Charlotte Harbor Fishing Reports (December 2025)

Matt Fueyo with Reel Tight Fishing Charters
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 11 months ago

The bite has been productive. Inshore and nearshore bite has produced snappers that will reopen Jan 1. The redfish snook and trout are gorging on white bait before the water gets too cold. Good fishing good fun filling coolers

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Matt Fueyo with Reel Tight Fishing Charters Sarasota, Florida Reported: 11 months ago

The bite has been productive. Inshore and nearshore bite has produced snappers that will reopen Jan 1. The redfish snook and trout are gorging on white bait before the water gets too cold. Good fishing good fun filling coolers

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 11 months ago

The winter feels are here in Southwest Florida. We may not be in full blown cold season but it feels like it some days. Early cold fronts that have not been common the past several years, extreme low winter type tides and of course our northern visitors have made their...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 11 months ago

The winter feels are here in Southwest Florida. We may not be in full blown cold season but it feels like it some days. Early cold fronts that have not been common the past several years, extreme low winter type tides and of course our northern visitors have made their appearance. The other, more notable signs of winter fishing is the invasion of big sheepshead in to our inshore waters. When the temps drop these delicious fish make their way inshore to engage their annual spawning. Sheepshead are big, hardy, tasty and strong fighting fish that feed exclusively on crustaceans like barnacles, shrimp, crabs and even sand fleas. Our sheepshead are a structure oriented species, meaning they like cover such as docks, rock piles, mangrove branches and you can sometimes find them along oyster beds where a lot of their food can be found. They have big strong jaws, lined with rows of rounded teeth resembling human teeth. They are quite the sight to see, but despite their strange appearance they taste much like the food they consume. Some people would compare their meat to crab. I typically target these fish using a sharp 1/4 ounce jig head tipped with a small shrimp or if need be a piece of a larger shrimp. The key is to cover the hook without giving them enough hanging off the hook where they can pull it off. Covering the hook makes them have no choice but to eat the whole bait. Their mouth is so full of teeth sometimes it is difficult to get a hook in them, needless to say it is not uncommon to miss them.

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Logan Hawthorne
Cape Coral, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Nearshore bite is heating up.

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Logan Hawthorne Cape Coral, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Nearshore bite is heating up.

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Matt Fueyo with Reel Tight Fishing Charters
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Nearshore and inshore fishing has been on fire. We have been seeing some big schools of redfish moving through our waters. Snook are cruising the rocks in the jetties. Nearshore fishing has been fun. Gag groupers, lane snappers, mangroves and muttons too! Super fun on light tackle!

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Matt Fueyo with Reel Tight Fishing Charters Sarasota, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Nearshore and inshore fishing has been on fire. We have been seeing some big schools of redfish moving through our waters. Snook are cruising the rocks in the jetties. Nearshore fishing has been fun. Gag groupers, lane snappers, mangroves and muttons too! Super fun on light tackle!

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James Gibson
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Water temperatures dropped this week after the recent cold front. Our customers had success targeting redfish and snook along deep edges. We are also enjoying catching Jack travellelll

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James Gibson Sarasota, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Water temperatures dropped this week after the recent cold front. Our customers had success targeting redfish and snook along deep edges. We are also enjoying catching Jack travellelll

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Steven Herich
Sarasota, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

The Fall temperatures are coming down along with Gulf temps bringing in many species of gamefish within casting distance from the shore. Expect snook, flounder, Redfish, Black drum, Sheepshead and others congregating in shallow water beach 🏖️ structures that you can walk to and fish. The beach is a great...

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Steven Herich Sarasota, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

The Fall temperatures are coming down along with Gulf temps bringing in many species of gamefish within casting distance from the shore. Expect snook, flounder, Redfish, Black drum, Sheepshead and others congregating in shallow water beach 🏖️ structures that you can walk to and fish. The beach is a great place to learn how to saltwater fish if you're new to the sport or a seasoned pro looking for a different approach than your usual boat trip. Remember, seasickness is never a concern, so you can focus entirely on fishing and fun 🎣. Tight lines from the beach!

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Fishing ahead of a cold front is one of my absolute favorites. The barometric pressure gets to a perfect point before fronts come through and these fish feel it and get extremely active. Cold fronts can cause fish to go into a lethargic state where they have no energy or...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Fishing ahead of a cold front is one of my absolute favorites. The barometric pressure gets to a perfect point before fronts come through and these fish feel it and get extremely active. Cold fronts can cause fish to go into a lethargic state where they have no energy or motivation to chase or eat baits. Imagine for a second you wake up and you feel bloated, nauseous even, your initial reaction is not to get out of bed and eat a big breakfast, instead you lay around for as long as it takes to feel well again. This feeling in that scenario is very similar to what fish feel after a low pressure system blows through, they have to work to keep a balance and have no problem sitting around until the pressure builds back and they feel comfortable again. They tend to eat like they’re going into hibernation for a few days because essentially that is the case. As for the day we had before our most recent front, the fish had no quit in them, it seemed like every bait for 3-5 hours was getting bit. We caught tons of redfish, snook and trout in just a matter of a few hours. The trout were huge, most over 20 inches, redfish ranged in size but many between 19 and 25 inches. We caught a lot of snook too, most in the mid 20’s and a couple over 30. I had my brother out and we were on a mission to get meat for a family fish fry. We did our job, we limited out on all three species and the family will have a fine fish fry in the coming days.

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Vasiliy Obukhov
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Right now catching cobia, Mangrove Snapper, lane Snapper, Hogfish, king mackerel, bonito. Water temperature is about 73-78 degrees. Fishing is good overall.

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Vasiliy Obukhov Lakewood Ranch, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Right now catching cobia, Mangrove Snapper, lane Snapper, Hogfish, king mackerel, bonito. Water temperature is about 73-78 degrees. Fishing is good overall.

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