Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
March 16, 2000
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Curve Ball
This past week started off with real promise. Most of us have been pitching bait to the fish. There is bait everywhere so getting a well full is a no brainer. As the week progressed, a cold front moved in. It wasn’t that severe but it was enough to throw a curve ball in the fishing. The water temperature dropped slightly and dampened the fishing bite a little.
There were some favorable snook reports coming in at the beginning of the week. I had clients catching snook on almost every outing. Most of them were in the two to four pound size. We did catch a few keeper size snook. Other guides were giving me similar reports. Most of the fish that I heard about were caught on live bait. Some folks are still pitching jigs and doing well with those too. We are catching redfish on almost every outing as well. Jigs and live bait are taking most of the fish. I did have a client out early on in the week that caught two redfish and a couple of snook on the fly. I have been fishing mostly in the Caxambas area and the immediate upper Ten Thousand Islands.
Pompano in the passes remain to be an easy target for anglers using tube jigs. You will catch an occasional trout with mackerel mixed in too. People have been having no problem getting enough pompano to take home. Either phase of the tide has been working well. As long as the water is moving, you should have no problem.
Anglers are still catching keeper trout off of the flats in the Romano area. They are still over the grass in front of the islands as well. Most folks are using jigs to catch them. Popping corks with shrimp is a no fail method too.
There have been a few close encounters with large tarpon this past week. The tarpon should show up in full force any day now. They showed up real well in our area about the third week of March last year. A lot of us will be focusing our attention on the tarpon when they move in. That is good news for those of you who will be pursuing snook and redfish. There will be less pressure.
As the week progressed, a small cool front moved in and slowed the fishing down a bit. You could still catch fish but you had to be diligent. We can’t complain because I think we have had a mild March. As most of you veterans know, March can be a real bear. Things are going to start to really heat up from here on in. We will be hearing about slams and grand slams soon. I hope that you get your fair share. I’ll see you on the water.
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