Marco Island

[FlyBri]

Spending a week June 11 thru 18. Will I need to book a guide or will wading the area produce. Any advice would help

Thanks

FlyBri

[dunfly]

There are a lot of good wading opportunities in the area, plus, there should be some good fishing off the beach that time of year. Beach fishing is a blast in the summer, but you have to hit it just before dawn. The gulf side is great, since you have the sun and the wind at your back in the mornings, but you have to be done by time the beach crowds show up.

One fun way to go is to rent or hire a kayak guide. This is the way I fish all the time. Capt. Charles Wright runs a guide service that has flats boats and kayaks. The guided kayak trip is about half the price of a flats boat trip.

http://www.chokoloskeecharters.com/

Another unique opportunity is to fish the canals along the Tamiami Trail. You can park your car on the side of the road, walk 10 feet and cast away.

[Marco]

I can only state that the island was named WELL. ( Been there , done that)


Mark

[fishngene]

Walk the beach prior to sun up. 7 or 8 wieght and size one crystal minnow. works great on snook. Don't go into the surf, throw perpendicular to the beach about 45 degrees or less. No need for long casts. Have fun.

[saltydancindave]

Here's a link to the local fly fishing club where there's some good info : http://www.flyfishingnaples.com/ If you even consider tarpon fishing during the summer odds are you'll need a boat !

[joe cool]

I go down there every year in July. The snook on the beach are spooky but they can be caught once you figure them out. Staying out of the water was good advice unless you see a school coming a little farther out. In general they will be single or pairs of fish and will be within feet of the waters edge so if you're walking knee deep you'll miss/spook most of them. Wear good sunglasses and look for anything slightly out of the ordinary that appears to be moving. I caught all mine there so far on deceivers. Either all white or olive over white, the big ones, size 2/0 worked for me but smaller ones produced too. The real trick is finding the right spot to cast, too close and you spook them, but theres so much bait around that too far away and they don't pay attention.

Getting there early is also good advice, but it makes them a little harder to spot. The sun comes up behind you this way, which means the beach and water is all shadowed by the buildings along the beach. They are easier to see when the sunlight makes it to the water, but this is also about the times the crowds show up. In July at least, the beach still has plenty of open areas if you don't mind walking a bit to get away from the swimmers. The area down near the end of the island with the rock jetties always has some fish around it. There are usually some snapper and mackerel hanging around the first jetty you get to if the tides are right.

[allen]

You can rent a kayak just over the Marco bridge in Isle of Capri at the Capri Fish House.

[bonefishwhisperer]

hopefully it will recover from the hard freeze this winter...I was there last week and it sucked almost as bad as my own water these days...all the canal spots that I fished for the last few yrs are 100% dead and most have funky grass plugging the flow entirely...I checked everything from Choko thru Marco and all secret spots...hell, there wasnt even any signs of life at Whooten's and if you have ever been there you know that place is Grand Central...I have a friend in Everglades City and I couldnt even get him out of the house...this is not to discourage you because it will have hopefully rebounded by then...I cant say the same for Miami...just be warned and ask the right questions to the right people...Capt Wright would be one of those right people IMO...I say that because it seems no guides tell it like it is because it is deader than dead right now

[pillcaster]

I have a buddy who winters there and he fishes the golf course ponds for largemouths, says it is awsome......

[bonefishwhisperer]

thats a start I guess...