Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 383 is a how-to conversation with South Florida bridge fisherman Chris Pascual, who breaks down bridge fishing in the Florida Keys from the very beginning. He explains how to pick a bridge by current and structure, what tackle and bait to bring, why he packs eight to ten dozen live shrimp and a drop net for three-mile spans like Long Key, and the post-hurricane timing that has produced limits of giant mangrove snapper for him on Channel 2, Channel 5, and Long Key.
▶ Watch on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
Chris Pascual, known on Instagram as Pescador Cubano, is an experienced bridge fisherman from South Florida who specializes in fishing the Florida Keys bridges. He targets mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, cubera snapper, and grouper from iconic spans like Channel 2, Channel 5, and Long Key, and he is also experienced snook fishing the bridges around Stuart, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach.
Chris looks for two things first: good current flow and good bottom structure. Moving water carries the scent of bait and chum farther and pulls fish in, so he favors the bigger northern bridges around Channel 2, Channel 5, and Long Key that have reliable current. He also scans for coral heads and seagrass, where shrimp and baitfish hide and bigger predators come to feed, often walking the bridge at low tide to spot structure he could not see on a high tide.
Chris brings four or five conventional reels on eight-to-nine-foot bottom rods with enough backbone to winch a grouper away from the pilings, because bridge fishing is not finesse fishing and you have to win the battle every time. He adds a lighter spinning rod with 30-pound braid for mangroves on a live shrimp and jig head, plus a heavier spinning rod in case a tarpon, permit, or cobia cruises the channel.
A drop net is essential on spans like Channel 2 or Long Key where you cannot walk a fish to shore. Chris uses a standard drop net from a local tackle shop, usually around thirty dollars, and it has saved countless big muttons, permit, and groupers. He also doubles it as a makeshift crab trap, stuffing it with bait and soaking it in the current, which has produced lobsters and stone crabs during slow stretches.
Chris likes big baits for big fish: chunks of mullet, goggle-eye plugs, mullet strips, and whole threadfin herring soaked on the bottom, especially in the overnight and early-morning darkness when the biggest muttons cruise through. Big baits draw fewer bites but weed out small fish. Alongside them he keeps multiple live shrimp working different pilings for mangroves and muttons.
Chris waits about a day for the water to settle. After Hurricane Michael skirted the Keys on its way to the Panhandle, he fished two days later and limited out on mangroves with every fish just shy of 25 inches, then limited out again the following weekend and added a 25-inch black grouper. The barometric pressure change and stirred-up water create an exceptional feeding window.
I have driven across the Keys bridges a thousand times and watched anglers set up in every configuration you can imagine. Some clearly have it dialed, and plenty are just hoping for the best with dried-up bait. After people kept asking me to do a bridge fishing how-to, Chris was the first person I thought of. I met him at Lunker Con, I have followed his catches since, and the man flat out produces. I wanted him to walk a first-timer through the whole system in his own words. Press play in the YouTube player above to hear it.
The first thing Chris does when he walks out on a new bridge is scout it. He checks which way the tide is running, looks for the coral heads and seagrass that hold bait, and watches for crevices and cracks at low tide that might hide a grouper or a mutton. He is choosing his spot off current and structure before he ever sets a rod down. It is the step most people skip, and it is the one he says separates consistent producers from guessers. Listen to how he reads a bridge in the episode.
Most anglers show up with a dozen or two. Chris brings eight to ten dozen, because he is not fishing one rod at one piling. He runs multiple baits across different pilings, soaking big cut baits on the bottom for grouper and cubera while live shrimp work the mangroves and muttons, and during overnight sessions those shrimp keep producing into the early-morning hours. He explains how he manages that much bait and why it covers water that other anglers leave dead. Hear the full breakdown in the player above.
On a three-mile bridge there is no walking a fish down to land it, so the drop net stops being optional. Chris walks through how he picks one and uses it, and then tells the story I keep thinking about: a roughly 12-pound mutton he hooked at sunrise that a shark cut down to a 16-inch head on the way up. He also shares the secondary use that has put lobsters and stone crabs in his cooler. Listen to the whole drop-net section in the episode.
Chris is one of the few anglers who treats a passing storm as an opportunity instead of a setback. He gives it about a day, lets the water settle, and goes. After Hurricane Michael skirted the Keys, he limited out on near-25-inch mangroves, released 17- and 18-inch fish because he was catching bigger, and backed it up the next weekend with another limit and a bonus black grouper. He explains the timing window and why barometric pressure changes the whole game. Press play to hear exactly when he goes.
▶ Watch on YouTube · 🎧 Listen now
What I appreciate about this one is how specific Chris gets. He is not handing out generic bridge fishing advice. He tells you which bridges work and why, what to look for in the structure below before you set up, and exactly what gear it takes to turn a big cubera away from the pilings.
The post-storm window he describes is something most people miss entirely, but it is a real, repeatable pattern if you understand the timing. If you fish the Keys or you are planning a trip down, this conversation will save you time and put you on better fish. Listen to the whole thing.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Chris Pascual is an experienced bridge fisherman from South Florida who specializes in the Florida Keys. Known on Instagram as Pescador Cubano, he targets mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, cubera snapper, and grouper from iconic Keys bridges like Channel 2, Channel 5, and Long Key, and he has developed detailed systems for tackle, bait management, drop nets, and the heavy-duty cart that makes three-mile bridge sessions possible. He also fishes the bridges around Stuart, Jupiter, and West Palm Beach for snook.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.