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Marco Island, Ft. Myers & Boca Grande
Capt. Scott Hughes
June 6, 2000
Fort Myers - Saltwater Fishing Report
East Coast or West Coast..........Its all Good!
I’m sorry about not reporting for the past two weeks. I’ve been splitting time between Marco Island, Boca Grande and Jupiter (it’s on the East Coast of Florida). The fishing has been very productive in each area. In Marco we have been focusing on snook and small tarpon. The Boca Grande area has produced many large 100-pound tarpon and some cobia. During June and July each year I travel across the state the fly fish for bonito, snook and tarpon, as well as other species that might show themselves offshore.
Tarpon fishing is at its best along the beaches of Captiva, Cayo Costa and Boca Grande. We have been having pretty good success pitching live crabs on pods of daisy chaining tarpon. The key is to get out early and hit the beach before everyone else hammers the fish. The bite has been over by about 9:00 am. I haven’t been fishing Boca Pass much lately but I can vouch for the amount of tarpon that are there at the moment. There are literally thousands of large tarpon in and around the pass. Last week the best bite came on squirrelfish with jigs doing almost as much damage. Crabs will also work.
Snook have been the sure thing down in Marco Island. The key is to catch live sardines or thread herring. Pitch the baits around the points and cuts around the outer 10,000 Islands. Any mangrove bank that is near a pass will be holding snook for the next few months. I like to use the largest baits possible because they tend to lure the largest of each species. Don’t be surprised if you don’t catch a few 20+ inch trout while pitching those large baits. We have also been pitching some docks around the Marco area and catching good numbers of small snook but with a bonus. We have been getting tarpon in the 10-12 pound range mixed in with the snook.
Cobias are in and around Charlotte Harbor. We have been catch fish in the 20-pound range while drifting for tarpon. Use the live herring that are all over the harbor or net some sugar trout and drift them in the mouth of the rivers or over one of the artificial reefs. The U.S. 41 bridge will also hold some cobia.
Sharks are still doing their thing on the flats of Marco Island. If you can catch some mullet or blue runners and drift them in of the Passes or cuts in the flats south of Cape Romano you should not have to wait long for a hammerhead or a large blacktip.
This time of year I start running my flyfishing trips offshore on the East Coast of Florida. We also catch live sardines and drift fish for sailfish, tuna, kingfish, and dolphin on full-day charters. Anyway, let’s get to the report. Large bonito to 15 pounds are hitting our flies along with some nice sized blue and rainbow runners. I recommend using a 10-weight fly rod but a 12 weight will do. We even caught a few this week on an 8 weight but your taking a risk of getting spooled if a 12-20 pound bonito happens to take your fly. These fish really run so have at least 200 or 300 yards of backing.
Kingfish are also running in 110 feet from Juno Beach to the Jupiter inlet. Large threads did the trick last week but sardines or goggle eyes will work as well. The bite has been early but I suspect that as we get away from this moon phase that the kings will feed later in the day.
I’ll be on my honeymoon for the next few weeks so I’m not going to report until the week of July 10th. That will give me enough time to get back and fish a few charters and give an accurate report. I’ll be leaving the 15th of this month and I will return the 28th. If anyone wants to book a fishing trip during that time contact Capt. Greg Bond and he will book my trips while I am gone. His number is 863-946-1701. Also call Greg to book a July trip with me. He will have my logbook and will book my trips for the two weeks while I’m gone.
Good Luck!
Capt. Scott Hughes
Blackwater Fishing Charters
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 I specialize in light tackle saltwater, and fly fishing from the backcountry of the 10,000 Islands to flats of Pine Island Sound and the bay system of Charlotte Harbor. I have pick-up locations out of Ft Myers, Marco Island, Pine Island, Punta Gorda and Boca Grande. I like to target big fish. During warm months, tarpon, sharks, snook, redfish, cobia, king mackerel and big jacks are the main species sought after. Most of the winter months are devoted to redfish, trout, snook and grouper. Whether
Contact Info:
Blackwater Charters
12571 Burnt Store Rd
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
Phone: 941-575-2389
Alt. Phone: 941-628-4247
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