At 26° 2.029' N, 81° 58.585' W, under about 40 feet of Gulf water, lie 59 concrete pilings that used to hold up the Naples Pier. Collier County's reef register lists the site as "Wasmer Naples Pier Reef," with 15 feet of relief above the sand. If you keep a boat behind a Port Royal home, the old pier is now a run down Naples Bay, out through Gordon Pass and roughly ten miles offshore. It's closer by water this winter than the new pier is by foot, because the new one stays fenced off until next summer.
The Pier at 12th Avenue South Is Still a Work Site
The rebuild is moving quickly, and it still has months to go. According to the City of Naples project page, contractor Shoreline Foundation Inc. drove the last of 193 reinforced-concrete pilings on October 7, 2026. That came a few weeks after the mid-pavilion concrete pour on September 18 pushed the project past half of its total concrete. Structural work should be finished in early 2027. After that, crews will lay the ipe decking, and the City still says the pier is on schedule to reopen in July 2027.
So the pier will be closed for the whole 2026–27 season. That closure covers the stairs, restrooms, showers and 12th Avenue South west of Gulf Shore Boulevard South. Only the western third of the pier parking lot is open to the public. The City has set up pedestrian bypasses at the Broad Avenue South and 13th Avenue South beach ends, and both have restrooms.
The new pier will also differ from the one you remember. State and federal rules ruled out rebuilding the old mid-pier concession, so City Council approved portable food and beverage carts at the mid-pavilion and a small Naples Police and Beach Patrol substation. The new pilings are 18 inches square, up from 14, and the deck will sit three feet higher above the water. The structure people walked on for years didn't go to a landfill, though. Much of it went offshore.
Where the Old Pier Went
On April 24, 2026, the City, Shoreline Foundation and the marine engineering firm Turrell, Hall & Associates sank the 59 pilings at Wasmer Reef, WINK News reported. It was the eighth reef built at the Wasmer site, and the work ran under a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. Pilings that didn't go to the reef went to a recycling facility, where they'll become recycled concrete aggregate for road construction.
The pilings joined a reef that was more than ten years old. Wasmer was first built in 2015 with BP oil spill grants and private donations. WINK describes it as thriving, with corals, aquatic vegetation, invertebrates, bivalves and tunicates that give food and cover to both juvenile and mature fish. Dive teams checked the site before and after the deployment. Hurricane Ian left the old pier in pieces. Its pilings have now been placed among some of the most established structure off the Naples coast.
The Wasmer Site, Entry by Entry
The county register shows how the reef grew. Most of the material went down over about five weeks in early 2015. The 2026 pier drop is the newest entry and the farthest north.
| Register date | Entry | Material | Depth | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/09/2015 | Wasmer Reef 1-A | Concrete culverts and junction boxes | 40 ft | 26° 1.966' N, 81° 58.534' W |
| 01/14/2015 | Wasmer Reef 1-B | Concrete culverts and slabs | 40 ft | 26° 1.939' N, 81° 58.547' W |
| 01/21/2015 | Wasmer Reef 1-C | Concrete culverts and junction boxes | 41 ft | 26° 1.853' N, 81° 58.448' W |
| 01/30/2015 | Wasmer Reef 1-D | Concrete culverts and slabs | 40 ft | 26° 1.981' N, 81° 58.555' W |
| 02/04/2015 | Wasmer Reef 1-E | Concrete slabs, pilings and junction boxes | 40 ft | 26° 1.909' N, 81° 58.609' W |
| 02/09/2015 | Wasmer Reef 1-F | Concrete culverts and slabs | 40 ft | 26° 1.907' N, 81° 58.537' W |
| 10/14/2015 | Wasmer Reef Modules 2015 | Walter Marine limestone reef modules | 40 ft | 26° 1.960' N, 81° 58.561' W |
| 4/27/2026 | Wasmer Naples Pier Reef | Concrete pilings, 59 | 40 ft | 26° 2.029' N, 81° 58.585' W |
Two details in the table matter on the water. The register dates the pier entry April 27, while the City and WINK both give April 24 for the deployment. More practically, every Wasmer entry sits within about two-tenths of a minute of latitude of the others, so one trip covers the whole complex. Collier County's Coastal Zone Management Department runs the county reef program and coordinates monitoring and maintenance with the Sea Grant Extension Agent, fishing guides and local agencies.
The City's artificial reef page lists fish seen around Naples reefs in general. The list includes mangrove snapper, lane snapper, goliath grouper, amberjack, sheepshead and pinfish. That list describes the reef program as a whole, so it isn't a survey of Wasmer, but it's the right starting point for planning what to target this winter.
What the Calendar Allows Between Now and March
Some of the species on that list are closed this winter. Here's the picture from FWC and NOAA Fisheries for November 2026 through March 2027:
- Gag grouper: According to FWC's grouper regulations, Gulf state waters opened only from September 1 to 30, 2026, and are closed for the rest of the year. NOAA's federal Gulf seasons table lists a January 1 to August 31 closure.
- Greater amberjack: FWC's amberjack page shows the 2026 Gulf season ran September 1 to October 13. NOAA lists a federal closure from November 1 to July 31.
- Red grouper: FWC lists the Gulf season as open year-round. The one exception is a federal closure from February 1 to March 31 seaward of 20 fathoms, which is 120 feet. Wasmer, at about 40 feet, is far shallower than that.
- Sheepshead, hogfish and gray snapper: FWC lists all three as open year-round on its sheepshead, hogfish and snapper pages. For gray snapper, FWC lists a 10-inch minimum and 5 fish per person in state waters, and a 12-inch minimum and 10 fish per person in federal waters.
Red snapper runs on weekends. On September 23, FWC released the rest of the 2026 Gulf private recreational schedule. The open dates remaining after this week are:
- October 30 to November 1
- November 7–8, 14–15 and 21–22
- November 26–29, Thanksgiving weekend
- December 5–6, 12–13 and 19–20
- December 25–27, Christmas weekend
- January 1–4, 2027
That schedule applies to anglers on private vessels in Florida Gulf state and federal waters. It also covers for-hire boats without a federal permit, but only while they fish in Florida Gulf state waters. The release lists no dates after January 4, so for red snapper the season's last window comes right after New Year's.
The Paperwork Changes When the Fishing Moves Offshore
A pier and a boat fall under different license rules. FWC's vessel and pier license page describes a saltwater fishing pier license. When the pier's owner, operator or custodian holds one, it covers everyone fishing from that pier. FWC also offers a recreational vessel license that covers everyone fishing from that boat. FWC requires a Florida saltwater fishing license to land saltwater species in Florida, whether you caught them in state or federal waters, and a shoreline-only license isn't valid from a vessel.
Reef fish add two more FWC requirements:
- State Reef Fish Angler designation. Under FWC's State Reef Fish Survey rules, this free designation is required for anglers 16 and older targeting listed reef species from a private vessel. Those species include grouper, snapper, hogfish and greater amberjack. FWC lists exemptions, including anglers under 16, licensed for-hire trips and anglers aboard a boat with a valid recreational vessel license.
- Gear rules. For reef fishing from a vessel in Gulf state waters, FWC's gear rules require non-stainless, non-offset circle hooks with natural bait, a dehooking device, and a descending device or venting tool rigged and ready. Federal waters carry a similar set of requirements.
These summaries are general information, not legal advice, and they don't speak to anyone's particular situation. Check the current rules for your boat, your crew and the waters you plan to fish with FWC or NOAA Fisheries before you leave the dock.
Conditions as the Season Opens
The water looks good heading into November. FWC's Southwest Coast report for October 23, 2026 found no Karenia brevis, the red tide organism, in samples taken from or offshore of Collier County. Sites including Naples Pier, Vanderbilt Beach, Seagate and the Marco Island beaches were all reported "Not Present." FWC's statewide red tide page updates its sample map daily at 5 p.m., and the next weekly status report is due October 30. Check that page the morning of a trip, since conditions can change from one week to the next.
By the time the new pier opens in July 2027, the old pilings will have spent more than a year collecting growth on the bottom. You can reach them this winter by boat from Gordon Pass.
The Peter Rose team works with Port Royal owners who value deep-water access and a short run to the Gulf, and we're always glad to talk about what a dock behind the house really gets you through the seasons. If you're weighing a waterfront purchase or getting a Port Royal home ready for market, contact us for a calm, well-informed conversation.