My wife and I usually spend a couple of months in the winter in Naples, Florida. When I get tired of playing pickleball, I turn my attention to kayaking on Naples Bay which is less than a mile from where we stay. I usually rent from Bayshore Rentals https://www.bayfrontrentalsnaples.com/
I wandered over one afternoon and the dockhand was on his lunchbreak. He suggested I try https://www.extremefamilyfunspot.com/ which was only a block away. The folks at Extreme Family Fun Spot were helpful but their rentals end at 4:30PM and you have to stay north of Tamiami Trail bridge. This gave me close to 2 hours which was fine by me. I like to explore around the Bay and try to catch something for dinner. I kayaked in Naples Bay a couple of times in 2025 but I have yet to bring home any fish. I had a clear sky and temperature was in the upper 70s. When I go fishing on Napoles Bay I always stop and get live shrimp from Serenity Bait Company where the staff is super helpful.
There are quite a number of condos lining Naples Bay. On the right below is a shot of the Tamiami Trail Bridge which is the first spot I hit in search of fish. I made a few casts with no luck.
Rock Creek empties into Naples Bay about a quarter mile from where I put in. There are a number of oyster beds in this area where I have had good luck catching small fish in the past. I paddled over and caught a couple of small mangrove snapper and a small snook. Mangrove snapper are very common but snook are pretty rare so it was a treat to see a snook in this area.
This is a view from the mouth of Rock Creek looking toward my put in spot. Not a cloud in the sky.
This will probably be my shortest paddle trip of 2026 but it was a fun time. I caught a few fish but nothing to bring home. Rock Creek is a fun area to explore.