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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
January 29, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Better Than Average
The weather was superb this past week. Sunny days and warmer water made fishing better than average for this time of year. Glass minnows and shiners started showing up in the Marco and Ten Thousand Islands areas. Where there is bait, there is fish.
Snook are starting to come out of hiding. I think that they might be a little confused because it is usually a little cooler this time of the year. The water temperature has been hovering around the mid seventies all week. Seventy-two degrees is usually the magic number. There were low winter tides to contend with. As soon as the water came in, you could find bait. My anglers caught snook in the back bays on scaled sardines. We caught a few redfish around points and oyster bars too.
When we weren’t throwing live bait, we were catching trout, ladyfish and jacks on screwtail jigs. Sassy shad plastic bodies have been working well too. I had anglers catch a few fair sized snook by sight casting to them while they were laid up basking in the sun.
Flyfishing was productive this week too. I have been using a mangrove bunny for snook and redfish. We had some very good shots at both species this week. Ladyfish and jacks have been straining the flyrod at every point that has moving water on it.
As predicted, there have been a few tarpon showing up in the area. They aren’t in the upper islands in great numbers but it wouldn’t hurt to carry appropriate gear just in case the opportunity arises. We had a few shots at laid up tarpon but couldn’t come tight on the line with them. There are many reports that they are showing up in larger numbers to the south of Chockoloskee. That is normal for this time of year. They usually show up no later than February. For those of us to the north, get ready.
We have a front brewing in the western states. We might get a little drop in temperature next week but I don’t think that it will affect the better than average fishing that we have been enjoying. Who can complain? I’ll see you on the water.
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