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Marco Island, Ft. Myers & Boca Grande
Capt. Scott Hughes
May 23, 2000
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
Catch Bait...Catch a Fish Over 10 Pounds.
Well it’s officially summer in my book. All the summer species are in full swing on the outside and the backcountry has been hot and humid. I spent the past two weeks splitting my time between Marco Island and Boca Grande. The overall report is good, but I had a number of days that kicked my butt in both areas. My advice this time of year is to stick with a game plan and either target flats species such as snook, trout, jacks and redfish or go for the homerun with tarpon and very large sharks.
The shark scene is awesome down south in Marco Island. We have been catching 10-15 medium to large sharks on every trip. I change that to “hooking” sharks. I choose to use 130- pound mono leader because the main target is tarpon. We probably land about 40% of all the sharks that we hook. If you want to increase landing percentage use some light wire. The fishing has been easy. Catch some sardines, herring, mullet or blue runners and anchor in one of the passes of the 10,000 Islands. Set your reels on the clicker and wait for the line to scream.
The tarpon have really thinned out south of Ft Myers. We only scored two tarpon all last week fishing out of Marco Island. Tim Betty got a nice 80 pound fish with a live herring just south of Cape Romano last Friday. We were using live thread herring. I also didn’t hear much from the other guides about tarpon being caught in the 10,000 Islands. Now there is a different story in the Boca Grande Pass area. I spotted large tarpon in the 80-100 pound class from Redfish Pass to Boca Pass. Heavy boat traffic has hampered the fishing but if you stick with it you’ll be rewarded with a hook up or two. Jigs have been the top producer in the passes of Boca Grande and Captiva.
Snook have been consistently inconsistent in Marco Island. One day we will catch 3 or 4 fish over 10 pounds in a hole and the next day we won’t even get a strike on the same tide. Live sardines are the best bait, but they have been hard to come by. Big Marco Pass and Caxambas Pass are holding a few. The fresh water flowing from Lake Okeechobee has ruined the fishing in Pine Island sound so your best bet for snook is to fish the beaches from Sanibel to Boca Grande. You better get there early because everyone knows about the snags on Sanibel and North Captiva Islands.
Very large jacks round out the report. Jacks in the 10-15 pound range are near the passes from Marco Island to Indian Key Pass. They will take you to town on an 8wt fly rod or light spinning tackle. The best way to get them going is to chum them with little sardines and then present your fly or favorite lures.
In my opinion you’ll be better off sticking to the outside if you are going to fish the Ft Myers area. There are some mackerel along with a few bluefish. Also, make a game plan ahead of time and stick with it if possible. Don’t try to stretch out to many different kinds of fishing trips in one outing. Set some goals and try to accomplish them.
Good Luck!
Capt. Scott Hughes
Blackwater Fishing Charters
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 I specialize in light tackle saltwater, and fly fishing from the backcountry of the 10,000 Islands to flats of Pine Island Sound and the bay system of Charlotte Harbor. I have pick-up locations out of Ft Myers, Marco Island, Pine Island, Punta Gorda and Boca Grande. I like to target big fish. During warm months, tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, cobia, king mackerel and big jacks are the main species sought after. Most of the winter months are devoted to redfish, trout, snook and grouper. Whether
Contact Info:
Blackwater Charters
12571 Burnt Store Rd
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
Phone: 941-575-2389
Alt. Phone: 941-628-4247
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