Rotonda West Fishing Reports (December 2025)

Cody Williams
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Fishing has been hot this past week with giant redfish in the passes

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Cody Williams Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Fishing has been hot this past week with giant redfish in the passes

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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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Todd Walker
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The snook are starting to stage in the pass. One was 40"and 28

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Todd Walker Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The snook are starting to stage in the pass. One was 40"and 28

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Jay Winters
Venice, Louisiana
Reported: 2 years ago

Keeper size reds have been on fire. When the wind lays down some trout and sheep heads are showing up as well.

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Jay Winters Venice, Louisiana Reported: 2 years ago

Keeper size reds have been on fire. When the wind lays down some trout and sheep heads are showing up as well.

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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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James Gibson
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The fishing is heating up and so are the water temperatures! Our customers have enjoyed targeting Snook, Redfish and Trout in Sarasota Bay along our oyster bars and seekers mud holes.

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James Gibson Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The fishing is heating up and so are the water temperatures! Our customers have enjoyed targeting Snook, Redfish and Trout in Sarasota Bay along our oyster bars and seekers mud holes.

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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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