Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
September 19, 2000
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
September Slam
The mornings have been a little bit cooler and the traffic has been slower than usual. Bait is abundant and so are the fish. Everyone that I talked to has been having banner days this past week.
There are plenty of snook from Marco into the islands. They aren’t too picky about where they are hanging out. We have been catching them in front of the islands as well as in the back bays in the Ten Thousand Islands. Most people are pitching live bait. Catching bait is no problem. The bait is everywhere. The mornings have been still. That makes it perfect for top water lures. Other anglers have been doing well with soft jerk baits too.
Redfish have remained the same. Most of us are catching a couple of them with each outing. They didn’t show well last fall and all of us are hoping that they will school better this year. All of the redfish that my clients caught this week were on live bait. One can’t really complain because the snook fishing has been so good that you have plenty of action to stay happy.
Once again, there are still all sizes of tarpon around. Most of them are ten to thirty pounds but there are still some big guys out there. It is not hard to get a slam. I had several clients catch redfish, snook and tarpon all in the same day this week
Don’t ignore a little side action with the trout. They are large and willing. I have been catching them over grass and in deeper runs along the islands. They are happy to hit a jig, shrimp, or shiners. Everyone is catching larger than average mangrove snapper too. If you take all that into account, you wind up with an action packed day. Fall can be the best fishing we have to offer. It is a time when almost all of the species converge to get fat for the winter. Get out there and get into the action. I’ll see you on the water.
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