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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
November 23, 2000
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cold Blast
This past week started off just like the previous weeks that we have had. The mornings were cool and the afternoons were warm. There was bait everywhere and the fishing was quite good. Those of us that were watching the developing weather knew that things were about to change.
The week started off with clear water and negative tides. That is a sure sign that winter is approaching. I spent the better part of the week flyfishing. We saw more fish in the shallow water this week and were able to catch a few snook on the fly. Quite a few opportunities were squandered at some large redfish as well. Sight fishing is a game of accuracy.
The bait was still easy and lots of people did well with snook and redfish. We were seeing large tarpon and I had reports of close encounters with fish that went well over one hundred pounds. Tarpon will mingle in the islands in the fall especially when the weather is warm and mild. The usual methods of catching them still apply this time of year.
Pompano action was good up until the weekend. Folks were catching them with the standard Don’s Potbelly jig. Yellow and pink are the colors that most folks like. I like to trim back the hair a bit. The fish were in the passes of Marco and the Ten Thousand Islands. Expect to catch your fair share of large ladyfish and jacks in the process.
As the weekend progressed, the weather went down the drain. It started to get ugly by Sunday and the temperature was dropping dramatically. I woke up on Tuesday morning and started loading the truck for work. I did an about face and dug out my winter clothes. The wind was howling and it was downright cold. If I didn’t know the two guys I would be taking flyfishing, I would have cancelled and stayed in bed. We slugged it out in the cold and I struggled to keep the little boat Pinocchio on track. I was fishing with Chris Steffen and his fishing buddy Don. By the grace of God, we picked up a couple of snook. One of them was a keeper as well.
The next day was even colder but those of us that went out did quite well. Captain Richard Donofrio and his party caught three snook on shrimp that went over thirty inches. Captain Stacy Mullendore and crew did well on sheepshead, snook, redfish, and black drum. He was using shrimp too. I was able to find shiners and we caught snook, redfish, trout and some very big jacks.
It looks as if we are going to get another cold blast this week. Get out the warm clothes. It can be very cold when you have the boat doing thirty or more miles an hour. I hope that you had a happy Thanksgiving. We can burn the extra calories by tying into a big one. If fishing is a sport, doesn’t that make us athletes? I’ll see you on the water.
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