Rotonda West Fishing Reports (May 2026)

Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 2 years 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: 2 years 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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Dustin Lambert
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Lots of amberjacks and cobia!

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Dustin Lambert Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Lots of amberjacks and cobia!

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Matt Fueyo with Reel Tight Fishing Charters
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Fishing has been productive. We are catching kings and cobia off the beach. Snook and redfish are chewing in the passes.

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Matt Fueyo with Reel Tight Fishing Charters Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Fishing has been productive. We are catching kings and cobia off the beach. Snook and redfish are chewing in the passes.

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James Gibson
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

The holiday season is upon us in Sarasota, Florida and the fish seem to know it. Our fishing charter customers had success targeting Snook, Redfish, Trout and Jacks in the shallow flats of Sarasota bay. As water temperatures dropped we found fish congregated on low tides in deeper mud holes...

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James Gibson Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

The holiday season is upon us in Sarasota, Florida and the fish seem to know it. Our fishing charter customers had success targeting Snook, Redfish, Trout and Jacks in the shallow flats of Sarasota bay. As water temperatures dropped we found fish congregated on low tides in deeper mud holes in the buttonwood bay area on the back side of Longboat Key. On higher tides we found fish on top of shallow oyster bars around the bully creek area near the Sarasota airport. The nearshore fishing in Sarasota was also hot on the public reefs in front of Siesta, Lido and Longboat Key. Our customers enjoyed catch and clean fishing charters catching Kingfish, Triple tail, Cobia and Snappers.

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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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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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James Gibson
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

It's finally Fall in Sarasota and the water temperatures are slowly dropping. Sarasota Bay has been full of action the past few weeks with water temperatures in the mid to low 80 degrees. Customers have been enjoying quick action catching Trout, Jacks and Mackeral along the deeper grass flats. We...

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James Gibson Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

It's finally Fall in Sarasota and the water temperatures are slowly dropping. Sarasota Bay has been full of action the past few weeks with water temperatures in the mid to low 80 degrees.
Customers have been enjoying quick action catching Trout, Jacks and Mackeral along the deeper grass flats. We have also been having great luck targeting Snook and Redfish along the mangrove islands near major creek systems. They key has been fishing the small fry bait being pushing to the surface.

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Todd Walker
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 2 years ago

Triple tail are here. Site fishing triples tail are fun and they are very good to eat.

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Todd Walker Sarasota, Florida Reported: 2 years ago

Triple tail are here. Site fishing triples tail are fun and they are very good to eat.

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