Fort Myers Boat Ramps for Fishing Access

Fort Myers gives you two very different ways onto the water: Davis Boat Ramp for a trailered boat into the Caloosahatchee system, and the paddlecraft launches and piers at Bunche Beach Preserve on San Carlos Bay if you’re fishing from a kayak or from land.

Davis Boat Ramp

Davis Boat Ramp, at 2227 Davis Blvd. in Fort Myers, is open dawn to dusk with a $5 per day parking fee; Lee County’s annual parks and recreation parking pass is accepted here in place of the daily rate. It’s a community ramp with vehicle and trailer parking, ADA-accessible facilities, and a paddlecraft landing and launch alongside the main ramp. No overnight mooring or parking is permitted. Saltwater fishing from shore requires a Florida license, with no fee for residents.

Bunche Beach Preserve, if you’re not trailering a boat

San Carlos Bay–Bunche Beach Preserve, at 18201 John Morris Rd., is open dawn to dusk daily with a $2 per hour parking fee (an annual pass is also accepted), and space for roughly 100 vehicles. It has two wildlife-viewing and fishing piers plus two designated paddlecraft launches; outfitters launching from the preserve pay an on-site vendor $5 per vessel. The preserve connects to the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail, and a 310-foot boardwalk runs out over the flats. There’s no running water (composting restrooms only) and pets aren’t allowed on site.

What’s out there

The Caloosahatchee system out of Davis Boat Ramp puts you within reach of the river, San Carlos Bay and, with enough run time, Pine Island Sound. Snook and redfish hold on seawalls, mangrove points and grass edges throughout, with mangrove snapper stacked around any piling or dock. From Bunche Beach’s flats and piers, seatrout, redfish and snook are realistic over the grass, with sheepshead working the pilings. Our snook and redfish guides cover tackle and technique for both.

For a broader list of official Lee County boat ramps, the county maintains an interactive boat ramp map alongside its Parks & Recreation site; check that or the Park Finder tool for anything not covered here, since a full county-wide ramp inventory wasn’t independently confirmed for this guide.

Fishing the tide, not the clock

Neither ramp puts you on a fishery that rewards showing up whenever it’s convenient. The Caloosahatchee and San Carlos Bay both move with the tide, and snook, redfish and trout key on that movement more than they key on time of day. A falling tide pulls bait off the flats around Bunche Beach and concentrates it at the piers and creek mouths, which is when the wildlife-viewing piers there tend to produce. Out of Davis Boat Ramp, the same logic applies to any dock light or seawall you fish after dark: current delivers the bait, and slack water is usually the slowest hour of the trip regardless of which spot you picked.

Bring a stouter leader than you think you need at either location. Both put you around barnacle-covered structure, whether it’s a seawall along the Caloosahatchee or the pilings under Bunche Beach’s piers, and light leader gets cut on the first good run. Cape Coral’s canal system sits just across the river if the Fort Myers side isn’t producing; our Cape Coral canal fishing guide covers that access.

Which one to pick

If you’re trailering a boat, Davis Boat Ramp is the straightforward choice and the cheaper one for a full day on the water at $5. If you don’t own a boat or don’t want to deal with a ramp, Bunche Beach gets you fishing directly from the piers and flats for a fraction of that, at $2 an hour, and it’s the better pick if you’re bringing kids or want a shorter trip without committing to a full launch.

Before you go

A Florida saltwater fishing license is required whether you launch a boat at Davis or fish from Bunche Beach’s piers and flats. Our fishing license guide covers who’s exempt, and the regulations page has current season and size limits for snook, redfish and trout before you decide what to keep.