Nearby buoys
2026-10-19 13:35 UTC · NOAA NDBC 42013
2026-10-19 13:35 UTC · NOAA NDBC 42022
2026-10-19 12:35 UTC · NOAA NDBC 42023
2026-10-19 13:35 UTC · NOAA NDBC 42026
2026-10-19 14:30 UTC · NOAA NDBC 42098
Latest NOAA NDBC observations. Satellite and in water readings may differ.
Fishing Cape Coral / Fort Myers
Cape Coral and Fort Myers look out on the southwest Florida shelf, and this is a gentler, shallower piece of water than the deep drop offs on the Atlantic side. The Gulf shelf here is broad and the bottom slopes away gradually, so the deep water is a long way out and the inshore and nearshore fishing carries a lot of the weight. The temperature and color story is driven less by a close in current edge and more by how the broad shelf water warms, cools and clears, and by the passes and the river outflow that color the nearshore water.
On this coast, reading the water is about finding the breaks and the clean water over the hard bottom and the artificial reefs that dot the shelf. Southwest Florida has a lot of scattered live bottom, ledges and wrecks, and those spots hold bait when the water over them is right. A temperature edge or a change from dirty nearshore water to cleaner green or blue water offshore, sitting over that hard bottom, is the kind of feature that concentrates fish. Pairing the SST and chlorophyll layers with the depth contours helps you line up the clean water with the structure instead of running flat, featureless bottom.
River outflow and the passes matter here. After heavy rain or a strong outflow, the nearshore water can turn tannic and off color, and the edge where that dirtier water meets cleaner Gulf water becomes a feature worth watching. The chlorophyll layer is particularly useful for seeing where that clean water line is sitting.
Seasonally, crews here typically target a mix. Farther offshore over the hard bottom and wrecks, anglers work for grouper, snapper and other bottom fish on their seasons. Pelagics like kingfish, Spanish mackerel and cobia move along the nearshore and over the structure on their runs, and tarpon are a famous warm season target around the passes and the beaches. Nothing is guaranteed. Seasons, runs and regulations change every year, so always check current rules.
The habit that pays is to read where the clean water and the temperature edge are sitting relative to the hard bottom and the wrecks, and plan a run that puts you on the structure with the right water over it.
What you get with ReelTemps
- Sea surface temperatureFind the temperature break
- Chlorophyll-aSpot the green-to-blue color seam
- Composite & single passBlended picture or the freshest overpass
- CompareTemperature and color side by side
- Depth readoutFathoms and feet on hover, tap or mark
- Currents & buoysSee the water move and ground-truth it
- Route, ruler & waypointsPlan the run and save your spots
From the water
I've tried every temp map out there and they all feel like they were built ten years ago. I'm not exactly a tech guy, but this one actually makes sense the second you open it. First time using it, I marked a break in about 30 seconds the night before and boated bluefin right on it the next morning.
Used to burn half a tank driving around looking for color change or a solid temp break. Now I check ReelTemps before I leave the dock and I know exactly where I'm going. Less time driving around guessing, more time with lines in the water.
Albacore season used to mean a couple hours of homework the night before and just hoping it held up. Now I do most of my research that morning and pull it up on my phone if things change once we're out there. Makes calling an audible a lot easier.