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FISH SOUTHEAST FLORIDA CANALS! ANGLER'S GUIDE TO
EARMANN CANAL (C-17) PALM BEACH COUNTY  Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission 801 NW 40th Street Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (561) 391-6409
DESCRIPTIONEarman River
Canal (C-17) in northeastern Palm Beach County flows northeast
from Clear Lake in West Palm Beach to a flood control structure near US 1
in Palm Beach Gardens. The boatable section of this canal lies between
the flood control structure and a spillway on the north side of the 45th
Street bridge. This section of main canal is 4.4 miles long, and ranges
in width from 50 to 130 feet with an average depth of about eight feet and
runs through the cities of Riviera Beach and Palm Beach Gardens. From the boat ramp heading west or north into
the lateral canals, it is 0.8 miles or 1.2 miles, respectively to non-boatable
culverts at I-95. Heading east from the ramp, it is 0.3 miles to the main
canal. Turning south from this intersection it is 0.7 miles to Northlake
Boulevard, 2.4 miles to Blue Heron Boulevard and 4.3 miles to the spillway
at 45th Street.
BOAT
RAMP DIRECTIONSThere is a
single-lane, gravel boat ramp in fair condition located on the small lake
west of the main canal. To access this ramp, exit I-95 at Northlake
Boulevard and go east 0.5 miles to McArthur Boulevard. Turn left (north)
and go approximately 0.5 miles. The ramp is on the left (west) side of
the road just before it crosses the canal. There is enough parking for
several vehicles but no facilities. Only boats with 10 horsepower or
smaller motors are allowed on this canal by order of the Palm Beach
Gardens Police Department.
GENERAL FISHING INFORMATION
Earman River Canal provides
excellent largemouth bass fishing. Shoreline vegetation and shady areas
associated with bridges and culverts all provide excellent places to
fish. If there is a strong current in the main canal, spend more time
fishing areas that offer refuge from the current (e.g., lateral canals,
lake, cut-outs, and bridge pilings). The downstream side of culverts and
spillways with flowing water are sometimes especially good places to
fish. Another good place to try is the fish attractor in the lake marked
by a yellow Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission buoy. Earman River Canal has more largemouth bass
than most other canals in southeast Florida. Overall, the average size of
largemouth bass ten inches or longer is 13 inches (1.2 pounds), and 31%
were larger than 14 inches. Largemouth bass fishing tends to be best
during the winter months when the water cools, and early in the morning,
late in the afternoon, and at night during the summer months. The bag
limit for largemouth bass is five fish per day, but only one of these can
be greater than 14 inches. The
number and quality of panfish over six inches in Earman River Canal is
similar to other area canals. Live worms and crickets are the choice
baits for many panfish anglers, although fresh bread or bread dough works
well, is readily available, and it costs less. Shoreline anglers have
access to these fisheries at the boat ramp, and along the east shore of
the lake. In
addition to largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish, Earman River
Canal anglers might also catch some of the exotic fishes present in these
waters. Possible exotic catches include oscars from South America and
spotted tilapia from Africa. Oscars are a bream-shaped fish with a red or
orange circle at the base of its tail, and they have a thick coat of
protective mucus on their bodies. Spotted tilapia are also bream-shaped,
golden in color with black vertical bars or spots, and some have red on
them. These exotic fishes were illegally released, pose a threat to
native species, taste good, and you can keep every one you catch. Earman
River Canal and other area canals receive a great deal of fishing
pressure, so we encourage anglers to release most, if not all of the
largemouth bass they catch. If anglers dont release a majority of the
sportfish they catch, these high quality fisheries will deteriorate
rapidly. Anglers, particularly
those from outside the metropolitan Miami - West Palm Beach area,
should be aware that vandalism occurs at some boat ramps. Therefore,
care should be taken to secure your vehicle and keep valuables out of
sight or take them with you when you leave the ramp. An Acrobat PDF file of this brochure is available for printing on
our fisheries publications site. |
