Roberts Bay (Venice), Lyons Bay and Dona Bay

Bay in Sarasota inshore waters

Draft - not published. This page is only shown while developing. It stays off the live site until its status is changed to published.

InshoreUpdated October 11, 2026

Depth
0.3-11 ft
Access
By boat or from shore
Best months
April to November
Species
Snook, Redfish (red drum), Sheepshead, Spotted seatrout, Mangrove (gray) snapper, Flounder, Black drum, Tarpon

Inside Venice Inlet the water branches north to Lyons and Blackburn bays and east to Venice's Roberts Bay and Dona Bay (Shakett Creek). These bays sit just beyond the water district's Sarasota Bay boundary but inside FWC's Sarasota Bay fishing region. FWC lists six small bay-ball reefs from the Roberts Bay Revitalization Initiative, placed in Venice's Roberts Bay in August 2024 in 3 to 5 feet. Higel Marine Park (four lanes) and Venice Marina Park (two lanes) are the main ramps, and NOAA charts the Intracoastal bascules near Venice Marina Park at about 30 feet of closed clearance.

How to fish it

Work the docks and mangrove shores of Roberts and Dona bays for redfish and trout, and fish the new Roberts Bay reef balls for sheepshead and snapper. Snook come up to the inlet side in summer.

Watch out for: Lyons and Dona bays, Venice Inlet, Blackburn Bay south of Intracoastal marker 13, and Shakett, Fox and Salt creeks are year-round slow-speed zones. Venice's Roberts Bay is slow speed too, apart from a 25 mph channel corridor and a 35 mph area east of marker 12.
Rules here: FWC's Sarasota Bay region. The line to the Charlotte Harbor region is at 27°04.727' N, near the Venice Municipal Airport, about 2 miles south of the inlet. The rules to check in Sarasota inshore waters

Wind and waves

Now and the next 48 hours, at one of the marked positions of Roberts Bay (Venice), Lyons Bay and Dona Bay (N27° 07.289' W082° 26.989')

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On the map

Roberts Bay (Venice), Lyons Bay and Dona Bay and the places around it

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Positions

  • N27° 06.665' W082° 27.052'27.111078, -82.450869
  • N27° 07.289' W082° 26.989'27.121491, -82.449819

Not for navigation: check it against a current chart before you rely on it.

Places nearby

The closest named places, as the crow flies

Check the rules before you keep a fish. Size limits, bag limits and seasons change, sometimes at short notice. Our "Can you keep it today?" lists give them as of the day we last checked; these are the official pages.