Ochopee Fishing Reports (May 2026)

Tim R.
Naples, Florida
Reported 15 hours ago

Current Naples fishing report has the waters warming up into the mid 80s, the tarpon eating on the beaches, the reds and snapper eating in the magroves, and the snook getting packed in the passes for the summer spawn! Each trip we have been on in the last few weeks...

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Tim R. Naples, Florida Reported 15 hours ago

Current Naples fishing report has the waters warming up into the mid 80s, the tarpon eating on the beaches, the reds and snapper eating in the magroves, and the snook getting packed in the passes for the summer spawn!

Each trip we have been on in the last few weeks has had been loaded with excitement and the chances to hook and catch the trophy of a lifetime.

The bait has shifted to mainly freshly netted pilchards, but everything is still eating shrimp.

In fact, if it's dinner you're after, and live well full of live shrimp will all but guarantee a fresh load of mangrove snapper at the cleaning table!

There's been lots of big redfish in the backcountry mangroves...some are too big to keep, but most are in the upper slot (size range we are allowed to keep 18-27") and they have been e as ting pilchards, cut chunks of mullet, and shrimp.

Their cousins, the black drum have been eating shrimp, pn the incoming tides, and crashing the snapper party.

This is the ti.e of year that offers the chance to get the snook of a lifetime...the big snook are active, hungry, and eating pilchards as they prepare for the very spawning season that starts in June. They can range from small ones in the low 20s, to mid 40 inch monsters that rip drags, and totally test our nerves and skills as they use every piece of structure in the area to break the line, as they try to break our hearts.

The giant tarpon are all over the way morning beaches, back bays, and passes. The big sharks are in the back bays, and off the beaches, and both are ready to test your strength and resolve

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Robert F.
Naples, Florida
Reported 1 day ago

There are big drum in big schools up to 100s of them. You can find them in 4ft of water and sight cast them. Now this time of year. We saw a school today kicking up mud look for crabs and were marking them on side scan on the lowrance...

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Robert F. Naples, Florida Reported 1 day ago

There are big drum in big schools up to 100s of them. You can find them in 4ft of water and sight cast them. Now this time of year. We saw a school today kicking up mud look for crabs and were marking them on side scan on the lowrance but it was 15ft deep with current so harder to get a bait directly in front of them.
Also Goliath grouper from end of January. The water behind the people was so calm that was 7 miles offshore at a whopping 11ft deep

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Robert F.
Naples, Florida
Reported 1 day ago

Black drum have been around

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Robert F. Naples, Florida Reported 1 day ago

Black drum have been around

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Steve G.
Marco Island, Florida
Reported 2 weeks ago

The last three weeks have been amazing with hundred percent on Tarpon and big sharks.

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Steve G. Marco Island, Florida Reported 2 weeks ago

The last three weeks have been amazing with hundred percent on Tarpon and big sharks.

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Billy B.
Everglades City, Florida
Reported 2 weeks ago

Snapper bite is on fire weather permitting. As soon as it lays down, the bite is on! The kingfish bite has been good too and the snook are also on fire.

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Billy B. Everglades City, Florida Reported 2 weeks ago

Snapper bite is on fire weather permitting. As soon as it lays down, the bite is on!

The kingfish bite has been good too and the snook are also on fire.

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Tim R.
Naples, Florida
Reported 1 month ago

Big snook, redfish, sharks, and tarpon highlight the current fishing report. As we get into middle April, the fishing has been heating up weekly and becoming outstanding. With the water finally back firmly in the 70s and close to 80 degrees, the bait is plentiful. Lots of quality mangrove snapper,...

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Tim R. Naples, Florida Reported 1 month ago

Big snook, redfish, sharks, and tarpon highlight the current fishing report. As we get into middle April, the fishing has been heating up weekly and becoming outstanding. With the water finally back firmly in the 70s and close to 80 degrees, the bait is plentiful. Lots of quality mangrove snapper, big jack crevalle, and sheepshead are also bring smiles, and pulling drags!

With plentiful bait comes big snook. We are hooking at least one really big fish on every trip, and on most trips we are hammering the mid size, and smaller snook. to put it into perspective, in terms of freshwater fishing back home for many folks, its like catching a dozen 2 – 3 pound bass or walleye, that fight twice as hard, with the opportunity to catch a huge one.

The big redfish have also been gobbling up bait bending rods, and ripping drags right along with the snook. We haven’t been doing anything specific for the redfish, they are just on the move with the warming water and the oncoming burst of life the water brings every spring and early summer. This time of year, the big reds seem to be in the same spots as the big snook, which adds to the intrigue when you see a huge boil and hear that drag start squealing.

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Tyler K.
Marco Island, Florida
Reported 1 month ago

Trout snook reds tripletail are fired up!

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Tyler K. Marco Island, Florida Reported 1 month ago

Trout snook reds tripletail are fired up!

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Ariel A.
Loxahatchee, Florida
Reported 1 month ago

lots of speckle trout, spanish macks, pompano, snook, whitings, silver trout

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Ariel A. Loxahatchee, Florida Reported 1 month ago

lots of speckle trout, spanish macks, pompano, snook, whitings, silver trout

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