Where to Fish in Perry, FL: Ramps, Parks & Local Spots

The Fenholloway River

The Fenholloway is the main fishing water in Perry, and it is not a long river. It runs roughly thirty miles from the San Pedro Bay swamp down to the Gulf of Mexico at a place called Fenholloway. The river has had an industrial history—a pulp mill operated upstream for decades—but the water has cleaned up considerably, and the fishing has come back with it. You will find redfish, trout, and flounder in the lower stretches, and bass and bream farther up where the water turns fresh.

There are two public ramps on the river, and they are the places to put in. Fenholloway Boat Ramp #2 is the better of the two, rated 4.7 from 22 reviews. It sits on the river at Perry, and it is the ramp most locals use to get out to the Gulf. The ramp itself is concrete and in decent shape, with a small dock and room to park a truck and trailer. The other option, Fenholloway Boat Ramp, is on Old Club House Road and rated 3.8 from 19 reviews. It is a simpler ramp, less maintained, but it puts you on the river a little farther up, which can be an advantage if you want to fish the brackish middle section rather than run all the way to the mouth.

Guided Trips

If you do not have a boat, or you want someone who knows the river, One More Cast Guide Service operates out of Perry at 200 Kate Dr. It is rated 4.0 from 42 reviews. The guide runs trips on the Fenholloway and the nearby Gulf waters, targeting redfish and trout mostly, and they will handle the boat, the tackle, and the bait. It is a small operation, not a fleet, so you are getting a local who fishes this water regularly. If you are new to the area or new to saltwater fishing, this is the simplest way to get on the water without buying gear.

Bank Fishing in Town

Not everyone comes to Perry with a boat. If you are fishing from the bank, the options are more limited but not nonexistent. The county maintains several parks with water access, and while none of them are dedicated fishing piers, they put you within casting distance of fishable water.

Perry City Park is the most central option, rated 4.1 from 87 reviews. It sits in town and has a pond that is stocked and open to fishing. It is not a trophy fishery, but it is a place where you can take a kid, throw a line in, and catch bream or bass without driving anywhere. Southside Park on Plantation Road, rated 4.1 from 29 reviews, is another option, with a small pond and open grass. Loughridge Park on W Hampton Springs Ave, rated 4.4 from 26 reviews, is a little quieter and has some shaded bank along the water.

The Splash Pad and the Family Angle

If you are bringing a family and the fishing is secondary, Perry splash pad and playground on US-221, rated 3.7 from 32 reviews, is a place to let the kids run while you keep an eye on the water. It is not a fishing destination, but it is a place where the non-anglers in your group will not be bored. The splash pad is free and open during warm months, and the playground is shaded.

Angel's Dog Park on S Center St, rated 4.0 from 36 reviews, is another side stop if you have a dog that needs to run before you sit on a bank for a few hours. It is a small, fenced dog park, nothing fancy, but it serves its purpose.

Other Water Access

Keen's Buildings on S Byron Butler Pkwy, rated 4.3 from 29 reviews, is listed as a park and nature area, and it sits along the highway south of town. It is not a primary fishing spot, but it is a place to pull off and stretch, and there is water nearby. Paradise Park - Mobile Homes & RV on S Byron Butler Pkwy, rated 4.7 from 14 reviews, is an RV park, but it has water access and is a place to stay if you are coming for a multi-day fishing trip. It is a working park, not a resort, and it puts you close to the Fenholloway ramps.

The Bigger Picture

Perry is not a fishing town in the way that Steinhatchee, 32 miles away, is a fishing town. Steinhatchee has the Fiddler Crab Festival and a marina full of charter boats. Perry has timber, and it has always had timber. The town was incorporated in 1903, and it has been the county seat of Taylor County since. It was first called Rosehead, then renamed Perrytown in 1875 after Madison Starke Perry, the fourth governor of Florida, and the name was later shortened to Perry. Timber has driven the economy here for more than a century, and the Florida Forest Festival, which began in 1956 as the Pine Tree Festival, celebrates that heritage every year with the King Tree Parade and the World's Largest Free Fish Fry.

That fish fry is the connection between the town's two identities. Perry is the Tree Capital of the South, but it is also a place where people eat what comes out of the water. The festival, held at Forest Capital Museum State Park on US 19/US 98, draws people from across the region, and the free fish fry is the Saturday centrepiece. It is a reminder that this is a working county, where the forest and the river are both part of the same economy.

Getting There and Getting Out

Perry sits at the junction of US 19 and US 98, about an hour south of Tallahassee. The Fenholloway ramps are a short drive from downtown, and the Gulf is roughly twenty minutes from the ramps at a slow idle. If you are coming from out of town, the closest larger fishing destination is Steinhatchee, 32 miles away, which has more services but also more crowds. Perry is the quieter option, and for anglers who do not mind working for their fish, it is worth the detour.

The water here is not pretty in the postcard sense. It is dark, stained, and full of life. That is what makes it fish.