Tidal water has no streamflow gauge. Tide predictions, water level and water temperature from the nearest NOAA stations are in the readings below.
Matlacha Pass is a saltwater flats in Florida, listed as Agency-named saltwater fishing water by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission lists 12 species, including black drum, cobia and gulf flounder. 15 guides and 4 shops nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Boca Grande & Charlotte Harbor.
Matlacha Pass is a saltwater flats in Florida. Our destination hub Boca Grande & Charlotte Harbor is 15 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of Matlacha Pass: gauges, shops and guides
Map of Matlacha Pass, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.
Restrooms within 2 miles of Matlacha Pass in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
Map of 2 restrooms near Matlacha Pass
Skip the map; every place is in the list belowMap of 2 restrooms near Matlacha Pass, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.
Run by Lee County Parks & Recreation Department (as mapped)
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.
Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Pine Island SoundA beach in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park. Photo: olekinderhook, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Pine Island Sound.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Tarpon BayFly fishing on a flat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Photo: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Tarpon Bay.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Charlotte HarborBiscayne Bay in Biscayne National Park, Florida. Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Charlotte Harbor.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Boca Grande PassSand flats in Florida Bay off the Flamingo visitor center, Everglades National Park. Photo: NPS / Everglades National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Boca Grande Pass.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Gasparilla SoundThe May River looking east from the Calhoun Street dock, Bluffton, South Carolina. Photo: Townofbluffton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Gasparilla Sound.
Florida · about 17 mi
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Estero BayThe Ashley River at sunset from Brittlebank Park, Charleston, South Carolina. Photo: Ianmccor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Estero Bay.
Florida · about 19 mi
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout, saltwater.
On the Where to Saltwater Fish (FWC popular saltwater fishing locations by county) list (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, read 2026-10-24). All waters with this designation
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
St James City, FL · 9 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons
Nearby
Punta Gorda, FL · 10 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons
Nearby
Fort Myers, FL · 10 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons
Nearby
Captiva, FL · 10 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons
Nearby
Boca Grande, FL · 15 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons
Nearby
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Tarpon, plate from Hugh M. Smith's The Fishes of North Carolina (1907). Photo: Hugh McCormick Smith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Red drum or redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA). Photo: Bob Care - Florida Keys NMS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Boca Grande is the town on Gasparilla Island in Lee County; Boca Grande Pass at the island's southern tip opens Charlotte Harbor to the Gulf, with Gasparilla Sound to the north and Pine Island Sound to the south.
Destination hub · 15 mi away in a straight line
Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.
At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.
Like the Matlacha Pass? Same fish, overseas.
Saltwater flatsThe west coast of Andros from the air. Photo: LBM1948, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saltwater flatsThe windward shore of southern Ambergris Caye, Belize, with the shallow water inside the reef. Photo: Asdfjrjjj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saltwater flatsMarsh on Great Abaco. Photo: Rüdiger Stehn from Kiel, Deutschland, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saltwater flatsRepresentative photo · not Bahía de la AscensiónFlorida Bay, Everglades National Park. Photo: National Park Service, Everglades National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bahía de la Ascensión.
Saltwater flatsRepresentative photo · not Bahía del Espíritu SantoThe River Etive in Glen Etive, Scottish Highlands. Photo: Alan O'Dowd, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Bahía del Espíritu Santo.
Southern seasons open while ours close.
Flagship waterPenstock Lagoon, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Freestone riverRepresentative photo · not Río PetrohuéThe Río Puelo at Las Gualas, Cochamó. Photo: Nicolás from seno de reloncaví, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Petrohué.
Lake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago LlanquihueThe Río Simpson passing Coyhaique, Aysén. Photo: Manxuc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Llanquihue.
Lake or reservoir
Flagship waterRepresentative photo · not Mataura RiverThe Oreti River near Lumsden, Southland. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Mataura River.
Flagship waterGreat Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A saltwater flats fly-fishing checklist: a 9 ft 8 weight rod, sealed-drag reel, tropical line, fluorocarbon leaders and shrimp/crab flies, plus sun protection and flats booties, with estimated prices and where to buy.
9′ rod, 8 weight, sealed-drag reel, tropical floating line · Bonefish, redfish, permit and other flats species
Open the checklistSight casting, the strip set and sun on the water.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on saltwater flats
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Matlacha Pass.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown; tides from NOAA CO-OPS. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the point for “Matlacha Pass” (channel) in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Water type is our own classification.
Tide predictions predictions for NOAA station Matlacha Pass (bascule bridge) (8725506), 1.2 miles from this water in a straight line. Times are local time at the station; heights in feet above mean lower low water.
Thu, Nov 5
Fri, Nov 6
Sat, Nov 7
Predictions are astronomical tide tables; wind and pressure move real water levels. Station predictions page
Observed Nov 5, 6:12 PM EST at Fort Myers (11.8 mi)
Checked Nov 5, 6:18 PM EST; observations refresh at most every 15 minutes and predictions daily. Conditions change: re-check before you go. This is general guidance, not a fishing forecast, a safety guarantee or a statement about access.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Pine Island SoundA beach in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park. Photo: olekinderhook, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Pine Island Sound.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Tarpon BayFly fishing on a flat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Photo: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Tarpon Bay.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Charlotte HarborBiscayne Bay in Biscayne National Park, Florida. Photo: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Charlotte Harbor.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Boca Grande PassSand flats in Florida Bay off the Flamingo visitor center, Everglades National Park. Photo: NPS / Everglades National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Boca Grande Pass.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Gasparilla SoundThe May River looking east from the Calhoun Street dock, Bluffton, South Carolina. Photo: Townofbluffton, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Gasparilla Sound.
Florida · about 17 mi
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Estero BayThe Ashley River at sunset from Brittlebank Park, Charleston, South Carolina. Photo: Ianmccor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Estero Bay.
Florida · about 19 mi
Cape Coral, Florida
Fishing lodge · 1.0 mi
Bokeelia, Florida
Fishing lodge · 6.6 mi
Captiva, Florida
River cabins · 10 mi
