UTERThe best time to fish Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor is May and June, when thousands of tarpon fill Boca Grande Pass and the beaches from Venice to Sanibel. For snook, redfish and trout, the best month is October, when snook feed on the mangroves, schooled reds roam the harbor and the kings and Spanish are back outside. Winter is sheepshead and snook up the rivers, spring is the first tarpon and big beach snook, and late summer is the giant harbor redfish schools.
This guide covers the coast from Sarasota Bay south through Venice and Englewood to Charlotte Harbor, Boca Grande, Pine Island Sound, Fort Myers and Naples. It's Boca Grande Pass and the mangrove sounds behind it (Charlotte Harbor, Gasparilla Sound, Pine Island Sound, Matlacha, the Caloosahatchee and Estero Bay), with miles of mangrove shoreline, oyster bars, sand holes in the grass and long barrier-island beaches. Fish Scouter splits this coast in two at Venice. Sarasota Bay belongs to the Tampa Bay and Sarasota calendar, covered month by month in our Tampa Bay guide. Charlotte Harbor and the islands have their own calendar, and that's what the months below follow. The two run close together, with Sarasota a little cooler in winter.
Charlotte Harbor fishing calendar at a glance
| Month | Headline | Top targets |
|---|---|---|
| January | Snook and reds up the creeks; sheepshead on the docks | Sheepshead, redfish, trout, snook, pompano |
| February | Sheepshead spawn; flats reload on warm afternoons | Sheepshead, trout, redfish, black drum |
| March | Snook move out; first tarpon in the harbor | Snook, tarpon, pompano, cobia, Spanish |
| April | Tarpon build; big snook on the beaches | Tarpon, snook, cobia, kingfish, pompano |
| May | Boca Grande in full swing | Tarpon, snook, permit, redfish |
| June | Peak tarpon; beach snook; snapper | Tarpon, snook, permit, mangrove snapper |
| July | Tarpon thin out; snapper spawn | Mangrove snapper, tarpon, snook, tripletail |
| August | Hottest water: structure and current | Snapper, redfish, snook, goliath |
| September | Reds school up big in the harbor | Redfish, snook, tarpon, jacks |
| October | The fall peak | Redfish, snook, trout, kingfish, Spanish, pompano |
| November | Trout thick on the grass; flounder run | Trout, redfish, snook, flounder, pompano |
| December | First fronts: creeks, rivers and afternoon shorelines | Sheepshead, trout, redfish, gag |
Winter: December to February
December
After each front, fish the creeks and rivers. Between fronts, fish the flats on the afternoon incoming. Sheepshead are on the docks and reefs, and gag grouper move inshore onto the nearshore ledges and reefs (check MyFWC for the season). Roe mullet pour out through the passes.
January
Snook move up the Peace, Myakka and Caloosahatchee rivers and into the canals, and the warmest days pull them toward the creek mouths. Reds sit up the creeks and on the sun-facing shorelines. Fish sheepshead on the docks and bridge pilings, and trout on the deep grass edges. Winter pompano run in Boca Grande Pass and the Gasparilla channels. Leave cold-stunned snook alone.
After a cold front: snook and reds retreat up the creeks and rivers and into the canals. The mangrove shorelines that face the afternoon sun warm first, so fish those on the second and third days after the front.
February
The sheepshead spawn. Big fish move to the pass jetties and nearshore reefs. On sunny afternoons, as the water climbs, sight-fish reds on the flats. Black drum hold around the bridges and deep docks.
Spring: March to May
March
Snook move out of the rivers to the mangrove points and the passes as the water warms, and the harvest season changes in spring, so check MyFWC. The first tarpon roll in Charlotte Harbor mid-month as the water passes about 74°F. The spring pompano run hits the beaches from Englewood to Naples, cobia run past the passes and markers, and Spanish mackerel feed on the bait outside the passes. Permit start showing on the nearshore wrecks off Boca Grande, Sanibel and Naples.
April
Tarpon fill the harbor flats and the beaches from Gasparilla to Sanibel, and the Pass starts to load late in the month. Big spring snook stack on the beaches and in the passes. Cobia peak on the wrecks, the markers and the rays along the beaches. Kingfish run the reefs off Boca Grande and Sanibel, and pompano peak on the beaches and the sandy edges of the sound.
May
Boca Grande in May: the tarpon capital in full swing, with thousands of fish in 40 to 80 feet of water in the Pass. Drift live crabs or pinfish deep through the Pass, or work the beaches from Gasparilla to Captiva on the calm morning. Snook spawn in the passes (Boca Grande, Captiva, Redfish and Blind Pass) and along the beaches, under closed-season rules (check MyFWC). Permit gather to spawn on the wrecks. FWC research describes groups of 50 to 200 fish that come back to the same wrecks every year, mostly in federal water off southwest Florida. Trout spawn on the sound's grass edges at dusk.
Summer: June to August
June
Spawn month for tarpon. Fish stack in Boca Grande Pass before running offshore to spawn. The "hill tides," the hard outgoing tides on the days around the full and new moons, flush pass crabs out of the harbor, and the tarpon gorge on them. Bull sharks and great hammerheads follow the tarpon in the Pass. Hammerheads are a prohibited species, so release them in the water, and land tarpon fast. Beach snook cruise the surf trough at first light. Mangrove snapper are on every reef, bridge and dock. Permit peak on the wrecks and also show in the surf trough.
July
Tarpon fishing stays good in the Pass and on the beaches through mid-July, then thins out after the last spawn moon. Mangrove snapper spawn on the reefs, while every bridge and dock holds the small ones. Fish the mangrove shade lines on the strong tide for reds and snook. Tripletail sit on the trap floats and markers in the harbor.
August
The hottest water of the year. Fish bridges, docks and mangrove tunnels on the strongest tide. Reds start forming schools on the flats. Resident tarpon hang around the Peace and Myakka river mouths and the Caloosahatchee on the bait. Goliath grouper spawn on the Boca Grande and Sanibel wrecks, and big residents live under the Boca Grande trestles. Goliath harvest is tightly restricted, so plan to release them in the water.
Fall: September to November
September
Schooling redfish, a hundred at a time, push across the harbor bars and the Pine Island Sound flats. Get ahead of the school and let it come to you. Snook come back inside to the mangroves on the mullet. Fall tarpon chase threadfins and mullet in the harbor and off the passes, and jack crevalle follow the mullet everywhere.
October
The fall peak. Snook feed hard on the mangroves, and the southwest region's fall season dates are on MyFWC. Reds are schooled on the flats and spawners move out to the passes, while trout are on every flat. Kings and Spanish run the outside reefs, the fall pompano run hits the beaches and passes, and flounder stage at the passes. Tarpon still work the harbor and the Pass area on the bait.
November
Trout are thick on the grass as the water drops through the 70s. Snook and reds feed on the sun-facing mangroves, and snook start heading for the creeks and rivers. Flounder run out through Boca Grande, Captiva and the Sanibel passes on the outgoing (a fall closure applies, so check MyFWC). Pompano peak in the passes, sheepshead show on the docks, and the last tarpon stragglers leave with the first hard front.
Tides around Charlotte Harbor
The tide here is mixed: two unequal highs and lows a day, with a range of about 1.5 to 3 feet. Boca Grande Pass runs like a river on the big tides, and that current is what stacks the tarpon there. Inside, the sound and the harbor have a lazier, uneven tide, so the strong tide of the day matters.
- Boca Grande Pass: the hard outgoing around the full and new moons in May and June.
- Mangrove shorelines: the high incoming, when snook and reds push under the roots.
- Bars and flats: the falling tide, as reds and trout slide to the edges.
- Winter: the afternoon incoming over sun-warmed flats.
Baits that work in Charlotte Harbor
- Live crabs (pass crabs): tarpon in Boca Grande Pass and permit on the wrecks.
- Whitebait (scaled sardines) and threadfins: snook, tarpon, kings and Spanish.
- Pinfish: tarpon in the Pass, reds and snook on the mangroves.
- Live shrimp: trout, reds, sheepshead and snook in winter.
- Cut mullet and ladyfish: schooled and spawning redfish.
- Sand fleas and pompano jigs: pompano on the beaches and in the passes.
Rules
Charlotte Harbor sits in FWC's southwest management region, which has its own snook and redfish seasons and slots, separate from Tampa Bay and Sarasota just to the north. Boca Grande Pass has its own tarpon gear rules. Read the current rules at MyFWC before you keep a fish, and buy a snook permit with your saltwater license if you plan to keep one.
Know the day, not just the month
Every tarpon angler knows May and June. The hard part is picking the hill tide, the calm morning on the beach and the hour the Pass turns. We built Fish Scouter for that, and we think it's the best fishing app for planning a Boca Grande or Charlotte Harbor trip. It combines this season calendar with the NOAA tide for the nearest station, the live water temperature from the nearest reporting sensor, the wind and the seven-day outlook, and ranks every species for the spot you're on, each hour, with the reasons in plain words. See the Florida tarpon season guide, snook fishing by season and the pompano vs. permit guide, or try Fish Scouter free.