Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
May 24, 2000
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Summer Brew
It’s hard to believe that summer is around the corner. The weather shows every indication that it is true. The mornings this past week have been steamy and the afternoons have been hot. The convection has been building over the Everglades and the sky has been trying to let the rain fall. We aren’t quite there yet. The slow days this week were good. The good days were red hot.
Shiners were scarce this week. If you were in the know and scrounged around, you could get enough to have a great day. The snook and redfish did what they do best. They went hot and cold throughout the week. I had a couple of double-digit days with the snook on live bait. Other guides gave me similar reports. We would catch a couple of redfish with each outing as well. The next day, you would have to beat the bushes hard. The fish are there. They just aren’t in the mood to eat every day. Folks did well with jigs, plugs, and flies this past week too. Snook are responding well to quarter ounce jigs with screw tail bodies. One of my clients did well with Bass Assassin bodies on a quarter ounce jig head today. He also took six smaller snook on the fly rod. Captain Stacy Mullendore and his client caught several snook on the fly each day for four straight days.
There are a few tarpon around. If you targeted them exclusively, you could probably get a hook up. They are not here in as great of numbers as they were just a few short weeks ago. Most of the guides are concentrating on snook and redfish. There are plenty of large trout being caught too.
There are hordes of small baitfish along the beaches right now. The mackerel are shredding them very close to the shoreline. Mackerel will hit just about anything. They love to take a small white fly too. They are running very close to the beach. If you target them, keep your eyes open for snook. We have been catching a few. It is time for the snook to show up in greater numbers.
It seems that there is a summer pattern starting to take a foothold. The winds continue out of the east, southeast for the most part. Expect the afternoon showers to start brewing. The fishing is going to start to heat up and stay that way for some time. Don’t miss out. I’ll see you on the water.
More Fishing Reports: