Although convenient to roads, Estero Bay is virtually surrounded by a buffer of mangroves.

Take time during your first few trips to Estero to learn the waters before charging around the bay on plane, even in the shallowest-draft boat. Bring a pushpole if you own one, and pay attention to the tides. The safest bet is to navigate the bay via the marked channels, then idle, drift, or pole to your fishing spots. The bay is small enough that you won’t get an Olympic workout pushing yourself around, and the scenery is great.

While there are definite signs of development around Estero, the bay remains much the same as it looked hundreds of years ago when the Calusa Indians called the area home. Large groups of mangrove islands in the northern part of the bay can be fished all day without seeing another boat. The variety of habitat found throughout Estero Bay means good fishing for sheepshead, trout, snook and redfish. In fact, the Bay provides a year-round home for redfish, although their behavior changes with the seasons.

Estero Bay redfish are heavily influenced by tide and water temperature. To catch reds all year, anglers must vary their approach based upon the prevailing conditions. As a result, each season brings with it a different approach to redfishing to take advantage of the opportunities nature provides.

After fattening up during the fall, Estero Bay redfish slow down in the wintertime and can be a tremendous challenge to take on artificials. The cool water and ever-passing cold fronts make live bait a must for consistent success. Fortunately, winter shrimp are large, plentiful, and a redfish favorite. While a popping cork or tipped jig are producers, the cool weather often leads to clear water sightfishing opportunities. Try the flats along the eastern shore south of Coconut Point. With just a shrimp on a hook I look for fish on the latter part of the falling tide or the first part of the incoming, searching the flats where warmer water beckons the fish. Cooler water slows the bite some, but the payoff is more energetic fish that thrash and fight hard all the way to the boat, only to run again at the first sight of the hull.

Springtime brings warmer water and light winds to Estero Bay, which makes for great artificial lure conditions. While a gold spoon remains a reliable producer, redfish will slam darker jig patterns and many small minnow lures. The key is to work mangrove shorelines north of Coconut Point on the eastern shoreline at high water, and the oyster mounds a mile south of Coconut Point located 150 yards from shore around the lows. Flats fishing with artificials is hit and miss, with jigs being your best bet. Fly fishing becomes more practical so long as the winds stay low, with shrimp and crab patterns favored.

Summer in Estero Bay is mangrove time, with the best fishing reserved for the higher half of the tide along the entire eastern shore of the Bay. Live bait is plentiful for cast netters, and shrimp, though small, can be found at most marinas. Whatever live bait is available, I prefer to hang it under a 2-inch weighted popping cork. The weight gives me a more consistent feel, which helps with the pinpoint accuracy required along the mangroves. Mangrove fishing in Estero Bay is not for the timid angler, as you must get the bait close to (read underneath) the mangroves to take advantage of the cooler conditions provided by the shade. “If you don’t end up in the trees once in a while, you’re not getting close enough” is the phrase that pays, and experienced anglers can often flip their stranded shrimp and cork out of the mangroves without having to pole all the way to the shoreline in face of the inevitable comments from fellow boat-mates. But the ribbing doesn’t usually go too far because the next time...well, you know how the story goes.

FS