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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
February 12, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cooler Temps
As predicted, we were graced with not one but two cold fronts. One brought a little precipitation and wind. The bad news is that it dropped the water temperature to the high sixties. The unbelievable fishing shut off Monday as if someone turned off a light. The water temperature went from near eighty to as low as sixty degrees in a matter of days. Do not to despair. The water temperature is starting to climb. The fish are starting to bite again.
The passing of this last front put a damper on the excellent snook fishing that we were enjoying. It was back to winter fishing this past week. The mornings have been cool with a strong breeze out of the north. But by mid afternoon, the surroundings have been quite comfortable. Negative tides in the morning had most of us getting off to a slow start. As soon as the water started coming in, we were able to catch trout, jacks and ladyfish. We also caught a few pompano while we were trying for trout. I think the cooler water temperature played a roll in those catches.
I had several days of flyfishing this week. Clean water was difficult to find. Although my anglers caught a few snook and redfish on fly, we relied on jacks and ladyfish for most of the action. At one point we were throwing heavy flies into deeper water to catch trout.
The water temperature climbed to seventy-two as of this writing. Trout, jacks and ladyfish became more willing to bite a jig. We beat the banks hard today and only caught a couple of snook and one redfish. With the water temperature on the rise, the snook in particular should come out of hiding. You might try dropping shrimp into the deeper holes in the rivers and creeks for now.
We are under the influence of a front that stretches to Texas. It is hard to know what the next week has in store for us. It looks like one of those systems that could linger or even back up on Florida. There is a small window of high pressure behind this front. That means clear skies.
Fishing for now is actually just as it should be. After all, it is still the middle of February. Big snook and large tarpon are just around the corner. Are you ready? I’ll see you on the water.
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