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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
June 4, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Gin Clear
Perfect weather conditions prevailed this past week. Yes, it got downright hot by mid afternoon but the fishing was fair to excellent. The water is as clear as it gets in the Gulf. That can be a double-edged sword. It makes catching bait very difficult. The bait can see the net coming at them.
There are a lot of schools of threadfin herring nearshore. The key is to make sure that the school is coming at you. If you have to chase them, it makes it twice as hard to net them. Gold hooks or sabiki rigs will do the trick if you have the time.
Although artificial lures of all kinds have been catching their share of snook, most of the fish that my clients caught this week fell for large threadfin herring. Local guides that I talked to gave me ditto reports. We had soft tides this week so the day had its slow moments. Most of the snook caught were quality with fish ranging from two to twelve pounds. Angler Jason Yancer caught snook from six to ten pounds with me today. The later incoming tides were stronger and at times the bite was fast and furious. I spent most of my time in the immediate south Marco area.
Snook are starting to cruise the beaches in schools. You can sight fish for these guys with flies, jigs or live bait. Watch for large snook hanging out in the trough just off the beach. I have seen fish that would go well over forty inches in the past two weeks. You may see a stray tarpon as well so be prepared.
Large jacks and an occasional redfish have been rounding out a day’s catch. The jacks will attack anything that moves. These jacks have been extremely feisty and will make blistering runs.
We have been catching some very large trout for our area while snook fishing. They have been very aggressive. Some of them were mistaken for snook until we got a good view of them. It’s a bonus to see that our trout fishery keeps getting better with every year.
Mackerel are everywhere and are worth fishing for during the doldrums. They will hit bare jigs. Some of the macks have been large with fish in the twenty-inch or better range.
There is a front loaded with rain bearing down on us as I write. It could make fishing sketchy for the weekend. Hopefully it won’t stall over Florida like fronts are famous for doing in the summer. Stay dry and avoid electric. I’ll see you on the water.
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