Captiva Fishing Reports (December 2025)

Dan Muench
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

We are still in a bit of a transition. As the water temperature begins to drop. Soon the migration will be in full force into the back bays and estuaries and Caloosahatchee river. The trout bite has been hot with a few being caught over 20 inches. Lots of juvenile...

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Dan Muench Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

We are still in a bit of a transition. As the water temperature begins to drop. Soon the migration will be in full force into the back bays and estuaries and Caloosahatchee river. The trout bite has been hot with a few being caught over 20 inches. Lots of juvenile redfish around as they begin to move in from the Gulf. I also have been seeing a few permit on the Inshore grass flats. They are a lot of fun to catch as they pullback pretty hard!

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

The weather is cooling down but the fishing is heating up, and it’s getting to be some of the finest fishing of the year. We are finding large schools of redfish, big hungry snook, larger slot sized trout and to top it off the sheepshead are moving inshore for the...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

The weather is cooling down but the fishing is heating up, and it’s getting to be some of the finest fishing of the year. We are finding large schools of redfish, big hungry snook, larger slot sized trout and to top it off the sheepshead are moving inshore for the winter months. We are starting to transition over to fishing shrimp but still catching nice white bait for the big predators to eat. It’s a great time to get out and fight some fish, the winds have held us up from going offshore much but the inshore bite is just as good and the results speak for themselves.

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Jon Fetter
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The fishing is about as good as it gets right now! The shallow water bite for redfish has been WOW! Shrimp under popping corks is the ticket fished along the mangrove islands on higher water. October did not disappoint and the bite should only continue with the cooler temps coming!

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Jon Fetter Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The fishing is about as good as it gets right now! The shallow water bite for redfish has been WOW! Shrimp under popping corks is the ticket fished along the mangrove islands on higher water. October did not disappoint and the bite should only continue with the cooler temps coming!

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Brian Acevedo
Naples, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The bait is finally showing up on the beaches. The bite is slowing down in the afternoon due the heat. Lots of fun bites out there though

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Brian Acevedo Naples, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The bait is finally showing up on the beaches. The bite is slowing down in the afternoon due the heat. Lots of fun bites out there though

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Brian Acevedo
Naples, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The bait is finally showing up on the beaches. The bite is slowing down in the afternoon due the heat. Lots of fun bites out there thoughs

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Brian Acevedo Naples, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The bait is finally showing up on the beaches. The bite is slowing down in the afternoon due the heat. Lots of fun bites out there thoughs

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Jon Fetter
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The shallow water backbay fishing has been crazy good past week. The cooler air temps have really turned on the redfish bite! Shrimp under popping corks has been the go-to set-up and producing good numbers and slot size fish! Trout on the grass flats in 3-5 feet of water have...

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Jon Fetter Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The shallow water backbay fishing has been crazy good past week. The cooler air temps have really turned on the redfish bite! Shrimp under popping corks has been the go-to set-up and producing good numbers and slot size fish! Trout on the grass flats in 3-5 feet of water have been chewing shrimp topped jig heads under popping corks. There have been a few slot sized fish mixed in but most have been right under slot at 14 inches. There has also been some quality bait schools along the beaches which have led to some good snook fishing as well. October is a great month to get out and fish in SW Florida. Come and get you some and let's bend some rods!

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Stanley Bryant
Naples, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Yes, the bigger mangrove snapper are inshore and near offshore right now. The redfish and snook have been plentiful and willing to eat live and artificial bait.

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Stanley Bryant Naples, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Yes, the bigger mangrove snapper are inshore and near offshore right now. The redfish and snook have been plentiful and willing to eat live and artificial bait.

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Kyle Harmon
Cape Coral, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Big red snapper have been all over out deep. Seeing a lot of black fin tuna.

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Kyle Harmon Cape Coral, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Big red snapper have been all over out deep. Seeing a lot of black fin tuna.

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