About Haulover
Baker’s Haulover Inlet is a man-made cut through the barrier beach at the north end of Biscayne Bay, between Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles. It sits 11.6 miles south of Port Everglades. The Intracoastal Waterway is 0.4 mile inside the entrance, and the county’s Bill Bird Marina is just inside the inlet.
Haulover fishes offshore year-round. The main species are sailfish, mahi-mahi, king mackerel, wahoo, blackfin tuna and swordfish, with mutton and yellowtail snapper on the reefs. Sizes, bags and seasons are on our Florida page, and the FWC recreational saltwater rules are the official source, so check both before fishing.
Access and navigation
Haulover has a public county ramp and two marinas with fuel, all within the same short stretch of the inlet:
- Haulover Park boat ramps – public county ramp, entrance can close at capacity
- Bill Bird Marina at Haulover Park – county marina just inside the inlet, fuel
- Haulover Marine Center – fuel
The ramp entrance can close on weekends and holidays when the lot reaches capacity.
From the Intracoastal, Bill Bird Marina is on the east side of the waterway at statute mile 1079, with an approach depth of 8 to 10 feet. The county notes a sandbar between the ICW and the Haulover Inlet channel. Coming from the north, leave ICW marker 5 to port and stay close to the shore and docks. A slow, no-wake zone covers the ICW where the channels converge near the inlet.
The NOAA Coast Pilot 4 lists:
- The fixed A1A bridge clears 32 feet. An overhead power cable just east of it clears 53 feet.
- Controlling depth is 11 feet through the inlet to the bridge.
- Depth is 10 feet in the boat basin and 9 feet in the channels to the ICW.
- Tidal current runs about 2.9 knots on the flood and 2.5 knots on the ebb.
If your boat has a tall tower, outriggers or antennas, measure your air draft against 32 feet before taking the inside route. These are last-reported depths, and inlets shoal.
The channel leads westward from the ocean, and the Coast Pilot’s Miami weather table lists easterly as the prevailing wind in nearly every month. That matters at the mouth. When the ebb runs out against an east wind or an east swell, the waves can stand up steep and close together. On the way back in, a following sea can push your stern around. Incoming or slack tide tends to let the water lie down.
Government Cut, the Miami Harbor entrance, is the next deepwater ocean entrance south and serves as the alternative approach when Haulover looks rougher than you want. Look at the water at the mouth and read the NWS Miami marine forecast before committing. If conditions look too big, switch approaches.
Fishing conditions
Haulover’s close-in grounds are the Bal Harbour Artificial Reef and the Sunny Isles Artificial Reef Site. Farther out, Sailfish Alley runs along the reef-edge water. The geography stacks in order: reef first, then the drop, then the Gulf Stream edge offshore. For regional context on the Gulf Stream, see the Atlantic Southeast guide.
The OBS SST, Chlorophyll and Chart Contours layers in Breakpoint can show where the Stream edge and the drop sit on a given day. Chart layers are not for navigation.
Winter
Winter is the best season at Haulover for sailfish, and swordfish, mahi-mahi, wahoo, blackfin tuna, amberjack and cobia share the water. King mackerel run along the reef edge. Kites are a common way to present baits to sailfish.
Spring
Spring brings sailfish, blackfin tuna and amberjack, with Spanish mackerel and bluefish along the beach side of the reefs. Mahi-mahi build through the season, and king mackerel and mutton snapper are on the reefs.
Summer
Wahoo, bonito, swordfish and marlin arrive in summer, alongside the sailfish and king mackerel already here. Mahi-mahi stay in the mix, and mutton and yellowtail snapper work the reefs.
Autumn
King mackerel lead the autumn list, with Spanish mackerel, blackfin tuna, mahi-mahi, wahoo and sailfish also in the water off Haulover. Yellowtail, mutton and mangrove snapper hold on the reefs, and bonito, swordfish and bluefish round out the list.
