Book one of our Longboat Key fishing charters and you're fishing water most visitors never see from the island's own beaches: the moving water of Longboat Pass, the mangrove shoreline of Jewfish Key just inside it, and the open grass flats of Sarasota Bay beyond that. It's a short run from Longboat Key to our dock in Holmes Beach, and once you're aboard we're working the same pass and flats where snook, redfish, and sea trout are holding right now. Snook season just reopened here, which makes this a good week to book.
The Water Between the Bay and the Gulf
Longboat Key sits between Sarasota Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, and that in-between geography is what makes it good fishing water. Longboat Pass, at the island's north end, is one of the more reliable spots on this stretch of coast for moving water and feeding fish — tide runs hard through there on a good push, and bait gets pinned against the sand on the outside edge. Just inside the pass, the mangrove shoreline of Jewfish Key holds fish tight to the roots, especially early and late in the day.
From there the water opens into the grass flats of Sarasota Bay, where sight-fishing takes over once the sun gets up. Beer Can Island marks the north tip of the key, right where the pass meets open Gulf water. We move between the pass, the mangroves, and the flats in whatever order the tide dictates that morning — not a fixed script.
What's Biting Right Now
Snook are legal again. The Sarasota Bay region's harvest season reopened September 1 and runs through the end of November, and the slot is 28 to 33 inches, one fish per person per day, so a fish that's been catch-and-release-only all summer on the Longboat Pass edges and the Jewfish Key mangroves is finally coming home with the right client on the right day.
Redfish don't take a break here — the season's open year-round, and the slot runs 18 to 27 inches, one fish per person with a two-fish vessel limit, same as it's been all year. They tail the Sarasota Bay flats behind Jewfish Key on a rising tide and hold tight to the mangrove roots on a falling one, and right now that pattern's about as reliable as this water gets.
Sea trout are mixed in on the same flats, usually sitting a little deeper over the grass once the tide slows. The slot there runs 15 to 19 inches, with one fish over 19 inches allowed per person, and the daily limit is three fish per person — regulations worth double-checking before you keep one, since seasons and limits change.
We fish the pass with live bait on a moving tide — pilchards or greenbacks under a popping cork account for most of the snook and redfish working the current seams. Inside on the flats, it's more sight-fishing: a weedless soft plastic worked slow past a mangrove point, or a live shrimp free-lined over grass for the trout.
Longboat Key Fishing Charters: Getting to the Boat
Every Longboat Key trip leaves from the same dock, 6398 Marina Way in Holmes Beach, next to the Kingfish Boat Ramp. It's a short pull north up Gulf of Mexico Drive across the neighboring barrier islands, usually 20 to 30 minutes depending on where you're starting from on the Key. From there we run an inshore fishing charter into the pass, the mangroves, and the Sarasota Bay flats, with four-hour, six-hour, and full-day trips depending on how much time you've got.
If snook, redfish, and sea trout on light tackle sounds like your kind of morning, book a Longboat Key trip while the fall bite's building. Call or book online and we'll plan the day around the tide, not the clock.
Ready for a day like this on the water? Book an Anna Maria Island fishing charter with Captain David White or compare our guided trip options — trips run year-round from Holmes Beach.
