Rotonda West Fishing Reports (December 2025)

Dylan Hood
Cape Coral, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

Schools of redfish are all over the place eating artificial baits and live bait.

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Dylan Hood Cape Coral, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

Schools of redfish are all over the place eating artificial baits and live bait.

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Dan Muench
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

I took my brother out yesterday for an early morning Topwater lure run. Excellent morning as we caught three redfish on top water and a few snook as well, including a 28 1/2 inch one!

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Dan Muench Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

I took my brother out yesterday for an early morning Topwater lure run. Excellent morning as we caught three redfish on top water and a few snook as well, including a 28 1/2 inch one!

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Darius Kirschner
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

Fall is coming and the fishing continues to get better! The water temps are cooling down and the fish are on the move. Snook, Redfish, SeaTrout, and Mangrove Snapper are everywhere right now and we are having great days of fishing for these guys. Big schools of spawning bull redfish...

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Darius Kirschner Sarasota, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

Fall is coming and the fishing continues to get better! The water temps are cooling down and the fish are on the move. Snook, Redfish, SeaTrout, and Mangrove Snapper are everywhere right now and we are having great days of fishing for these guys. Big schools of spawning bull redfish are starting to show themselves on the flats here in Sarasota and one things for sure, they are hungry! Come join us to get on a trip of a lifetime with family or friends.

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Dan Muench
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

Fishing has been pretty steady even though we have water temperatures in the high 80s. Today the guest, a non-fisherman, brought in a 32-inch Snook off the flats today! What a great find this time of year. I have also seen plenty of red fish this last week and the...

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Dan Muench Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

Fishing has been pretty steady even though we have water temperatures in the high 80s. Today the guest, a non-fisherman, brought in a 32-inch Snook off the flats today! What a great find this time of year. I have also seen plenty of red fish this last week and the speckled sea trout bite is still hot as usual. No live bait needed for the Speckled SeaTrout, as they will hit soft plastics and hard Subsurface Baits as long as you work them correctly.

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Dan Muench
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

Hey David, the fishing has been pretty steady even though we have water temperatures in the high 80s. Today my guest, a non-fisherman, brought in a 32 inch snook off the flats today! What a great find this time of year. I have also seen plenty of red fish this...

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Dan Muench Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

Hey David, the fishing has been pretty steady even though we have water temperatures in the high 80s. Today my guest, a non-fisherman, brought in a 32 inch snook off the flats today! What a great find this time of year. I have also seen plenty of red fish this last week and the speckled sea trout bite is still hot as usual. No live bait needed for the Speckled SeaTrout, as they will hit soft plastics and hard Subsurface Bates as long as you work them correctly.

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Jon Fetter
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

The inshore bite has been as hot as the temps here in SW Florida. The seatrout bite is crazy good around the grass flats in 3-5 feet of water. Shrimp under a popping cork is the ticket. There have been some quality redfish hanging around the mangrove edges and oyster...

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Jon Fetter Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

The inshore bite has been as hot as the temps here in SW Florida. The seatrout bite is crazy good around the grass flats in 3-5 feet of water. Shrimp under a popping cork is the ticket. There have been some quality redfish hanging around the mangrove edges and oyster bars on higher water. Free lined pinfish or pins under a float will work best. Just remember to get out early to beat the heat as the bite has been over around 11 am.

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Victor Medico
Cape Coral, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

The redfish bite in the back bays of Southwest Florida is starting to pick up and will only get better through the end of October. Plenty of breeder snook can be found in the passes and along the beaches. Bait has been plentiful on the grass flats which is a...

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Victor Medico Cape Coral, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

The redfish bite in the back bays of Southwest Florida is starting to pick up and will only get better through the end of October. Plenty of breeder snook can be found in the passes and along the beaches. Bait has been plentiful on the grass flats which is a good place to work artificial lures for trout. Tarpon can still be found but time is running out on the 2022 season.

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Scott Tesinsky
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 3 years ago

Inshore fishing in sarasota continues to remain very good. We are bringing home limits of mangrove snapper that are finishing out their spawn, the snapper will continue to bite for the next few weeks as we transition into our fall pattern. Snook are starting to make their way back into...

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Scott Tesinsky Sarasota, Florida Reported: 3 years ago

Inshore fishing in sarasota continues to remain very good. We are bringing home limits of mangrove snapper that are finishing out their spawn, the snapper will continue to bite for the next few weeks as we transition into our fall pattern. Snook are starting to make their way back into the bay and are transitioning getting ready to head back into the creeks and rivers. We are catching decent size snook at the higher stages of the tide around mangroves. Shots at juvenile Tarpon are being had early in the morning as they roll on the surface. Spotted sea trout are starting to make good showings on the edges of deeper grass flats, some smaller schools of Spanish mackerel and bluefish are also around the deeper grass flats. We are catching plenty of live white bait in the morning and that has proven to be key for a successful trip.

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