Sanibel Island Fishing Reports (December 2025)

Alex Kirby
Bradenton, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Gag season is starting strong

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Alex Kirby Bradenton, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Gag season is starting strong

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

The summer fishing is heating up and you don’t want to miss a second of the action. Big beautiful redfish, powerful snook and an abundance of seatrout have been giving us some fun days on the water lately. Bait is all over the sound and it’s the perfect size to...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

The summer fishing is heating up and you don’t want to miss a second of the action. Big beautiful redfish, powerful snook and an abundance of seatrout have been giving us some fun days on the water lately. Bait is all over the sound and it’s the perfect size to sit off groups of fish and access the bite with long casts. This time of year we really try to use a long light leader so as to not give ourselves away. These lighter leaders sometimes means tougher times getting those big fish to the boat and requiring a lot more maneuvering when these fish get us in a tight situation, but that’s what makes this sport so fun, the thrill of the fight. The water is heating up quickly which means we are required to keep less bait so they have plenty of oxygen in our well. We are starting to see some mangrove snapper moving into the inshore waters and it’s about to get even more exciting when we can fill limits of delicious snapper. Tarpon are all around and we’ve managed a few short hookups but with the windy conditions we’ve been facing some days just aren’t great days to fish for them so the time spent fishing tarpon has been limited unfortunately but that is sure to change with nicer weather on the horizon.

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James Goodman
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Great redfish and snook bite in estero bay on 2-4 inch live threadfin and pilchards.

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James Goodman Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Great redfish and snook bite in estero bay on 2-4 inch live threadfin and pilchards.

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Sheepshead fishing is in full swing and they’re giving us some fun days on the water. These tasty, hard fighting fish are highly sought after during our winter months. They can be a tricky fish to hook, with a mouth full of human like teeth the areas to set a...

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Brandon Douberly Bartow, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Sheepshead fishing is in full swing and they’re giving us some fun days on the water. These tasty, hard fighting fish are highly sought after during our winter months. They can be a tricky fish to hook, with a mouth full of human like teeth the areas to set a hook are few which can make them an even tougher target. Alongside the sheepshead we are catching reds, snapper and black drum, plenty of variety and good eating fish to catch when the weather is cold. For the next couple months we will stick to shrimp for our bait of choice. Catching white bait these times of the year can be difficult and the fish switch their food choices to bait easier to catch like shrimp, crabs and sand fleas. Fish get slower with dropping water temps so their energy levels drop as well, they still fight like crazy and show us a great time on the water.

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Tom Katz
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

Fishing 50 miles offshore Sanibel. Bottom fishing for snapper, African pompano& mahi

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Tom Katz Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

Fishing 50 miles offshore Sanibel. Bottom fishing for snapper, African pompano& mahi

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Dan Muench
Fort Myers, Florida
Reported: 1 year ago

We are still in a bit of a transition. As the water temperature begins to drop. Soon the migration will be in full force into the back bays and estuaries and Caloosahatchee river. The trout bite has been hot with a few being caught over 20 inches. Lots of juvenile...

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Dan Muench Fort Myers, Florida Reported: 1 year ago

We are still in a bit of a transition. As the water temperature begins to drop. Soon the migration will be in full force into the back bays and estuaries and Caloosahatchee river. The trout bite has been hot with a few being caught over 20 inches. Lots of juvenile redfish around as they begin to move in from the Gulf. I also have been seeing a few permit on the Inshore grass flats. They are a lot of fun to catch as they pullback pretty hard!

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Brandon Douberly
Bartow, Florida
Reported: 1 year 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: 1 year 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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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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