Estero Fishing Reports (December 2025)

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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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The weather is heating up and so is the fishing. These big hungry redfish and snook are giving us some really fun days and giving us some unbelievable fights. Using white bait on a 3/0 hook and 25 lb monofilament leader fishing oyster bar edges, mangrove islands and beaches. Bait...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The weather is heating up and so is the fishing. These big hungry redfish and snook are giving us some really fun days and giving us some unbelievable fights. Using white bait on a 3/0 hook and 25 lb monofilament leader fishing oyster bar edges, mangrove islands and beaches. Bait is getting a little smaller and once we see the schools of little greenbacks the snapper fishing will begin to heat up inshore. The fishing is phenomenal, we are seeing large groups of upper slot and over slot redfish and snook and they’re hungry and giving us some fun days on the water.

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Kyle Harmon
Cape Coral, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The grouper bite has been really really good the best I have seen in years. We are getting a lot of Red Grouper over 30 inches 20lb range. American red snapper are in but the fish have been a little scattered. A lot of big Mangrove snappers being caught.

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Kyle Harmon Cape Coral, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The grouper bite has been really really good the best I have seen in years. We are getting a lot of Red Grouper over 30 inches 20lb range. American red snapper are in but the fish have been a little scattered. A lot of big Mangrove snappers being caught.

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Nearshore has been our go-to all week long with calm water and winds. We are fishing between 6 and 9 miles out in 40-60 feet of water using live shrimp. Lanes and mangrove snapper, sheepshead, white grunt, red and gag grouper have been our main targets and we have been...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Nearshore has been our go-to all week long with calm water and winds. We are fishing between 6 and 9 miles out in 40-60 feet of water using live shrimp. Lanes and mangrove snapper, sheepshead, white grunt, red and gag grouper have been our main targets and we have been catching a boat full of everything. Groups have been keeping me busy baiting hooks, it’s typical to get one fish for every bait that hits the bottom and we’ve got some good fighters out there for light tackle. A two ounce knocker rig on a 3/0 circle hook and 40 lb leader has been the setup that has been working best for these nearshore species. We take advantage of these calm days to go nearshore, they don’t come often enough this time of year and right on schedule the next week or so is looking to be windy and choppy in the deep water. Finding the window to go is imperative.

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Weather has been good at times windy a lot of the time but we are managing. Targeting sheepshead, redfish and trout inshore, days we are able to go a few miles offshore we are getting lane snapper, grunt, tripletail, red grouper and triggerfish.

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Weather has been good at times windy a lot of the time but we are managing. Targeting sheepshead, redfish and trout inshore, days we are able to go a few miles offshore we are getting lane snapper, grunt, tripletail, red grouper and triggerfish.

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The last couple days have been nothing short of fishy, any and every species you can think of inshore and nearshore. The sheepshead bite has been as good as it’s ever been. Getting limits and personal best fish for customers. Lane snapper are plentiful on nearshore wrecks and reefs, and...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The last couple days have been nothing short of fishy, any and every species you can think of inshore and nearshore. The sheepshead bite has been as good as it’s ever been. Getting limits and personal best fish for customers. Lane snapper are plentiful on nearshore wrecks and reefs, and the redfish and trout have been keeping us busy inshore with a few snook mixed in.
The cold hasn’t slowed the bite down one bit. Fishing shrimp on jig heads for our bottom and structure dwelling fish and popping corks for the inshore fishing.
Sight fishing reds has been the go-to on grass flats, pot holes and mangroves. We’ve been catching upper slot trout and getting a few over slot gator trout on every outing. The bite is bound to stay hot with some of these strong flowing tides we get in the winter months.

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