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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
July 9, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Business As Usual
This past week we had a small reprieve from the weather. The mornings were windless and easterly prevailing winds were the norm. Bait has returned to the beaches of south Marco. There are glass minnows and hordes of threadfin herring fry everywhere. The fish have been feeding. For the most part, all is well on the fishing front.
Windless mornings and glassy water made the mornings superb for angling. Scaled sardines large enough to throw are readily available. Snook, jacks and mangrove snapper were on the take. Captains from all over were back to double-digit catches of snook this past week. Snook fishing seems to be best around Marco Island. Fresh water is pouring into the Ten Thousand Islands and it is putting a damper on the fishing in that area.
Snook have been taking a variety of artificial lures as well. These fish are hungry because the weather has not been too kind. Anglers caught snook with me last week that ranged from twenty to forty inches in size. Those fish were caught on Hybrid soft plastics on quarter ounce jig heads. Flyfishing has been at a peak too. Baitfish type streamer flies have been the winning pattern.
Redfish have been spotty. Folks are catching a few here and there. There have been plenty of trout and snapper to take their place. The trout are large. It’s good to see that the trout fishery is growing stronger and larger with each passing season.
There are many small tarpon around. It seems as if every corner you turn you will see one or two roll. These fish are ranging from ten to thirty pounds. They have been more than willing to take live bait and they are as much fun on light tackle as their larger parents are.
Anglers are still tying into larger tarpon that are sixty to over one hundred pounds. We have been seeing them while fishing for snook so it pays to have larger tackle ready for the occasion. Andy Brice subdued a tarpon with me this past week that was about ninety pounds. That fish fell for a Magnum Bomber lure.
As the weekend approached, we had some unsettled weather that had rain in it. If you were fishing in the right places you could bob and weave your way through it. Weather in the Gulf is receiving a lot of tropical influence. That is normal for this time of year. The boat traffic is down. The fish are happy. It’s time to do damage. I’ll see you on the water.
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