About Naples
Offshore fishing out of Naples starts in Naples Bay, which opens to the Gulf through Gordon Pass. The pass is a dredged channel, and the bay runs about 2.5 miles north to the U.S. 41 bridge. Boats from the bay fish artificial reefs and wrecks in the eastern Gulf.
The season runs year-round. Offshore anglers target grouper, snapper, kingfish, cobia, permit and amberjack.
This guide covers launch options, how the pass tends to behave, and what the reefs offer by season. The same questions apply if you are comparing other Florida ports.
Access and navigation
Every run offshore from Naples starts in the bay. Three public facilities serve boaters:
- Naples Landing Park and Public Boat Launch – City of Naples public launch on Naples Bay.
- Naples City Dock – City marina with fuel listed, just west of marker Red 36.
- Port-O-Call Marina – Marina on Naples Bay.
Gordon Pass is a dredged channel marked by a buoy, lights and daybeacons. The microwave tower, water tanks and hotels at Naples are visible from offshore and make useful landmarks for the trip home. The NOAA Coast Pilot 5 chapter covers the channel in detail.
No-wake limits apply in Gordon Pass between Daybeacons 7 and 10, and in Naples Bay between Daybeacon 29 and the U.S. 41 bridge.
Ebb current through Gordon Pass tends to run strong, and an ebb tide against a west or southwest wind can stand the entrance up. Passes along this coast shift and fill, and their mouths can be hard to pick out until you are close to shore.
Doctors Pass lies to the north, within Naples. It tends to be narrower and shallower than Gordon Pass and can shift, but it is the alternative approach.
For observed conditions, read NDBC station NPSF1 at Naples. For the forecast, use the NWS marine forecast zone GMZ656, which covers Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach out 20 NM. The buoy reports conditions at one point, while the forecast covers the wider area.
From fall through spring, cold fronts occasionally reach these waters with strong, gusty winds. Winds of 28 knots or more occur about 2 to 3 percent of the time off Fort Myers.
When you reach the bay, check the water and the GMZ656 forecast. If the pass looks bigger than you want, switch approaches.
Fishing conditions
The named offshore grounds here are Collier County artificial reefs and wrecks. Hard bottom and reefs hold red grouper. The Collier County artificial reef list gives the official names and depths.
The grounds you can work from the pass:
- Gordon Pass 5 Mile reef: reef, 26 ft
- Keewaydin 3 Mile reef: reef, 27 ft
- Wasmer Reef: reef, 40 ft
- Tod Sirod Reef: reef, 40 ft
- Jackson’s Fish Camp Memorial Reef: reef
- Foote Family Reef: reef
- Kidd Wreck: wreck
- R Tower: reef
- Dollar Bay: other
State waters on the Gulf run to 9 nautical miles, with federal waters beyond. A Florida saltwater fishing license is required. The State Reef Fish Angler designation is free, and anglers 16 and older on a private vessel need it to harvest gag grouper, red grouper, red snapper and amberjack, among others. Check the FWC saltwater recreational rules before fishing.
Winter
Grouper, including gag, plus kingfish and wahoo, are the winter targets. Grouper sit on the reefs and wrecks, while kingfish and wahoo run as pelagics around structure.
FWC publishes whether the gag grouper season is open. Cold fronts bring strong, gusty wind from fall through spring, so check GMZ656 before you run.
Spring
Spring brings cobia, permit, snapper, gag, wahoo and mahi-mahi. Tarpon show nearshore.
Permit and snapper hold on wrecks and reefs. Pelagics such as Spanish mackerel can show up on the shallower Collier reefs, at 26 to 27 ft.
Summer
Summer offshore fishing runs to snapper, red snapper, sharks, mahi-mahi and permit, on the reefs and wrecks. Red snapper seasons change by quota, so confirm what is open with FWC.
Autumn
Autumn brings cobia, kingfish, red snapper and mahi-mahi. Kingfish return in the fall, and how Gulf kings move can help you decide where to start. For cobia in the Gulf, the same reefs and wrecks hold fish, and Spanish mackerel on Gulf reefs round out the shallow-water options.
Red snapper follows the FWC season, and fronts start reaching these waters in fall.
