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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
February 13, 2001
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
A Taste Of Spring
There is something to be said about fishing in a short sleeved shirt. This past week has been absolutely perfect. The only thing wrong was the radical low tides. That is not uncommon in late January and February. The tides went well below the mean low average. We saw real estate that you rarely see. The problem is that it empties the small bays and coves. The fish have to fall out of those areas and are hard to find. Most folks still managed to catch fish and have a good time.
This next week will produce more low tides but they will not be as severe. There is a cold front on its way but it will only cool us down a little bit. There will most likely be some wind associated with it. Even with the tides as low as they have been, we still have managed to catch large trout in the deeper runs along the islands. There are more snook starting to show up and I think that is going to improve as the days roll by. I had an angler catch a nine-pound snook on the fly this week and we saw a few more large fish that day. We are also seeing more redfish too. We don’t expect it to change that much in the next week. The temperature will dip a little but the key to the game is water temperature. The water temperature has been on the rise. That is great news.
Keep your eyes open for tarpon. The weather has gotten sweet and some of the resident tarpon like to come in from offshore. I have run into a few large fish that have been “laid up” in quiet bays. Tarpon like to lay up high on the surface when the water is still below or around seventy degrees. They will pounce a well-placed fly, a soft bait or a plug. A person could probably sit in a pass with cut bait and hook one if he is in the mood to sit for awhile.
There are still plenty of sheepshead to be caught. I like to use chunks of shrimp under a splitshot. Drop the rig down in spots where the bottom is rough. You may even catch a black drum, jack, or a redfish. Anything can happen when you are deep dropping shrimp. Don’t forget to check the passes around Marco. Folks are still catching pompano on tube jigs. Some of the hard-bottomed passes in the islands are producing pompano too.
It is getting time to get ready for anything to happen. As long as the temperature is warm, stay loaded for bear. I am putting the full range of rods on my boat. You can’t tackle a tarpon if you aren’t prepared.
Things are looking up. Let’s pray that this sweet weather holds and that March comes in like a lamb. I’ll be seeing you on the water.
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