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Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
August 3, 2004
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Tropical Brew
The days grow longer as summer presses on. The temperatures are rising too. That is why most of the guides and local anglers are getting an early start. Early morning hours and late afternoons have been the best times to satiate that angling addiction. This past week was no exception. The morning hours were the witching hours. Fishing was fair to excellent throughout most of the week.
You couldn’t ask for better weather this past week. A small cool front passed through and then backed up over the peninsula of Florida. It was not of much consequence to those of us on the water. Snook, redfish, trout and large local tarpon were there for the taking.
We have been catching two to fifteen pound snook in the immediate Marco and Ten Thousand Islands areas. There are schools of threadfin herring very close to shore and they make excellent bait. They are hard to catch because the water is so clear. Make sure that they are coming at you when you throw the net. If you try to chase them, it can be a long exercise in futility. Look for smaller scaled sardines along the beaches.
There is no real pattern to the snook. They seem to be everywhere. Downed bushes in the shadow line off a mangrove shore are good snook fish condos. Artificial lures have been garnishing their share of snook also. Top water lures early in the morning are the ultimate. There is nothing better than to see smooth water shatter like glass when a snook blasts a surface lure.
Although the redfish have been spotty, anglers have been able to catch one or two in while fishing for snook. Large jacks are everywhere and have been filling in the gaps. Expect to catch a few larger trout while working the shorelines.
Trout fishing has been good over the flats of Cape Romano. The grass flats around the outside islands to the south have been productive as well. Jigs with curly tail bodies work just as well as anything. Pompano have been hitting the lures while fishing for trout too.
There has been some large tarpon around in the last week. Tarpon are in the quiet bays in the Ten Thousand Islands. We have been catching them early in the morning with live threadfin herring along the beaches too.
As we headed into the weekend, a tropical storm started to brew and grounded most of us. As of today, Alex officially became our first hurricane of the season. The next part of the week will probably be best in the morning. Remnants of Alex are still lurking.
Afternoon rains will come like clockwork. That is another reason why early morning trips are the best. The weather is hot. Fishing is hot. I’ll see you on the water.
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