Marco Island Fishing Report- April 8th

April 6, 2016 - Posted by Steve Dall April 8-10: Wind, Wind, Go Away….. The weekend’s forecasted ENE 10-20 mph winds, with gusts over 20 mph, may damper some of your spots this weekend, but with the many cuts and islands throughout the region, finding a nice leeward isn’t too difficult. Throughout the region this weekend, you will find early morning falling tides that will moderately bottom out mid to late morning then roar back in throughout the afternoon, so plan accordingly. If winds stay northerly, look for the early morning falling tides to dump out quicker than predicated. Snook continue to be a preferred target throughout the region. The linesiders are eating steadily in the cleanest water that you can find, which in recent days has been the Caxambas and Marco River areas and south of Chokoloskee. With good tidal flow this weekend, focusing on eddies, docks, undercut shorelines, points, pockets and sandbars, you should get your fair share of under slot snook with a very good chance at a bruiser. Good numbers of slot sized fish with a few three footers this week have been reported. Don’t discredit the bigger named bays just northeast of Marco River, along with the many deeper shorelines in the river heading toward Goodland, as they hold their fair share of linesiders. With the water temps staying stable in the mid to upper 70 degree range after this mild cold front, it won’t be long before the snook start cruising the sandy beaches. Be on the lookout for silhouettes shaped like small logs on these sandy areas and approach them with some stealth. Whitebait continues to be found in the clean water and when calmer seas permit, on most of the nearshore markers and bait hot spots. A few throws of the cast net and you should be blacked out with perfect 4 inch scaled sardines. With a well full of bait, be aggressive with your chumming as you set up on your chosen spots as it is always a great way to see if anyone is “home”.¬¬¬¬¬ Tarpon fishing continues to be hit or miss any given day with the winds and dirty water, but they are certainly around. ¬¬Perennial hot spots such as Pavilion Key and other major passes are holding fish, with the outside islands showing fish on calmer mornings, which as we all know, have been minimal. If you are targeting fish in the adjacent bays of your favorite pass and your water has dirtied, move to the nearest clearer, deeper water pass and you should find your silver quarry. Cut baits of mullet, hardhead catfish snow cones and ladyfish will jump fish in the off colored water and if you are lucky enough to have clear water, it is hard to beat a freelined thread or big scaled sardine. Feather flingers are seeing good action in the backcountry throughout the region, with darker hued flies getting the nod. These skilled artisan anglers are finding laid up fish close to the mangrove lined banks in calmer bays to the south of the region. One of the finned creatures that has had increased action in recent weeks in the backcountry are sharks. With the spring break crowd in full swing the last few weeks, a slow day of tarpon fishing often turns into a shark trip. While locals may not necessarily enjoy catching the plethora of species the region has to offer, it certainly affords an angler to tangle with a very large predator on relatively light tackle and for those not indigenous to the area, it certainly is a treat. Local passes and adjacent flats with gulf access have had plenty of lemons, bulls, sharpnose and blacktips around, with a bonus spinner shark here and there. A few smaller 5-6 foot hammerheads were even landed in one of the mid island passes this week on iced down mullet caught the day before. Cut bait and fresh mullet should get you hooked up quick if you have a moderate chum line going. The offshore crews are pulling their weight yet again this week and the outlook looks a bit sketchy to venture out great distances, so use caution. Only you know how your boat performs while you are driving it, so don’t be persuaded to tackle seas that you are not comfortable with. Reef Donkeys continue to chew heavily on big bucktail and synthetic hair jigs, metal jigs and on assorted cut and live bait. Once you find them, it can be difficult to get the Amerberjack to stay away. The Red Grouper bite continues to be steady with good fish being found on the honeycombed bottoms and subtle ledges in a wide area of 15-60 miles out. This week saw some bigger Kingfish show up again closer to shore in the northern part of the region, which makes for some good drag screaming fun resulting in your favorite fish dip and/or one for the smoker. Pulling baits while trolling is a great way to cover water and certainly worth doing as you idle from spot to spot. Had some good reports of snapper, including yellowtails earlier in the week on cut bait after some heavy chumming in 40-60 feet of water around wrecks. Certainly worth a try to box some keeper flags if you are out that way and have ample chum. Tip of the Week: With the dirty water upon us, for those opting to throw artificial baits, keep three things in mind: Dark colors, scent and vibration. While our typical margarita colored waters have taken on more of a look similar to a bottle of Yoo-hoo, throwing that favorite white Gulp shrimp or similar favorite is probably going to hurt you more than help right now. With dark water, a dark colored bait actually shows up better contrary to popular belief. A dark bait cast a bigger silhouette in dark water and by adding scent and at times vibration, you allow fish to feed through sight, smell and the use of their lateral line by detecting vibration. Tough to beat a small black swimbait, with some scent on it….the paddle tail on the swimbait can move a lot of water and trigger strikes and allows you to cover a lot of water. Until next week, tight lines and screamin’ drags…. Captain Steve Dall www.poseidonschoice.com