Pine Island Sound

Fly and Light Tackle Fishing
Pine Island Sound offers the angler a chance to fish some of the most wide open extensive turtle grass flats in southwest Florida. It is a huge estuary that receives its fresh water flow from the Caloosahatchee River. It contains many mangrove islands as well as an eastern shoreline that includes17 miles of basically unspoiled mangrove habitat that holds numbers of tidal creeks. It is however, the extensive shallow flats loaded with healthy turtle grass that makes Pine Island Sound so special. In part, it’s the clean Gulf water that flows into the Sound from three separate passes, Boca Grande, Redfish, and Captiva Passes that make this such a healthy estuary. Also, from Redfish Pass to the south to Boca Grande Pass to the north, the spectacular beaches of Sanibel, Captiva, and Cayo Costa are within easy reach on any excursion. These beaches are some of the best anywhere for collecting shells of all kinds.

Because of the clear water and healthy habitat, Pine Island Sound is my favorite place to sight fish redfish. I particularly like the incoming tide when the fish will move onto flats that were previously unreachable to dig and root into the soft mud looking for an easy meal. Many times, we find them tailing under these conditions and a light tackle spinning outfit matched with small diameter braided line and fluorocarbon leader rigged with a soft plastic jerk bait make a great presentation. For fly fishing, a seven or eight weight rigged with a floating line and fluorocarbon leader and small crab imitation work real well.