Fishing Reports: Winter 2026
Bonita Springs to Marco Island
By Captain Barry Cuda
We’re right in the middle of the seasonal change in fishing patterns.
As the water gets colder and the windy days get more frequent, we’re dodging the weather and bundling up, and the big groups of fish aren’t here yet. But coming soon!
There will soon be good schools of mackerel, trout, and redfish; the mackerel are staying near shore, just not the big boils we love so much. When you do find the big boils, don’t worry about lure type, size or color. Just throw anything in there and you have instant hookup! They’ll be out there soon. The redfish are near mangroves and oysters, the trout on the flats and edges. Scattered redfish and trout are in their usual haunts, just not schooled up yet – soon!
The Gator Trout can be found in the same kinds of places. Usually solo acts, but awesome action when you find them. They respond well to live bait, especially pinfish.
Small snook (dinks) will be schooling, and the big ladies (all large snook are female) will be in from the beaches and reefs. In the colder weather, look for them over dark bottom, as it heats up more quickly when the sun comes up.
The big redfish and snook are responding well to cut bait, ladyfish or mullet up under the edge of the mangroves. Not as fast as artificials, or casting live shrimp, so some patience is required. A good tidal flow helps a lot. It improves the bite, and the smell travels well down current. The big sheepshead will be coming in too – great opportunity!
Flounder season opened December 1st, and with cold water, some bigger ones will have moved in. I’ve never been able to target them, but surprise ones will hit anything they like: artificials, or live bait (bottom, or moving, mid water). Great fight for sure!
We’re in the winter tides now. SUPER lows. In some places, even the channels will be super low. Be cautious. I just marked a dangerous marker stub (Marker #2) in Estero Bay with a red buoy. GPS: N26-24-428, W81-51-868. Great time to do your prospecting!
You’ll find unmarked oyster bars that you never see on higher tides. You’ll find potholes in the grass flats. All places that will hold fish, and you’d never know otherwise.
At these extreme lows, 80% of the fish will be concentrated in 20% of the water.
Take care,
Capt. Barry
To book with Capt. Barry, 239-860-7227 Captbarrycudacharters@gmail.com
Tampa to St Petersburg
By Captain Dylan Hubbard
INSHORE
The inshore action will be buzzing with activity as cooler water temperatures draw fish into predictable feeding patterns. The Sheepshead, Redfish and Trout are the three most cold tolerant species and most likely active inshore this time of year.
Sheepshead can be found schooling up around docks, piers, bridges, and other structures. These striped bandits will feed aggressively on barnacle-encrusted pilings and other shellfish sources. Use small pieces of shrimp, clams, or fiddler crabs on lighter tackle with minimal weight for the best results.
Redfish will become thick throughout the area, from the flats and oyster bars to dock lines and the bridges. Live shrimp or cut bait are top natural bait options, but soft plastic paddletails on jigheads are great options too. Look for birds, mullet, or bait activity to zero in on prime redfish zones.
Trout will be active, particularly around the mangroves, flats, and oyster bars during the day. At night, bridge and dock lights are hotspots for these speckled predators. Freelined live shrimp or soft plastics worked slowly near ambush points are great techniques to hook into these cold-weather trophies.
NEAR SHORE
The nearshore action will be very active, with a variety of species providing steady action for anglers.
Hogfish will be found nearshore. Light tackle with live shrimp, minimal weight, and a 3-4/0 hook is the ticket to success.
Lane Snapper will be open. Squid, shrimp, and small cut threadfins are great bait options.
Mangrove Snapper are elusive this time of year but can be found while targeting other species like hogfish. Small live shrimp or cut threadfin chunks on lighter rigs are your best bet for hooking into these savvy fighters.
OFFSHORE
Red Grouper are the highlight offshore. Big live baits like pinfish or large cut baits like bonita strips will work well. Target these fish in deeper waters using heavy leaders (60-80lb test) and 7-10 ot hooks.
Yellowtail Snapper can be had on small strips of squid or cut threadfins. These colorful fish are a blast to catch and make for excellent table fare.
Mutton Snapper can produce consistent catches on larger dead baits like threadfins or live bait rigs. These hard-fighting snapper are a real treat for offshore anglers.
Pelagics like blackfin tuna, kingfish, and the occasional wahoo will be showing up offshore. Trolling lipped diving plugs or flat-lining live bait has been productive for these speedy predators.
Sarasota to Englewood Fishing Report
Photos courtesy of Matt Davie.
By Captain Matt Davie
Winter is here! Hope everyone is ready for the chilly water. Let's get into it.
The bait will progressively migrate out. You may be able to find it when the temperature drops. The real question is do they want to chase it down and with what bait. Shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, and cut bait. Cut bait can be a variety of bait - pinfish, mullet, lady fish, sardines, blue crab. All are slower moving easy targets. There's a pretty important part of all those listed — it’s scent.
Don't get me wrong, artificial baits sometimes will outperform the live/cut when covering a lot of ground. Structure will hold most of the fish that we like to catch for table fare. Sheepshead will be a prime target, being crustacean eaters. Crab and shrimp for me. I know that there are other methods. When they're stacked up I've seen them eat just about everything. In that mix, schools of black drum are seen around. Same scenario, crab and shrimp for me. When fishing for sheepshead and black drum, use long leaders with a knocker rig or jig head.
Next on the list, my favorite dock fish. For redfish - shrimp on a long leader with a split shot and a circle hook. Pitch deep under a dock and let it sit. If they are there, hold on to the rod. Trout will also still be around; you can either float shrimp or small split shot method in the flats and deeper flats. If they are there and the water is, let's say, over 8 feet, go ahead and try a jig head (1/4 oz) and rig a shrimp tail first. You will pick up trout, and the pompano could give you a nice run. Mix in some permit, with the flow of the tides working the jig heads, and it will be game on.
Other notable fish that will be around - blues, jacks, mackerel, triple tail, and ast but far from least, Snook! They still have to eat. Remember, darker water will warm up faster than clear. Muddy bottoms in canals, creeks, streams, brackish rivers, all will yield you some line sider action. Throwing a paddle tail or a vibration lure will get their attention, just a little slower on the retrieve. Also live shrimp and cut work as well. Watch the weather, be safe, and catch some fish.
Thank you, Captain Matt Davie
To book with Capt. Matt, 941-232-9351, www.inshoreaddict.com
Charlotte Harbor to Fort Myers
By Robert Lugiewicz
Winter has settled in, and we're expecting the coldest weather and the lowest tides of the year. You can complain about those things if you want, but I think you'd be better off just adapting to the changing conditions and going out to catch some fish.
Most of the baitfish are gone, so the castnets are conditioned and packed away. Gamefish are more interested in eating shrimp right now anyway, so that's what savvy anglers are going to feed them.
A "normal" winter pattern here is cool mornings and warm days, interrupted by cold fronts that drop sunrise temps down as low as the mid-30s. The best fishing is usually just before a front arrives. Post-frontal conditions — high pressure, 20-knot winds and cloudless blue skies — make fishing tough.
Trout don't mind cooler water but will still bask when they can. Look for them shallow (sometimes ridiculously shallow) on sunny mornings. Smaller fish are schooling up now. When you're getting a bunch of dinks you need to move if legal fish are the goal. Big trout eat little trout, so the small ones avoid areas where the big ones are.
Sheepshead are hanging out on the oyster bars, jetties, pilings and seawalls, and also on the Gulf reefs within a few miles of shore. Unprotected wooden pilings usually hold the most fish. Fiddler crabs are the choice of many anglers, but they aren't cheap and you'll probably lose a bunch. Sheepies earned those convict stripes by being expert bait thieves. Small live shrimp of peeled chunks of bigger ones work great. Add a piece of Fishbites, which is tough and stays on the hook after the shrimp gets stolen, and they'll often come back for it.
Surf fishing should be decent for whiting, pompano, sheepies, bonnethead sharks, random flounder, and the occasional lost snook or redfish. Frozen sandfleas or live shrimp will catch plenty of fish, or you can toss silly jigs or small bucktails. Remember most of the food sources at the beach are little, so big lures might not get as much attention.
The nearshore reefs (within 15 miles or so) are lighting up with lane and mangrove snapper, grunts and porgies. Keeper-size grouper might be in that close, but more likely they'll be found in about 100 feet of water. If you're really hardcore, wahoo are showing up at 40 to 50 miles offshore and will take high-speed trolling lures running at 10 to 15 knots. Watch your bottom machine as you go and mark any potential grouper/snapper spots.
If you're tired of salt, crappie fishing should be pretty good on the inland lakes, and you'll even find some on the canals. Live minnows on small jigs are classic, but they'll hit lots of small lures if you're feeling experimental. Bass should also be feeding pretty good, as this is normally the beginning of the spawn, and they're looking to pack on calories.
One last thing: If you really want to get to know your local waters, bundle up on one of those icy post-frontal days and go exploring. The wind pushes water out, and a lot of flats will be exposed. You'll be able to see the deeper cuts you can use to get across the bars and that fish use as highways. Bring binoculars and be careful.
Fort Myers Photo by Taryn Manning on Unsplash. St Petersburg Photo by Aarit Rao on Unsplash.
