Marco Island is one of the world’s best year-round sportfishing destinations. Tarpon, snook, redfish, and sea trout thrive in the shallow waters around the island. Anglers who prefer deep-water fishing can enjoy looking for species that thrive in the Gulf of Mexico, including grouper, snapper, king mackerel, little tuni, shark, and cobia. There are several prime fishing spots to add to your fishing ventures, including Marco Island, Calusa Island Marina, Caxambas Park/Marina, South Beach, and Jolley Bridge.

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Backwater fishing is popular on Marco Island because it’s close to the dock, and you don’t need to travel far to find the fish. You can find medium to large snook, tarpon, redfish, snapper, trout, jack crevalle, pompano, sheepshead, spotted seatrout, and ladyfish in the calm backwaters. Use light tackle with live or artificial baits along the mangrove shores and beaches when fishing the backwaters. It’s best to fish in these shallow waters when it’s not too hot.

You can also try offshore fishing near Marco Island, where the waters are still quite warm and shallow at around 60 – 70 feet deep. The fish spawn well here, especially near wrecks and artificial reefs.

Fishing from the beaches and piers on the west side of the island is also productive. Bucktail jigs work well for beach and pier fishing. Many anglers find success using ¼ ounce or 3.8-ounce white jigs and shrimp or Buckley Gulf Shrimp, cast deep and slowly moving towards the shore. Jig near the bottom for pompano, sea trout, sheepshead, and jack crevalle, and move faster to catch Spanish mackerel and ladyfish.

The extreme shallows and grass flats near the Ten Thousand Islands are a perfect fly fishing location for experienced anglers. Here you will find snook and redfish. It’s best to fish the extreme shallows early in the morning using live bait or imitation shrimp, crabs, mullet, and shiners.

Marco Island boat ramps:

The following boat ramps provide access to Marco Island.