Marco Island Fly Fishing

Marco Island lies just south of Naples where the sand turns into mud and oysters and is the gateway to the 10,000 Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The 10,000 Islands is just that, an area of around 10,000 mangrove islands on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico connected by shallow bays, creeks, and rivers. The 10,000 Islands is a very tidal ecosystem, sometimes with over five feet of tidal swing each day. With the Everglades National Park to its south, the 10k, as it is called, is home to good populations of snook and reds and the epicenter of the Southwest Florida tarpon fly fishing universe.

The summer (May-October), brings us warm water and some of the highest tides of the year. May is the height of the tarpon season in the 10k. Tarpon can be found swimming on the outside points and flats, laid up in the back bays, and rolling in the bays and rivers as they make their way north. Tarpon fishing is usually the most consistent of the year in May and June as the migration tends to taper off in July. During this time of year, snook have a tendency to make their way closer to the outside points and islands in preparation for their spawn, and there are usually good windows of opportunity to sight fish snook of all sizes. Redfishing in the 10k in the summer can be good on the lower tides, and provides great opportunities for anglers of all abilities to catch them on fly.

In the winter (November-April), the water cools as cold fronts push through the area and the tides are some of the lowest of the year. The low cool water creates some of the best sight fishing opportunities of the year for redfish and snook. Even when the wind blows hard, the 10,000 Islands has endless places to hide and fish the calm lee mangrove shorelines. Occasionally in the winter, the weather will back off and start to get warm and stable. These conditions can lead to some of the best tarpon fishing of the year. Tarpon seem to show up out of nowhere to warm and feed in the shallow bays. These “fresh” fish are some of the biggest tarpon all year and they eat flies very well. It is hard to plan to get to fish these days, as the windows of opportunity are small, but if you are here when it happens, you’ll know how special it is. As winter turns to spring, more and more tarpon show up for their annual migration, and the snook and redfish feed in preparation for their summer spawn.