Spotted seatrout fishing in Charlotte Harbor

In Charlotte Harbor, spotted seatrout peak March–June and September–November and are around year-round, spawning in May–June, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. May: Spawning on the sound's grass edges at dusk.

1. JanuaryAroundSnook 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.
2. FebruaryAroundSheepshead 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. MaySpawningSpawning on the sound's grass edges at dusk.
6. JuneSpawningPeak 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. AugustAround
9. SeptemberPeakReds 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.
10. OctoberPeakSnook 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.
11. NovemberPeakThick on the grass as the water drops through the 70s.
12. DecemberAroundFirst 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, 137 dock / pilings, 17 pass / inlet spots in the Charlotte Harbor & the Islands map area — the kinds spotted seatrout 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.
• Pilchards (whitebait)Free-lined or under a cork, hooked through the nose on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook. The one bait that catches everything inshore.
• PigfishFree-lined or under a cork on a 2/0 circle hook for gator trout; on the bottom for grouper.
• 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.
• 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.

• Leader15–25 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook#1–1/0
• Jig head1/8–1/4 oz
• Braid10–15 lb

Feeds in 54–86°F water, best at 62–78°F.

All about spotted seatrout · Charlotte Harbor & the Islands, the whole year