Learn more about the deep sea fishing in the Sanibel / Captiva Islands area.
Fishing for Pelagic Fish
What are Pelagic Fish?
Pelagic fish get their name from the area that they inhabit called the pelagic zone. The pelagic zone is the largest habitat on earth with a volume of 330 million cubic miles. Different species of pelagic fish are found throughout this zone. Numbers and distributions vary regionally and vertically, depending on availability of light, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, and pressure.
While there are some anglers willing to go 100 miles out or so to target pelagic species such as sailfish, marlin, tuna, wahoo and mahi mahi, most anglers will not be doing these types of trips. The majority of anglers fishing offshore in this area will be fishing the reefs and wrecks much closer to shore.
Bottom Fishing
Reefs & Wrecks
There plenty of offshore structure in the offshore waters near Sanibel / Captiva Islands. You will also find a lot of fishing charters that fish the reefs and wrecks offshore out of Sanibel Island. Some of the types of fish you may be targeting on the reefs and wrecks are snapper, grouper, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, amberjack, cobia, sharks, hogfish, tripletail, jack crevalle, barracuda and more.
Artificial Reef Locations
Visit the reef locations on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.
