If you are visiting Cape Coral and hope to do some fishing, my bet is that the single biggest problem will be choosing which of the fishing sites you want to visit. Cape Coral is a water wonderland with more than 400 miles of canals. But that’s not all. Those canals can take you to places that are great fishing sites – off-shore and on-shore. Along the shores you will find snapper, snook, bass, tarpon, grouper, tripletail, redfish, trout, sheepshead and more. If you go off-shore you can find shark, barracuda, tarpon, cobia, snapper, grouper, and redfish. You will find bass and panfish in the lakes and canals.
We’ve included information on fishing charters in this article for those who just want to fish!!
The Boat at Cape Coral Home Away
Your choice of where to fish is actually an extensive list. Our guests of Cape Coral Home Away will have access to a 26 ft. pontoon boat that can get you out through the waterways – around the islands and into the gulf where the fish await your arrival.
Our Boat Captain ensures you understand how to operate the boat before giving you the keys AND he is a wealth of information since he too loves to fish and knows how to navigate the local waters. Be sure to pick his brain!!!
Things You Must Consider
Before we get further into the sites for fishing there are some important things you will need to know about.
- You will need a fishing license
- There are bag and size limits
- Know the fish that you need to report, how to avoid catfish, and more about non-native fish
- Parks and boat launches have specific hours and fees
- Eating what you’ve caught
- Recycling used fishing line
This article – https://www.capecoral.net/document_center/Basic_Tips_for_Fishing_Cape_Coral.pdf can provide information on the above and also has links and phone numbers on how to find what you need.
Get the low-down on the fish
As we continued our search of how to get the important questions answered: WHAT (type of fish you like to catch), the WHERE (places to go to get the fish) and the WHEN (what fish are biting that day), one of the first content-rich websites we ran across was the “Tides for Fishing” website. There is SO much information available you will need to take some time to go through the site. Whether you are an avid (or beginner) fisherman (fisherwoman) they answer the most important questions: The activity of the fish, where to fish, what they are catching, tides/tide tables, weather, solunar charts and visibility for the spots you pick.
While on their site, we checked out Punta Rassa (San Carlos Bay). We noticed that at the far bottom of the web page was a great list of places to fish. Each of these will pull up information on fishing at that spot. Based on the tides they have charts where you can see whether the fish are biting or not.
Below is a list of fishing sites from TIDES FOR FISHING that are close to Punta Rassa (San Carlos Bay) and the distance to get to them from there. Click on each link to learn more.
Fishing Charters
Some people prefer to take a fishing charter and let someone else provide the bait, clean the fish, and know the waters. If you are looking for fishing charters be sure to visit https://fishingbooker.com/. This site allows you to search by destination, date and number in your party. They also tell you about the fishing seasons and top fishing techniques!
Other Charter Fishing Site: https://www.come-to-cape-coral.com/cape-coral-fishing.html
Other Sites
Because southwest Florida is a hotspot for fishing there are enough websites to keep you busy until you forgot what you were looking up. Here are a few for you to jump into.
Fish Rules App – you can download this app to have the rules at your fingertips. You can download it at Google Play or the App store.
https://www.florida-southwest.com/fish/
Best Bait for Fishing – https://www.threefishermenseafood.com/my-first-blog-post
Fishing Regulations Site – Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
https://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/
This article “Fishing the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel” will give you information on eight great spots to hit.
HAPPY FISHING!
https://capecoralhomeaway.com/Be sure to visit www.capecoralhomeaway.com to learn more about the “Vacation with a Boat”. Cape Coral Home Away sleeps 12 and has an amazing lanai with a grotto, waterfall and spa.