Naples and Marco Island fishing report for the week of September 10, 2026. With snook season open on the Gulf coast, the passes from Gordon Pass down through Caxambas have been busy at first light and on the outgoing tides, and the fish have been there to meet the anglers. Back in the Ten Thousand Islands, the redfish are starting to bunch up for fall, and the water is finally beginning to cool at the edges of the day.
What’s Hitting
What’s hot this week is snook. Big fish are staged at Gordon Pass, Capri Pass, Caxambas Pass, and along the beaches of Keewaydin Island, feeding on the pilchards and mullet moving through. Redfish are grouping up on the oyster bars and mangrove points in the Ten Thousand Islands from Goodland south to Chokoloskee, with some schools of 20 or more fish. Trout are on the deeper grass in Rookery Bay and around the Marco River. Mangrove snapper are still thick on the docks and nearshore reefs, and Spanish mackerel have shown up on the reefs in 20 to 40 feet.
Tarpon are still around the passes and the backcountry, though fewer each week.
Where to Find Them
Snook are on the beach side of the passes on the outgoing tide, along the rocks and the deeper edges. Keewaydin Island beach at first light has fish in the trough. Redfish are on the oyster bars and mangrove points in the islands on a rising tide — look for the bars near the mouths of the creeks south of Goodland and around the Fakahatchee Bay area. Trout are in 4 to 7 feet on the grass. Nearshore, the Five Mile Reef and the reefs off Marco in 20 to 40 feet have snapper and mackerel.
Tides & Conditions
New moon tides this weekend mean strong outgoing water at the passes, which is the best time for snook. Mornings have been calm with a light east wind, and the afternoon storms have been building over the Everglades and drifting west. Water temps are in the mid-80s, and clarity in the passes is good on the incoming tide. Seas nearshore have been 1 to 2 feet in the mornings.
Tackle & Tactics
Live pilchards free-lined on a 2/0 circle hook with 30-pound fluorocarbon at the passes, or a 5-inch paddle tail on a 1/4-ounce jig head worked along the rocks. For redfish, a gold spoon or a soft plastic on a weedless hook cast to the oyster bars, or a cut mullet chunk on the bottom. Trout are taking popping corks with shrimp or soft plastics. Nearshore, a small spoon or a jig for the mackerel and live shrimp on a knocker rig for the snapper.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: Bayview Park in Naples is the closest to Gordon Pass, the Caxambas Park ramp on Marco Island puts you at the south end of the island, and the Goodland boat ramp is the gateway to the Ten Thousand Islands. Chokoloskee has a public ramp for the south end of the islands. Fish are concentrating at the passes on the outgoing tide and on the oyster bars in the islands on the rising tide. Check current FWC regulations, slot limits, and seasons before keeping fish — snook season is open on the Gulf coast but the slot is narrow.
This Week’s Tip
In the passes, the snook hold on the down-current side of every rock and point, not the up-current side. Position the boat so your bait drifts naturally into the eddy behind the structure. A bait that swims into the current looks wrong. One that tumbles with the tide into the eddy looks like a meal.
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