Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
July 16, 2002
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Greenhouse Effect
It was like fishing inside a greenhouse this past week. Temperatures hit the nineties. There was barely a breath of air on the water and it looked as if the sky and water had no beginning or end. Boat traffic is minimal. There has been a multitude of bait crammed in every nook and cranny in the south Marco area. It isn’t hard to figure out where the fish are because snook and jacks were spraying finger mullet like silver rain.
The early morning hours seemed to be the best time to get some fishing done. Finger mullet, small thread herring and scaled sardines are everywhere. Fishing with live bait produced great snook action. We had double-digit mornings of snook from eighteen to forty inches. Flies, jigs and soft baits did very well this past week too.
Tarpon from five to thirty pounds are all over the islands in the south Marco area as well. Angler Blaise Wick has been having fun in the past week with tarpon hookups on a gurgler fly. Look for the tarpon to roll and feed along mangrove shorelines early in the morning. There are a few large tarpon milling around but they are more of an incidental catch. It pays to have a heavier rod rigged with a plug just in case.
Most of the local guides have been concentrating their efforts in the Marco Island area. Because of the many rivers coming from the heart of the Everglades, there is a massive amount of fresh water pouring into the Ten Thousand Islands. All the fresh water seems to be putting a damper on the fishing in that area.
We have been catching plenty of large jacks and trout with a variety of methods. That is good news because there are no real numbers of redfish around. Jacks seem to be filling that void. Besides, they are a true backcountry brawler.
It looks as if Florida is going to get another front loaded with rain by the weekend. Raingear is always necessary this time of year anyway. Take a peak at the radar before you go out. I’ll see you on the water.
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