Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
May 14, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
So Many Fish, Too Little time
Once again we could not ask for better weather to go fishing. I know that it has been a little warm by the middle of the day but the fish like it. There is plenty of action to be had. Snook, redfish, trout, and even tarpon have gotten plenty of attention this week.
Bait is still scarce along the beaches but we have been able to take advantage of the large schools of threadfin herring that are nearshore. They are not quite as hardy as the scaled sardines but they work very well for larger snook and tarpon. We have been getting smaller herring along the beaches as well. I use these smaller bait for beating the bushes with.
My dad’s friend Jim Cross made his annual pilgrimage to fish all week with us. We concentrated on tarpon in the mornings. We managed to hook one to three fish each morning. These fish ranged from seventy to one hundred and thirty pounds. All of them were caught using live threadfin herring. There have been tarpon roaming the beaches and the passes of the Ten Thousand Islands early in the morning. I would say that they are stragglers that didn’t move on with the migration. Most of the fish have already moved to the beaches of Fort Myers, Sanibel and into Boca Grande Pass. You will still find enough tarpon in your travels to keep your day interesting.
This week we started our mornings off with low incoming tides. It has been excellent for snook fishing. Live bait, plugs, jigs, flies and soft baits have all been doing well. Most of the guides have been getting live bait and have been having no problem having double-digit mornings with snook. Everyone seems to be picking up a redfish or three too. There is always a larger trout lurking where the snook hang out.
Trout have been staging in their usual haunts. The Cape Romano grass flats have been yielding good catches. Jacks, ladyfish and mackerel have been everywhere out there. They are great fish for the kids to learn the ins and outs of fishing on. This time of year you can catch just about anything on the Cape.
There are so many fish to catch and too little time. As tired as I am, I still can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ll see you on the water.
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