Report for Naples, Marco Island and the Ten Thousand Islands
Capt. Matt Hoover
April 19, 2000
Marco Island - Saltwater Fishing Report
Wind And The Moon
Another cool front passed through this past week that generated some stiff breezes. It was almost a repeat of last week. You had to take advantage of the lulls in the weather. It is almost like threading the eye of a needle. Fishing was rewarding if you were persistent. I had favorable reports from most of the guides that I talked to this week. Snook, redfish, trout and tarpon were available to those that fished hard.
I spent a fair amount of time fly fishing this past week. We had great tides for it. It was windy throughout the week especially when the sea breeze kicked in. If you stayed on the leeward side of the islands, it wasn’t too bad to get the job done. We saw a lot of redfish and snook in the shallow water this week. My anglers were able to stitch a few legal redfish and snook on the fly. I have been catching some large trout where you would expect to find snook. One trout that we caught today weighed five and a half pounds. That may not be big in other parts of Florida, but it is large for our area. They are also a treat to take on the fly.
Other folks have been catching snook, redfish and trout on live bait when they can get it. It has been rough on the beaches of Marco so it helps to have some backup spots for shiners. Jigs and lures have been working well too. The Caxambas area has been productive this week. It is starting to perk up in the upper Ten Thousand Islands area as well. Fish are in the front, middle grounds, and the back too. Take your pick. Flood tide has been difficult because of the full moon.
There were times when it calmed down enough to pursue tarpon. My brother Drew and I got to fish together on Thursday. We used large threadfin herring and got three tarpon strikes. I was able to land a fish that weighed about seventy pounds. I also got to fish with my wife PJ on Sunday. We also got three tarpon to eat. PJ fought a fish that went toe to toe with her for an hour. This fish spun, tail walked, Grey hounded and sounded. It was one of the most spectacular tarpon fights that I have ever seen. The fish beat my wife up pretty bad. But not enough to stop her from bringing the leader to my hand. The tarpon was about one hundred and twenty pounds. PJ slept hard that night. I saw Captain Stacy Mullendore’s boat go by us with a tarpon out in front of it that same day as well. There were other tarpon that gave a show and got away. That’s just as fun when you have already landed one. You aren’t in as big of a hurry to do another slugfest.
Frontal systems have been plowing across the nation with regularity. I welcome more settled weather. When that happens, you better have spare rods because the fishing is going to erupt. Until then, keep threading the eye. I’ll see you on the water.
More Fishing Reports:
