Estero Bay was Florida’s first aquatic preserve, and it gives you two very different ways to fish it: the boardwalks and back bay at Lovers Key State Park in Bonita, and the Estero River boat ramp and kayak launch at Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero.
Lovers Key is open 8 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year. Beach and back-bay access run through elevated boardwalks from two pedestrian entry points: a 1,000-foot Mid-Beach Access and a half-mile South Beach Bridge Access, both from Parking Lot #1. Trout, redfish, snook and tarpon are all listed as catchable from the park, and castnetting for mullet is a popular activity on the bay side. Matt’s Beach Shack rents kayaks, paddleboards and fishing equipment on site, though there’s no bait shop or food service in the park. The back-bay estuaries also draw bottlenose dolphin and manatee, so expect wildlife sharing the water with you.
Koreshan State Historic Site, run by the state park system and described on the Village of Estero’s own site, has a boat ramp on the Estero River in addition to camping and fishing. The Ranger Station, at 3800 Corkscrew Road, rents kayaks with no reservation required: single kayaks run $10 for the first hour and $5 each additional hour, tandems $15 first hour and $10 each additional hour. Guided kayak tours up the Estero River or out to Mound Key are also bookable through the park’s programming. The river runs down into Estero Bay, giving a kayak launch here a direct paddle route to the same water Lovers Key’s back bay opens onto from the other side.
The back bay at Lovers Key and the Estero River corridor down into Estero Bay hold the same core species: snook and redfish tight to mangrove shorelines and grass edges, trout over open grass flats, and tarpon seasonally where the bay meets deeper channels. Our snook, redfish and tarpon guides cover tackle and timing for all three.
Lovers Key’s back bay is mostly reachable on foot from the boardwalks, which makes it the simpler option if you don’t want to deal with a kayak. Wade the grass flats slowly and cast ahead of yourself rather than pushing straight through water you haven’t fished yet; trout and redfish spook off a heavy footstep well before you’d see them. The Estero River corridor out of Koreshan is a different kind of trip, better suited to a kayak or canoe since the river itself isn’t a wading spot, and it rewards covering more ground to find mangrove points and creek mouths holding fish.
Either way, plan around the tide rather than the clock. A falling tide pulls bait off the Lovers Key flats and concentrates it at creek mouths and channel edges, and the same water that looks empty at high slack can be loaded with mullet, and the snook and redfish following them, two hours later.
Lovers Key is the simpler choice if you want to fish for an hour or two without renting gear or committing to a paddle, since the boardwalks get you to the water on foot. Koreshan and the Estero River suit a longer trip, especially if you want to cover more water or explore toward Mound Key. Both feed the same bay, so neither is the wrong choice; it comes down to how much time and gear you want to bring.
A Florida fishing license is required at both locations; confirm whether Lovers Key sells one on site or bring your own, since the park doesn’t run a bait shop. Standard state park vehicle entrance fees apply at both Lovers Key and Koreshan. See our fishing license guide for exemptions and our regulations page for current season and size limits on everything you’re likely to catch in Estero Bay.