Sarasota
fishing charters
Top Fishing Charters in Sarasota
St. Petersburg, FL
Gause Built Bay Boat for charter in St. Pete!
St. Pete Beach, FL
Maverick Fishing Charters - 40' Dorado in St. Pete
Your Guide to the Best Fishing Options in Sarasota
Whether you would like to charter a pontoon, a speedboat, or a center console, the greater Sarasota area can offer so many excellent opportunities for you to fish from the boat under a wide variety of different conditions.
Fishing in Sarasota
For your Sarasota fishing charter, it could be a good idea to set sail from Lands End Marina, north of the city on Tampa Bay.
Lands End Marina
Lands End Marina is a popular launching area with lots of restaurants and bars all around the Circles Waterfront. Have a meal of coconut shrimp and fried calamari before sailing off to do some fishing of your own.
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Deep-Sea Fishing from the Boat
If you want to catch dolphin, tarpon, grouper, or kingfish, Florida's Gulf Coast offers some of the best deep-sea fishing in the world. If you get out on the water early before the break of the day, fishing in the Gulf of Mexico won’t disappoint you.
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Fish the Wrecks
On these trips, anglers can fish for grouper, mackerel, snapper, amberjack, cobia, shark and barracuda. Sarasota has some intriguing wrecks just offshore that provide great habitat for these types of fish. Set sail from Sarasota and visit wrecks off Venice, Nokomis, Osprey, Siesta Key, and Longboat Key.
Learn moreBest Places to Fish in Sarasota
These are some of the best fishing locations in Sarasota.
Longboat Key
When fishing Longboat Key, tailor your tackle to the species you are seeking. The best outfit for the area's inshore waters is an 8- to 10-pound spinning or bait-casting rod and reel. In most offshore situations, a 20- to 30-pound outfit will suffice. When fishing offshore or inshore waters, artificial lures are effective and easy to use. Best bets include jigs, spoons, and plugs. If you prefer live bait, shrimp are effective — numerous bait shops and marinas sell them.
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Siesta Key
Sheepshead, sailfish, flounder, snook, redfish, and tarpon are just a few of the species that make this area a true angler's paradise. Simply anchor your boat offshore and do some productive fishing.
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Osprey Fishing Pier
Take your Sarasota fishing charter to Osprey and fish around the pier. Sometimes you can net fish from the beach or grass flats in the area. Explore the deeper edges of the flats and the sand holes that dot them. Wade the shallow grass near the pier for a stealthy approach to redfish, speckled sea trout, and snook.
Learn moreHow to Fish in Sarasota, Florida
If you charter a fishing boat in Sarasota, you can enjoy some of the best fishing opportunities in the country. Here are three tips to get you started.
Beach Fishing
One of the best and easiest places to fish is the beach itself. Snook, whiting, flounder, ladyfish, and pompano are some of the fish you will find cruising the surf. A small white lead-headed jig or a chartreuse-and-white fly will mimic resident baitfish.
Fish from the Boat
When the water is calm and the sun is high, wear polarized sunglasses and pull in the snook near the beach. There is great tarpon schooling just off the beaches during May, June, and July. You can also usually find schools of Spanish mackerel, bonito, king mackerel, and cobia.
Reef Fishing
Further offshore, you can expect to find barracuda, grouper, snapper, and other bottom dwellers. Also look out for surface action, like diving birds or striking fish. During the spring and summer, wahoo, dolphin, sailfish, tuna, and marlin are known to inhabit the deeper waters of the Florida Gulf.
Types of Fish in Sarasota
There is no limit to the types of fish you might catch on a fishing trip in Sarasota. These are a few of the most common.
Snook
Grass flats, reefs, wrecks, jetties and more all create the conditions that snook like the most. They are known to be ambush feeders that wait for fish and crustaceans to pass by before they pounce.
Cobia
Cobia can sometimes be found in the calm and shallow waters from spring until the end of autumn.
Tarpon
Drifting live bait into a current can be one of the most effective ways of fishing for tarpon. Depending on the time of year, it is possible to use shrimp, crabs, mullet, or other types of bait to catch these impressive fish.
Top Types of Fishing in Sarasota, Florida
Here are three of the top types of fishing you might want to try.
Coastal Fishing
Drop anchor from your Sarasota fishing charter near any of the shores and spend some time fishing the warm, shallow waters.
Fly Fishing
Fly fishing is gaining popularity in the Sarasota area and it can be especially effective when trying to catch saltwater fish. The extensive grass flats that surround the island are a magnet for game fish so they are a great place to start.
Fish the Flats
Explore the deeper edges of the flats and the sand holes around them. Explore the bridges, rock jetties, and other access points to discover pompano, bluefish, sheepshead, mangrove snapper, and snook.
Sarasota, Florida Fishing Seasons
Fishing is really fun in Sarasota. If you charter a boat in Sarasota, here is what you can expect during each month of the year.
January
Although January brings the coldest water temperatures of the year into Sarasota Bay, it can be a good month to try and catch snook and trout.
February
February is a good time to try fishing deeper in the water for black drum and sheepshead, or trout and flounder if the water is a bit cooler.
March
March is the start of the tarpon season. These fish can be found around all of the bridges and other structures near Sarasota.
April
During the spring and summer, dolphin, sailfish, tuna, wahoo, and marlin start teeming through the deeper Gulf waters.
May
Huge schools of tarpon can be found just off the beaches during May, June, and July.
June
During June, you can also usually find schools of Spanish mackerel, bonito, king mackerel, and cobia.
July
During July, the tarpon fishing is still by far the best way to go when you are in the Sarasota area.
August
August is one of the best months for catching bull redfish in the shallow waters.
September
The offshore bottom fishing is good for offshore grouper and snapper fishing, with schools of dorado nearby as well.
October
In October, there are plenty of sharks to catch in the bays, and they tend to feed quite readily.
November
Try to catch snook and redfish on the flats in November. There can sometimes be trout mixed in with them too.
December
Redfish can be spectacular catches this month in terms of size.
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