Marco Island, Ft. Myers & Boca Grande

Summer Heat! We are in the midst of summer here in South Florida. Temperatures are at or above 90 degrees every day and thunderstorms are common most afternoons. Tarpon fishing has been good but not as good as I have seen in past years. Snook fishing on both the east and West Coast has better than average and it should get even better. Sharks are everywhere in Pine Island Sound and where there are tarpon you’ll usually find sharks. This week’s report will not be updated until probably the 20th of July because next week I will be fishing with my wife in the Hommassa and Crystal River area. Like I mentioned earlier, tarpon fishing has been good in both Marco Island and in the Ft Myers area. We have been catching tarpon 75-pounds and over in Pine Island Sound and fishable numbers of tarpon are starting to show up in Charlotte Harbor from time to time. I ran a few trips out of Marco Island last week and we hooked tarpon from 40-60 pounds on every trip except one. Live sardines and thread herring have been the best baits in both areas. Snook fishing is hot right now on the East Coast of Florida. I like to go out of Jupiter and fish the inlet for snook in the 15-pound range with a 9wt fly outfit. Also, Port Salerno has been producing up to 20 snook a night with lures and live bait. Marco Island snook fishing has been good but most of the snook have been on the small side. Sharks are everywhere in Pine Island Sound. Today we caught blacktips, lemons, bonnetheads and nurse sharks while we were tarpon fishing. Most of these sharks are small in the 15-20 pound range. Trout are on almost every grass flat near a deep channel. Use live sardines to get the “gator” trout over 20-inches. Last week I fished out of the 10,000 Islands one day with high school friend Darol Watson. We caught two limits of trout and plenty of jacks and snapper to keep us busy. We found the trout in the deep channels that run through the outer islands and not on the grass flats where most people fish for them. There were a few trout on the flats but they were very small. Big jacks are a staple out of Marco Island this time of year and they are not disappointing this year. Catch some live sardines and fish them around the sandbars and jetties. The main passes of Marco are excellent places to start. The forecast for the rest of the summer holds plenty of promise. Tarpon fishing should get a little more consistent in Charlotte Harbor and the snook are just getting started on the East Coast. Good Luck! Capt. Scott Hughes Blackwater Charters 863-946-9171 www.blackwatercharters.com [email protected]