Marco Island is home to some unbelievable inshore fishing opportunities. During the peak seasons, there are plenty of people who visit here and get out on their boats to go fishing, so the fish aren’t always going to be jumping into your boat. However, there are so many awesome places to fish down here for a variety of fish such as snook, redfish, sea trout, mackerel, sharks, sheepshead, snapper, grouper and more.
Fish the Bays & Coves
Marco Island has many bays and coves to fish that are right here near the island. Anglers can usually find a place to fish in some of these bays and coves even on windy days. Anglers catch a variety of fish in these bays such as snook, redfish, sea trout, jacks, sharks, mackerel and more.
Fish the 10,000 Islands
The 10,000 islands sit to the east of Marco Island. From Marco Island, you can fish the western part of the Everglades and the 10,000 islands without having to make super long runs in the boat. The fishing can be very good for many different species of fish such as redfish, snook, trout, tarpon, snapper, grouper, sharks and more.
For some anglers, they prefer to make the drive over to Chokoloskee and Everglades City to get into the heart of this fishery. We have information on this area below and an entire website dedicated to this area, which is only 40 to 45 minutes from Marco Island.
Chokoloskee and Everglades City, FL
Chokoloskee and Everglades City, FL make up one of the most unique fishing areas in the country. These cities give anglers access to the 10,000 islands and the Everglades National Park. The 10,000 islands are a maze of islands and mangrove islets off the coast of southwest Florida about 20 miles southeast of Naples, Florida.
The islands offer some spectacular inshore fishing for snook, tarpon, redfish, trout and many other species of fish. Offshore, anglers target snapper, grouper, cobia, permit, amberjack, king mackerel, goliath grouper and others. This area is very remote, so we definitely recommend hiring a fishing charter for first time visitors.
Fish the Bridges
Marco Island is not home to a bunch of bridges like many other popular fishing destinations in Florida. You do have a couple of bridges to fish here and there are plenty of anglers who have success fishing around the bridges, especially during tidal changes.
Fish the Canals
There are so many canals to fish on Marco Island and there will be plenty of fish swimming around the canals. You will find many docks, concrete walls and some mangrove trees that will hold fish in the canals. Many anglers pursue snook, redfish, trout, sheepshead, snapper, jacks and other fish in the canals.
Fish the Docks
There are so many docks to fish in all of the canals down here on Marco Island. You will see so many homes with docks and plenty of fish will be found around the docks. Anglers catch a lot of mangrove snapper, sheepshead and snook around the docks, but you may also catch grouper, redfish, trout and more.
Fish the Passes
Caxambas Pass
The Caxambas Pass is a popular pass that anglers use to head out from Marco Island to the Gulf of Mexico or the 10,000 islands. You will see many boats going through this pass, so at times, it may be tough to fish due to all the boat traffic during the peak seasons. Anglers do catch some nice fish in this pass though as many species of fish will move through this water.
Big Marco Pass & Capri Pass
These passes meet up at Marco Bay on the north side of Marco Island. This area also gets a lot of boat traffic, however, there is a lot of water in these passes. Most anglers who want to fish here will be usually find a place to fish that allows boaters to move through the area with no problem, however, during the peak season, there will be a lot of boat traffic in this area. Anglers fish for a variety of fish during tidal changes in both passes. Boaters use the passes to navigate out into the Gulf of Mexico and back into the inshore waters near Marco Island.
