The fish must be biting in and around Fort Myer and Cape Coral because those two cities are considered two of the best fishing spots in Florida.
This is according to a new study by FishingBooker, the leading site for booking fishing trips in the US.
The study ranked the top fishing spots in each state in the U.S. based on six criteria derived from FishingBooker’s internal data, gathered from over one hundred thousand fishing trips in the past year.
In Florida, 202 towns were ranked according to their score from 1 to 10 in six different categories.
Destin took the top spot with 59 points out of 60, followed by Panama City Beach (53 points), St. Petersburg and Islamorada (51 points each).
More: 15 fishing captains in Lee County are among the best in the world
Cape Coral got 42 points (ninth), with full marks in Average Review Score and Average Recommended Score and Fort Myers (13th) received 41 points, also with the maximum score in Average Review Score and Average Recommended Score.
A little further south in Collier County, Naples received 43 out of a total possible score of 60 points for a No. 8 ranking.
The top 15 fishing spots in Florida are:
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Destin
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Panama City Beach
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St. Petersburg
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Islamorada
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Key West
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St. Augustine
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Marathon
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Naples
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Cape Coral
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Crystal River
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Pensacola
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Key Largo
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Fort Myers
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Sarasota
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Fort Lauderdale
Best fishing towns in Florida: Methodology
FishingBooker’s extensive research of the US’s fishing opportunities yielded 6 different ranking criteria, based on FishingBooker’s internal data from over a hundred thousand fishing trips and connected reviews and reports. The criteria are:
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Number of available fishing charters
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Average review score
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Average recommended score
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Number of guides with the Angler’s Choice Award
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Number of bookings
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Minimum price of a fishing trip
A requirement was that at least one booking was made in the location in the past year, and all of the above criteria were taken from data for the past year alone.
Once the criteria were established, the scores were calculated and summed up, and we got the ultimate list of the best places in each US state, with their fishing potential ranked from best to worst.
For more background on methodology, the exact criteria used, as well as the complete list of the best fishing town in each state, see this article.
To support your coverage, you can find photos from fishing charters in Florida’s top 12 towns, as well as an overview of the scores that each of the 202 ranked Florida towns received, in this Dropbox folder.
FishingBooker: What to know
FishingBooker is the world’s largest platform for connecting anglers and fishing guides, with over 47,000 fishing trips available in more than 2,200 destinations worldwide. FishingBooker makes fishing trips easy since 2013.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Where are the best places to fish in Florida
