Fort Myers / Sanibel fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. The fall pattern is settling in across Pine Island Sound and the Caloosahatchee. Redfish are ganging up on the bars, the pass snook are feeding on the outgoing tide, and cooler nights have brought trout back onto the flats. It is one of the more productive weeks of late summer.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot this week is redfish. Schools have been working the oyster bars and mangrove shorelines of Pine Island Sound, around the Matlacha flats, and in the eastern sound near Bokeelia, with plenty of upper-slot fish and some big bulls mixed in. Snook are at Blind Pass, Redfish Pass, and Captiva Pass on the falling tide, and in the surf along Sanibel and Captiva at first light. Speckled trout are back on the grass flats in 3 to 6 feet after a quiet August. Mangrove snapper are thick on the nearshore reefs and around the Sanibel Causeway pilings, and a few late-season tarpon are still rolling in the sound and off the beaches.
Where to Find Them
Redfish are on the bars and mangrove edges on the higher stages of the tide, and they slide into the potholes and cuts as the water drops. Look for mullet schools and pushing water around the Matlacha Pass bars, the flats off St. James City, and the eastern shoreline of Pine Island. Snook are on the pass sandbars and rocks on the outgoing, and in the surf line along Sanibel’s Gulf beaches at dawn. Trout are on the deeper grass off the Sanibel Causeway and in the middle of the sound. Snapper are on the causeway pilings and the nearshore reefs in 20 to 40 feet.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides this week between the moons, with the morning outgoing tide setting up the pass bite. Sound water is in the mid to upper 80s and easing overnight. Mornings have been calm and clear, with the sea breeze and scattered storms in the afternoon. Water clarity is good on the Gulf side and slightly stained in the upper sound.
Tackle & Tactics
For the redfish schools, a gold spoon, a weedless paddle tail, or a live pilchard or cut ladyfish cast to the edge of the school on 20-pound fluorocarbon. Snook at the passes want live pilchards or pinfish free-lined on a 4/0 circle hook with 30 to 40-pound leader, or a white paddle tail or flair hawk in the current. On the beach, a small white paddle tail sight-cast to cruising fish. Trout want a popping cork and shrimp or a soft plastic jig over the grass. A 7-foot medium spinning rod with 15-pound braid covers the sound.
Local Intel This Week
The Punta Rassa ramp at the foot of the Sanibel Causeway is the main public launch for the sound and the passes, with the Matlacha Park ramp and the Pineland marina area serving the upper sound. The Sanibel Causeway islands and the Sanibel beaches give shore anglers access to snook and snapper, and Blind Pass is fishable from the bridge area. Fish are concentrating on the bars of Pine Island Sound around mullet schools and at the passes on the outgoing tide. Check current FWC regulations, slot sizes, and seasons before keeping snook, redfish, or trout.
This Week’s Tip
On the Pine Island bars, the redfish push up on the last two hours of the flood and feed hardest right as the tide turns. Be set up on the bar before the top of the tide, not after, and fish the down-tide edge as the water starts to fall.
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