Redfish fishing
in Fort Myers Beach.
Estero Bay is a redfish playground. The oyster-bar network alone spans thousands of acres — hard bottom ridges holding crabs, shrimp, and pinfish exactly where redfish ambush them. Add turtle-grass flats between the bars and sandy potholes along the edges, and you have the complete habitat package. The fall bull-red schools here can churn the water white as they push across the flats.
Redfish fishing in Fort Myers Beach, Florida centers on Estero Bay — a sprawling shallow estuary behind Estero Island, dense with oyster bars and seagrass flats. Peak runs late summer through winter, with fall bull-red schools pushing through on moving tides. Fly anglers use an 8-weight with crab and shrimp patterns; the oyster structure rewards accurate casting. RescueFly Charters poles Estero Bay from a shallow-draft skiff.
Updated April 2026 · Captain Stuart Behrens
Redfish on the fly.
We pole the oyster-bar edges and seagrass flats looking for tails, wakes, and the bronze flash. The oyster structure is shallow and unforgiving to prop-wash — we fish it silently. Crab patterns near the bar edges, shrimp patterns on the grass flats. For fall schoolers, we lead the pod, drop the fly ahead of them, and strip just enough to get noticed. Spin anglers run weedless spoons through the grass and bouncing jigs along the bar edges.
Why Fort Myers Beach for reds?
Estero Bay has been designated a Florida Aquatic Preserve since 1966 — nearly sixty years of protection have built an ecosystem most redfish fisheries would envy. Oyster bars thrive, seagrass beds are healthy, and the nursery function of the bay has produced generations of fish. The fall schooling here is reliable and dramatic: schools of 30 to 100 bull reds churning across the grass, visible from a long way off.
Redfish in Florida have an 18–27 inch slot limit and a one-fish daily bag with seasonal closures on the Gulf Coast. RescueFly Charters runs primarily catch-and-release for reds — we release bull reds (36+ inches) every fall.
Current rules: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission →
About redfish fishing in Fort Myers Beach.
- Is Estero Bay good for redfish?
- One of the best bay systems on the Gulf Coast for reds. The oyster-bar network, seagrass flats, and fall schooling behavior all produce year-round. The aquatic-preserve protection has kept the habitat exceptional.
- When is the Fort Myers Beach redfish school run?
- Mid-September through November — cool fronts trigger schooling, and by October the bay holds schools of 30 to 100 bull reds moving across the flats. Dramatic fishing, and some of the biggest bodies of the year are catchable in shallow water.
- Can we fish oyster bars safely?
- On a skiff built for it, yes. Our Beavertail Mosquito has the draft to pole within a rod's length of most oyster structure. We don't run over them — we pole. That's how you protect the boat and the fishery both.
Other species we chase in Fort Myers Beach.
Chase reds at these locations too.
Ready to chase reds in Fort Myers Beach?
Limited dates each season. Reach out to lock in your charter.