Fishing in Naples: A Fun and Rewarding Experience

Go Fishing in Naples

Naples isn’t one fishery.

That’s the first thing visitors should understand.

Within a relatively small area you can fish mangrove backwaters, Naples Bay, passes, beaches, nearshore structure, reefs, wrecks, and offshore Gulf waters .

What you should do depends heavily on the time of year, weather, tide, and how much time you have.

If You’re New to Naples Fishing

Book an inshore/backwater charter .

It’s probably the easiest way to understand why fishing here is so good.

A shallow-water guide can get you into mangrove shorelines, bays, passes, and areas that are difficult or impossible to effectively fish from land.

You can target species such as:

Snook Redfish Spotted seatrout Mangrove snapper Sheepshead Tarpon when they’re around

If You Only Have Half a Day

Stay inshore or nearshore.

Don’t automatically book the boat that travels the farthest offshore.

A long offshore run can eat a huge chunk of a half-day trip.

If your goal is simply to bend rods and experience Naples from the water, inshore or nearshore can give you a lot more actual fishing time.

If You Have a Full Day

Now offshore becomes more interesting.

Depending on season and conditions, offshore Naples offers opportunities for grouper, snapper, permit and other Gulf species.

But pay attention to the wind forecast.

A gorgeous Naples day on land does not automatically mean the Gulf will be comfortable 20 or 30 miles offshore.

If anyone in your group gets seasick easily, that’s worth thinking about before committing to a long offshore run.

The Tide Matters More Than Your Watch

One of the biggest mistakes visitors make is saying:

“I want to fish at 11.”

A local angler is more likely to ask:

What’s the tide doing at 11?

Moving water moves bait.

And moving bait gets predators feeding.

For inshore fishing, the periods around moving tides can be much more important than simply picking a convenient hour.

Seasonal Cheat Sheet

Winter

Cooler weather can make sheepshead a great target around structure, docks, bridges, and other areas where they feed.

Cold fronts can change fishing quickly, so don’t assume yesterday’s pattern will work today.

Spring

One of our favorite all-around periods.

As the water warms, snook become more active and more species start moving.

Late spring also begins bringing serious tarpon opportunities.

Summer

Go early.

Not just because of the heat.

Southwest Florida summer afternoons frequently bring thunderstorms, while mornings can be calm and beautiful.

This is also prime time to look for tarpon and active snook.

Fall

An underrated time to fish Naples.

Water temperatures begin changing, bait moves, crowds can be lighter than peak winter season, and redfish can be especially fun.

Fishing From Land

You can absolutely catch fish without a boat.

Look for:

Passes Beach troughs Bridges Docks where fishing is permitted Areas with moving water

At Delnor-Wiggins, fishing is permitted in designated areas toward the northern end near Wiggins Pass and at the boat-launch dock.

If you’re beach fishing, sunrise and the first couple hours of daylight are hard to beat.

Naples Best Tip

If you remember one fishing tip from this entire page, make it this:

Don’t choose your fishing time solely based on what’s convenient. Check the tide, wind, and weather first.

That’s the difference between randomly putting a line in the water and actually fishing Naples.

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