Fishing in Cape Coral / Florida

With its abundance of lakes, rivers, canals, and beaches, Florida is also the ideal spot for fishing. Many guests love fishing in Cape Coral or on one of the beautiful beaches surrounding us. Cape Coral alone has over one hundred kilometers of freshwater and saltwater canals, many fishing piers, and lots of other beautiful spots perfect for casting a line in the water.

Fishing in Cape Coral is a special experience. And not just for the catch that awaits you; it’s also always worth an excursion to experience its natural beauty. You see many things that you might otherwise miss elsewhere. It could be that you’ll see a manatee swim right past you, or the snouts of a herd of manatees poking out of the water off in the distance. Dolphins are also a common sight, sometimes a small school, sometimes a mother and child. Nature always provides a wonderful experience here.

If you, during your fishing in Cape Coral have no decent catch, at least you can catch a gorgeous sunrise on the beach if you’re an early riser, or enjoy a Cape Coral sunset out on the water. Whether you’re more interested in freshwater or saltwater fishing, there are countless inviting spots where you can enjoy the entire day. Cape Coral offers many different types of fish, including “unwelcome guests” such as catfish or stingrays. Be careful with both of these, as the sting from a catfish’s back fin can leave a nasty wound, and the same goes for the stingrays’ tail. There are naturally also many interesting creatures that get reeled in now and then, such as different species of sharks. Sharks may not be the most desirable fish to eat, however, they are very popular for catch-and-release sport fishing.

Ever-popular salt-water fish are snapper, grouper, trout, and snook, among others, and the local freshwaters hold many kinds of bass. You can buy many accessories in local stores like Walmart, Dicks, Basspro, or one of the many small bait shops – all carry equipment of varying quality and price, from complete gear to test in Cape Coral to high-end rods and reels. Most of them also carry bait of different kinds, such as frozen fish like mullet and sardines, or squid. Many of this small bait and tackle shops carry live bait like shrimp ($3.00 a dozen) and live small fish, for example, pinfish ($1.00 each). as well as a wide range of artificial bait – often they’ll have entire walls of it in various shapes, sizes and colors.

In freshwater, you can also naturally fall back on old methods like corn or dough. With a little Internet research, you’ll easily find a suitable bait.

Fishing licenses, as they are known in other countries, are not required in Florida, but you will need to obtain a license for the area where you would like to fish. You can apply for a license online at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website, or in one of the many tax collector offices. Just ask at a bait and tackle shop.

If you’ve never fished before and want to give it a try in Cape Coral without having to buy the necessary equipment right away, we can find you a guide for inshore fishing, or an experienced guide for a tour of Pine Island Sound. You may be asked to leave a security deposit for the rental equipment. Just remember to ask about this before your arrival.