Fishing Reports by Capt. Matt Hoover

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Over The Hump “The trick is to give your wrist a small snap, just enough to get the jig to hop on the bottom”, I said. We were using tube jigs tipped with shrimp. They are a small piece of surgical tubing slid onto quarter or three eighth ounc more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Winter Tactics Although these last few weeks have been rather mild, January can be one of the coldest months of the year in Southwest Florida. It will drive the large tarpon out of our area. Snook will head to unknown parts of the backcountry. At more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Winter Whirl Winter is definitely here. This past week the winds were stiff, the skies were gloomy at times, and the water temperature took another plunge. There were some pleasant breaks in the weather throughout the week as well. Plenty of f more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Fall Finale October ended with a bang. Double digit days of snook and redfish were had by most. We had back to back cold fronts pass through in the last week and a half. Rain blew in with them. Oddly enough, most of us were able to pull off at lea more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - October Crush October is always one of the best times of the year to fish in the Marco Island and Ten Thousand Islands areas. Bait of all species is everywhere and the fish are going bonkers. Every corner you turn you will see bait spraying. A more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - September Slam Two weeks ago we spent our mornings observing and catching tarpon of all sizes along the beaches of Naples. The clouds of bait have been so thick that you can’t see the bottom in three feet of water. These bait masses are comprised more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - A Hint Of Change I sat in my boat mesmerized as the early morning light marked the beginning of a new day. I was tied up at the fuel dock waiting for my clients to show up. The air was still and the water was as smooth as a coffee table. An os more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Dog Days Of Summer It was as if someone had pulled the plug on a shallow swimming pool. There was a two-foot wide vortex of churning water where just a moment before was a hapless scaled sardine fluttering on the surface. My drag was having a majo more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Heating Up It was like fishing inside a greenhouse this past week. Temperatures hit the nineties. There was barely a breath of air on the water and it looked as if the sky and water had no beginning or end. Boat traffic is minimal. There has b more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island

Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands - Wicked Winds From The West Winds from the south to southwest have kept our ears pinned back for the last three weeks. Finding decent live bait has been next to impossible. We have managed to scrap up some medium sized threadfin herring from time t more...
Capt. Matt Hoover - Marco Island