UTERJanuary
Snook and reds deep in the creeks; sheepshead on the docks
Up the rivers and creeks for snook on the warmest days, docks and pilings for sheepshead, deep grass edges for trout.
Venice to Naples
Charlotte Harbor fishing
What's biting in Charlotte Harbor in October: pompano, cobia and king mackerel at their peak, with gag grouper, permit and tarpon around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 28 fish here month by month, from Englewood to Naples.
Snook reopens; reds, trout, kings and Spanish — the fall peak
Boca Grande Pass and the mangrove sounds behind it — Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound, Matlacha, the Caloosahatchee, Estero Bay — miles of mangrove shoreline, oyster bars, sand holes in the grass, and long barrier-island beaches from Gasparilla to Sanibel.
EnglewoodBoca GrandePunta GordaPine IslandFort MyersNaples
Updated
Now · October
Snook reopens; reds, trout, kings and Spanish — the fall peak
Snook harvest reopens the 1st. Reds schooled, trout on every flat, kings and Spanish on the outside reefs, flounder staging at the passes.
RedfishSnookSpotted seatroutKing mackerelSpanish mackerelFlounderTarpon
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakSpawningPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakArrivingLeavingAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAround
Pompano
Fall run back on the beaches and the passes.
Cobia
Fall fish back on the wrecks.
King mackerel
Fall run on the nearshore reefs.
Spanish mackerel
Fall run back on the beaches and passes.
Snook
Fall feed on the mangroves — check MyFWC for the season.
Redfish
Spawners out at the passes; slot fish on the mangroves.
Spotted seatrout
Flounder
Mangrove snapper
Jack crevalle
Ladyfish
Red grouper
Little tunny (bonito)
Blacktip shark
Bull shark
Bonnethead shark
Gag grouper
Permit
Leaving with the first cool water.
Tarpon
Still in the harbor and the Pass on the bait — tarpon use the Pass area into late fall.
Sheepshead
Goliath grouper
Black drum
Tripletail
Sand seatrout
Striped mullet
Red snapper
Spinner shark
The water
The tide here
Mixed, 1.5–3 ft
Boca Grande Pass runs like a river on the big tides — that current is what stacks the tarpon. Inside, the sound and the harbor have a lazier, uneven two-a-day tide.
Snook
Slot 28–33" · open Mar 1 – Apr 30 and Oct 1 – Nov 30
One per person with a snook permit. Charlotte Harbor and the Southwest region reopen a month later than Tampa Bay — October 1. Check MyFWC for the rule of the day.
Structure that matters
Pass / inletMangrove shorelineGrass flatBeach / surfDock / pilingsBridgeArtificial reefWreckChannel edge
After a cold front
Snook and reds retreat up the creeks and rivers — the Peace, the Myakka, the Caloosahatchee — and into the canals; after a front the mangrove shorelines that face the afternoon sun warm first.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Sheepshead spawn; the flats reload on warm afternoons
Big sheepshead on the pass jetties and reefs. Sight-fish reds on the sunny afternoon flats as the water climbs.
March
Snook opens; the first tarpon roll in the harbor
Snook on the mangrove points and the pass; the first tarpon in the harbor mid-month; Spanish on the bait outside the passes.
April
Tarpon build in the harbor; snook stack on the beaches
Tarpon spread over the harbor flats and the pass fills by month's end. Snook season closes the 30th — fish the beaches and passes for the big spring fish.
May
Boca Grande in May — the tarpon capital, in full swing
Thousands of tarpon in the pass and along the beaches. Live crabs on the hill tide. Snook on the beaches at dawn, permit on the nearshore wrecks.
June
Peak tarpon continues; beach snook; snapper on structure
Tarpon in the pass and on the beaches into July. Snook in the surf trough at first light; snapper on every reef, bridge and dock.
July
Tarpon thin out; snapper spawn; reds and snook in the shade
Late tarpon in the pass and harbor; snapper on the reefs; mangrove shade lines on the strong tide for reds and snook.
August
The hottest water — structure and current
Bridges, docks and mangrove tunnels on the strongest tide; reds start forming schools on the flats; tripletail on the trap floats.
September
Reds school up big in the harbor; the bait run begins
Schooling redfish — a hundred at a time — on the harbor bars and the sound flats. Snook on the mangroves with the mullet; tarpon back in the harbor on the bait.
October · now
Snook reopens; reds, trout, kings and Spanish — the fall peak
Snook harvest reopens the 1st. Reds schooled, trout on every flat, kings and Spanish on the outside reefs, flounder staging at the passes.
November
Trout thick on the grass; reds and snook on the shorelines; sheepshead begin
Trout on the grass as the water drops through the 70s; snook and reds on the sun-facing mangroves; flounder on the sand edges. Snook closes the 30th.
December
First fronts: fish the creeks, rivers and the afternoon shorelines
After each front, the creeks and rivers; between fronts, the flats on the afternoon incoming. Sheepshead on the docks and reefs.
Fish guides for Charlotte Harbor
When, where and what to use, fish by fishBlack drumBull sharkCobiaFlounderGag grouperGoliath grouperGreat hammerheadJack crevalleKing mackerelMangrove snapperPermitPompanoRedfishSheepsheadSnookSpanish mackerelSpotted seatroutStriped mulletTarponTripletail
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