Redfish fishing
in Pine Island.
Few sights match a school of redfish tailing on a winter low tide — copper backs glinting in shin-deep water, fish stacked on a flat with their noses in the grass. Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor hold redfish year-round, and the sight-fishing here is as good as it gets in Florida.
Redfish fishing in Pine Island, Florida is a year-round sight-fishing game on shallow flats — often in under a foot of water. The peak runs late summer through winter, when tailing fish on low tide and fall schools of bull reds push into Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor. Fly anglers use an 8-weight with crab and shrimp patterns. RescueFly Charters poles the flats from a 2026 Beavertail Mosquito skiff out of Pine Island, FL.
Updated April 2026 · Captain Stuart Behrens
Redfish on the fly.
An 8-weight is all you need. We pole shallow flats — often a foot of water or less — and look for tails, wakes, and that copper flash. The presentation matters more than the fly: lead the fish, drop it soft, and let them eat. Crab and shrimp patterns are the workhorses.
Why Pine Island for reds?
Pine Island Sound is one of the most productive shallow-water flats fisheries on the Gulf Coast. When the water is clear and the grass is healthy, spotting fish is the easy part. The hard part is making the cast.
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 Pine Island.
- What's the best time of year for redfish?
- Late summer through winter is hard to beat — fall brings bull reds pushing into the bays in big schools, and winter low tides give you the textbook tailing fish. That said, we can find a redfish any month of the year.
- How shallow do we fish?
- Often eight to eighteen inches of water. The Mosquito skiff is built for it — we get into water that boats with bigger draft simply can't.
- How big do redfish get here?
- Slot fish (18–27 inches) are common. Bull reds over 36 inches are caught every fall in Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor.
Other species we chase in Pine Island.
Chase reds at these locations too.
Ready to chase reds in Pine Island?
Limited dates each season. Reach out to lock in your charter.