Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
September 3, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Summer Sunset
You can’t tell by the heat that summer has gone over the horizon. The mornings are still balmy and the afternoon hours are downright hot. We have crossed the threshold of September, which is one of the best fall months there is for fishing. Ever so slightly, water temperature has already started to cool. Fish sense that a seasonal change is on the way. Bait has been coming inshore along the beaches and into the bays of the Ten Thousands Islands. Everywhere that you look, you will see evidence that the struggle of life going on.
Snook fishing was excellent this past week. Again, most of the people that I talked to were fishing with live bait. Snook from eighteen to forty inches are on the prowl. I had my friend Max Notter and my dad fishing with me over the weekend and we caught and released five snook that were in the legal slot limit. We caught plenty of smaller snook that day too. Snook are on the beaches as well as in the remote back bays of the backcountry. Other captains and anglers have been having similar success. Snook season opened over the holiday weekend so many anglers hoping to bring a fish home for the table.
We have been catching more redfish with each outing too. Some of the redfish are large. My dad caught a red that measured thirty-three inches. I caught one that measured twenty-eight the same day. Max caught a twenty-nine inch redfish the following day with me. Redfish have been gathering around oyster bars and fallen structure. It is not uncommon to catch a redfish at a spot with one cast and then catch a snook on the next cast. Let’s just hope that the redfish don’t fizzle out as they did last year.
Large jacks are pounding the mullet at every turn. They have been abusing anglers light tackle outfits. They are a welcome battle in-between the snook and redfish bites. Trout, ladyfish and mackerel are smashing our offerings as well.
There are a few larger tarpon out there too. My dad was taking a picture of Max and me with a redfish. He made the mistake of laying down the rod he was using with a live bait dangling over the side. Most experienced anglers know that this is a no no. There was an explosion beside the boat and the rod went sailing. A few seconds later, a sixty to seventy pound tarpon danced across the water with the rod in tow. The real problem was that my dad had borrowed my wife’s custom Loomis rod. It’s a good thing that she thinks he is the greatest.
From now until the first few cold fronts of the winter will provide some of the best action of the year. Get it while it’s hot. I’ll see you on the water.
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