Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
July 20, 2000
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Whatever Goes
It was hot and breezy this past week. Winds were strong out of the west-southwest. That made catching bait along the beaches next to impossible. It didn’t really matter for the bait fisherman because there are finger mullet everywhere. Besides, flies and artificial baits are working great this time of year.
The tides were moving much better this week. Snook, redfish and tarpon were on the prowl. Some of the guides were able to find shiners and others were using mullet. Whatever method you were using seemed to be just fine for the snook. Snook of all sizes are being caught right now. We have been finding spots that will hold a ton of little guys. They are a blast to catch and will hit anything. Be prepared because there is almost always a larger fish hanging out with them. Don’t discount the possibility of a redfish being mixed in with them either. Snook have been blasting topwater plugs early in the morning. I have been having good luck with soft baits too. I have been getting snook and redfish to bite sassy shad tails on a quarter ounce jig head as well. There are larger snook moping around in shallow water in extreme heat I might add. Big snook are being caught in deep runs and major passes around Marco and the Ten Thousand Islands. As usual, it is not uncommon to catch large trout while casting for snook. Most of us are not targeting trout, but fishermen have been saying that the bite has been good.
There is a lot of small to medium size tarpon roaming about. They are showing up in the most unlikely spots. There are a few large tarpon holding in the passes early in the morning. I ran into a laid up tarpon while fishing with my wife and Melissa Blaizer. We were using ten-pound test outfits with sassy shad jigs when I saw the fish. I decided to run the bait by the tarpon’s nose. The fish ate the jig and the fight was on. Melissa took the rod and fought him like a champ. This guy was eighty to ninety pounds and I knew the fight wouldn’t last long. But an hour and a half later I was able to grab the leader and call him a caught fish. I had to take the reel off of the rod and take it to the hospital that afternoon.
The fishing has been as hot as the weather. Get out and wet a line while the boat traffic is down to a dull roar. Stay cool and I’ll see you on the water.
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