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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
July 31, 2001
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fire And Rain
If you have been out boating around Marco and the Ten thousand Islands, you certainly noticed the effect of the fresh water influx. The color of the water changes at every turn. I think that fresh water coupled with the high temperatures has made fishing more difficult this past week. The bait has been pushed offshore due to rain and the westerly winds we were plagued by for the last two weeks. If you have to have bait, there have been small pods of menhaden around. They are unpredictable. I have been getting finger mullet with some consistency. They will do the trick. My best backup plan has been using artificial baits. I like rubber bodied jigs. A lot of die hard bait guides have been using artificial baits with success too.
By all accounts you had to earn your catch this past week. Each stop would produce a couple of snook of various sizes. Some spots were dry. I was using finger mullet with my anglers yesterday and fishing was very slow until the tide started to speed up. We caught several snook, one red and a meager showing of jacks. The snapper were scarce as well. I will say that a few of the snook we caught were quality fish. I was using the hit and run routine and covered a lot of ground to make it a worthwhile day. Still being back on the water was worth the effort and everyone had a great time. I was pretty sure that the condition of the water played a big role in the results. I had to ask a couple of the other guides and they confirmed my suspicions. Nobody is really burning down the house.
August can be just like that. Fishing can be phenomenal or slow because of late heavy rains. Many of us will be in the YMCA Charity Release RedSnook tournament next week, and we will be fishing on a lame neap tide. It is conditions like these that bring about brutal competition. I always look forward to it because it is a large contest and I not only get to fish with family, but we get a chance to catch up as guides with what’s new in each others lives.
I don’t forsee the water conditions changing in the near future. We are in the midst of a heat wave pouring in from the Midwest. On the other side of us are several tropical disturbances that will bring us more rain this week and in the future. It is hurricane season so it is not unusual to deal with tepid water. I would suggest a morning or late afternoon trip to beat the heat. The tide is usually moving then too.
In the meantime, go slow, fish hard and stay cool. I’ll see you on the water for sure.
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