Redfish fishing in Charlotte Harbor

In Charlotte Harbor, redfish peak August–May and are around year-round, spawning in September–October, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. January: Up the creeks and on the sun-facing shorelines.

1. JanuaryPeakUp the creeks and on the sun-facing shorelines.
2. FebruaryPeakSheepshead 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.
3. MarchPeakSnook 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.
4. AprilPeakTarpon 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.
5. MayPeakBoca 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.
6. JuneAroundPeak 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.
7. JulyAroundTarpon 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.
8. AugustPeakSchools forming.
9. SeptemberSpawningSchooling redfish — a hundred at a time — on the harbor bars and the sound flats.
10. OctoberSpawningSpawners out at the passes; slot fish on the mangroves.
11. NovemberPeakTrout 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.
12. DecemberPeakFirst 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.

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.

Fish Scouter charts 1,226 grass flat, 601 mangrove shoreline, 137 dock / pilings, 17 pass / inlet, 3 bridge spots in the Charlotte Harbor & the Islands map area — the kinds redfish hold on.

• Live shrimpUnder a popping cork or free-lined, hooked under the horn on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook; on a jig head for the bottom. The universal inshore bait.
• PinfishHooked through the back ahead of the dorsal on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook; the small ones free-lined, the big ones on a fish-finder rig.
• Finger mulletLip-hooked on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook and free-lined, or on a fish-finder rig in the surf. Cut mullet on the bottom for redfish and drum.
• Blue crabsWhole and small for permit and tarpon; halved or quartered on the bottom for black drum, redfish and cobia.
• CroakersHooked through the back on a 2/0 to 3/0 circle hook, free-lined or on a Carolina rig — big trout and redfish can't leave them alone.

• Leader20–30 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook1/0–3/0
• Jig head1/8–3/8 oz
• Braid10–20 lb

Feeds in 58–90°F water, best at 65–82°F.

All about redfish · Charlotte Harbor & the Islands, the whole year