival to paddle during the slack tide and I still had to fight it. Still, I've adjusted to paddling the east coast surf, so this was easier than that. 
Thanks.
WTF ! 
!!!
Sorry to re-heat an old post, but we're considering going back tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll post in the "Where are you fishing" section. Big thanks again for all your advice, fellas!
I'm headed down to the area tomorrow as well, won't be able to fish until friday, but I'm anxious to see how you do!