Marco Island, Ft. Myers & Boca Grande

Capt. Scott Hughes
August 29, 2004
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report

BC & AD Report

This first part of this report is BC or before Charley. The second half of the report will be AD or after destruction. Before Hurricane Charley slammed into our coast we were have a pretty average summer of fishing. Tarpon were plentiful and schools of bull redfish were starting to move through the passes and onto the flats. Bait was all over Charlotte Harbor. Since the hurricane I've not personally been out in the Charlotte Harbor area due to the massive amount of damage to the infrastructure of the area from Pine Island to Punta Gorda. There are a few public ramps now open but most of the private marinas are still closed and Pineland Marina, my main pickup site, is completely destroyed. I hear it will be rebuilt in time for next season. Luckly, I've got plenty of experience fishing the 10,000 Island and Marco Island so I've been able to run some trips out of there and will most likely be fishnig out of Marco for most of the fall or just using the public ramps in Punta Gorda to run my charters out of.

Tarpon: Tarpon were all over the west wall of Charlotte Harbor before the storm. We had good success throwing soft plastics and drifting live thread herring. After Charley, I've heard about some tarpon still working the mouths of the rivers. Also, by Labor Day the tarpon are usually out on the beaches and near Boca Grande Pass. I fished twice out of Marco Island this week and we found good numbers of small to medium sized tarpon in the backcountry. We caught a couple on live shiners but they had lock jaw for the most part.

Snook: Before the hurricane snook fishing was a little on the slow side. Since Charley, the snook have been on fire around Marco Island. Live sardines or herring have been the key to the excellent fishing. I found good numbers of slot sized snook moving into the islands from offshore. There are plenty of tiny shiners on the outside points and the snook are actively feeding on them when the tide is moving in either direction.

Redfish: Before Charley, I was fishing some huge schools of redfish on the flats of Pine Island Sound. These fish were all over the 27 maximum keeper size. We did well throwing soft plastics but almost anything would work. Since the storm I've not been able to get out and check out the flats of Pine Island but I've been picking up a few reds each day while targeting snook in the 10,000 Islands. Small live shiners or cut herring have producing the best. For the 10,000 Island redfish, focus on oyster bars near the outside islands.

The forecast for the next month or two is excellent. The baitfish are starting to gang up and some of the migratory species are starting to show up already. This week I found schools of Jack crevelle busting bait offshore and spanish mackerel and bluefish doing the same. It will only get better as the waters start to cool some. Get ready for some serious action. 100 fish days are not out of the question.

As far as charters go I'm still in business. There are not many lodging places available in Pine Island or Charlotte County for that matter. The Ft Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva were hit pretty hard also. Naples, Bonita Springs and Marco Island were for the most part unaffected so lodging is available in that area. Departure out of Everglades City and Marco is probably your best bet in the immediate future if you'll need lodging. As of this week I'm now able to run trips departing out of Pine Island or Charlotte Harbor.

Good Luck!

Capt. Scott Hughes

Blackwater Charters

941-575-2389

941-628-4247 cell

Thanks for everyones help and geneosity!

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has offered assistence to all of us in need here in Punta Gorda. I received dozens of calls within hours after the storm passed though from past and present customers. I was truly blown away with the generosity and although I'm happy to say that my family was truly lucky and didn't sustain the catastrophic damage that some of my neighbors had we will still need your support to get though this tough time. I like many other full-time guides in the area will probably loose 70-90% of our normal income this fall. I ask that when you plan your fishing trips in the comming months remember us here in Southwest Florida. We need your continued business much more than we need FEMA.

Thanks again,

Capt. Scott Hughes

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