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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
July 24, 2001
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Rainy Days
By all accounts, we spent most of the past week sneaking in morning trips due to the rain. That is just as well as it has been getting very hot in the afternoon. A large frontal system bounced back and forth over the peninsula of Florida for most of the week. It was safe to say that it was raining heavy in the state somewhere at any given time. This past Monday landlocked us all. It poured and it is drizzling as I write. Still, the morning shift was pretty good.
There was bait around if you were so inclined to go get some. I came out of the post surgery blues and was actually able to throw my cast net on some small menhaden for my anglers. They don’t live as well in captivity as sardines, but hey they were easy to catch for this crip. My anglers caught a variety of snook, snapper, and large jacks. We even caught two twenty some pound tarpon. I was very pleased with the results. Most of the guides that I talked to had similar results off and on this week. Artificials are producing great results. I have been throwing sassy shad looking baits on a quarter ounce jig when the bait dies and they have been very effective.
Captain Stacy Mullendore came to the dock with a bag of trout. He says that the grassflats around Cape Romano are alive with the critters. Don’t neglect the grass patches in front and around the islands. Live bait, jigs and flies will do the trick. I didn’t hear a whole lot about redfish. They seem to remain scarce. I am sure there are a few around. Some of the state guys that I talked to agreed that their behavior is cyclic. Three years ago you had to be very unlucky not to catch a few reds on each outing. Many of those fish are remaining offshore with the larger fish. Don’t push the panic button yet.
This front is still hanging in there. If it would just push through I think that the next week of fishing could be great. I am hesitant to make any prediction because we all know that a system like this could be fed with warm tropical air for another week. In the meantime, steal your time on the water by hours. I am sure you will be rewarded. I ‘ll see you out there
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