Fishing report
Inshore- Snook fishing this past week went very well inside Johns Pass. Ryan Cloke from Tampa and his father Howard stopped in to fish the beach behind Hubbard’s Marina and left a few hours later after they got tired of catching so many snook on live shrimp and tail hooked live pigfish. Tim smith, from Reddington, was fishing the jetty and under the bridge catching nice sheepshead and flounder using live shrimp weighted to bottom at the tail end of outgoing tide this past week. Inshore on the flats, Kyle Morrison and his buddies were drifting the flats for nice sized trout and one monster bull red using live shrimp free lined on an incoming tide. Pompano are around the jetties too, just takes a skilled approach to target them. I like to use a doc’s jig or Nekid ball jig and bounce them along the bottom to mimic the pompano’s favorite bait the sand flea.
Near shore- The weather this week was very similar to last week, we had a front mid-week that ruined our chances for fishing for two days again. However, we were able to get some great trips in before the front brought its rain, wind and waves. Early this past week the hog bite was firing, we had tons of snapper and even some red grouper. Now that the bad weather has cleared were hoping for a weekend of good fishing and great weather. We have a weak front coming in through Saturday but were not expecting it to have a great effect on the weather. You can always check the weather on our site, by going to info then click ‘weather links’.
Offshore- Last weekend’s 39 hour did some awesome catching, wouldn’t even call it fishing. The 12 hour extreme this past weekend did the same but unfortunately was struggling to get away from the monster ‘endangered’ red snapper that seemed to be everywhere and the big ‘overfished’ gag grouper were thick and aggressive on each spot. We were able to get baits down to some big jacks, red grouper, mangroves, vermillion, yellowtail and more on the trips. The 39 hour even caught a mid 40lb monster kingfish while amberjack fishing. The big mangroves were the highlight of the trip however, many in the 7-10lb range were caught. You should really see the latest videos on Facebook as we have been doing video updates after each long range trip returns: https://www.facebook.com/hubbardsmarina/videos
Want to read the past reports? Check out this link: http://hubbardsmarina.com/hubbards-marina-fishing-reports/
Tampa Bay Ferry and Taxi News
We are expecting beautiful weather this weekend and hope you have the opportunity to come out and join us aboard the Tampa Bay Ferry! Catch the ferry at one of our many stops and head out for lunch/dinner and some shopping or just cruise the Intracoastal Waterway and observe all the unique, wonderful sights our area has to offer, as well as possible dolphin sightings along the way!
Our Jungle Prada stop is adjacent to the Sacred Lands Preservation which offers tours every Sunday at 4pm. Get there early and enjoy lunch at Jungle Prada Tavern. Or perhaps stop in for dinner after the tour and then catch a relaxing 8:10pm ferry ride back!
The complete list of ferry routes and stop locations can be seen at http://www.tampabayferry.com/madeira-beach-taxi-route/
Sacred Lands Preservation is a really cool park to explore it is nestled on the shore of Boca Ceiga Bay, is a place to remember the past, the past of our state, and of its native people. Sacred Lands is dedicated to preservation, because its mission is to keep Florida’s history alive for future generations. Located on the remains of the ancient Tocabaga Indian village, tours are offered every Sunday at 4pm. Explore the lives of the Tocabaga people and information about Florida’s native flora and fauna. And visit the Greenhouse Museum where you’ll see artifacts such as pottery, shell tools and native jewelry.
You can catch the ferry to many local restaurants, city centers, shopping areas, local beaches, and much more! It’s a great way to see the area and get to where you’re going without worrying about beach traffic or parking. To see all the special stops and the things to do at each stop visit this page on our new Tampa Bay Ferry and taxi website: http://www.tampabayferry.com/things-to-do/
As a reminder, parking is free at our Madeira Beach Marina and Jungle Prada stops. We look forward to seeing you! To see the schedule, map, and the stops with addresses check out this info on our website: http://www.tampabayferry.com/madeira-beach-taxi-route/
Keep in mind that the ferry does allow alcohol, pets, and anything you need for the beach so pack a cooler and come catch a cruise.
Did you know that Tampa Bay Ferry and Taxi offers a private taxi service, if you’re having a dinner party and want our boat to come pick you and your guests off to take you to your favorite waterfront bar or restaurant simply contact us and we can set you up this private taxi service!
Don’t drink and drive, drink and let us take you on the boat! The water taxi by Hubbard’s Marina is the coolest way to get home after some time at the beach bars.
Captain Jack’s Dolphin Corner
The bird nesting island in Boca Ceiga bay is coming alive with hatchlings and roosting seabirds. It is a great time to join us for a dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour at Hubbard’s Marina to share this special sights and sounds with family and friends.
Our local seabirds are not only roosting and nesting on dog leg key, our local hatchery, they are also dawning their mating plumage which makes them very colorful and robust. For example, the Roseate spoonbills are getting easier and easier to spot with their pinkish feathery appearance.
The Dolphins have been super easy to spot in large numbers lately around Boca Ceiga bay and the entrance to Tampa Bay. They are playful and ready to hunt the large schools of mullet. As the water warms during the spring they will only become more and more playful and easy to spot.
The local bald eagle that seems to be roosting atop a cell tower along the route of the dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour boat here inside Johns pass is getting fat with the many mullet we have spotted him swooping up along the back bay waters.
Want to learn more about dolphins this winter? Check out the new great Johns Pass dolphin facts series on our Hubbard’s Marina YouTube channel to check out to see them all watch our dolphin playlist here: https://goo.gl/2mYjX2
Upcoming up at Hubbard’s Marina
Ready to join us for the March 3rd-5th News channel 8 outdoor expo at the Tampa state fairgrounds? There will be plenty of great seminars, vendors, booths, food, boats and more at the show. We will have our booth set up and will have a seminar at 5:30pm on Friday the 3rd. We hope you all get to join us, for more info on the show check out this link: https://goo.gl/5ZLgXZ
Sunday March 5th we also have a 3pm bass pro shops seminar, so you could join us for two seminars in one weekend if you’d like!
We have lots of light 39 hour trips coming up on the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 31st of March at Hubbard’s Marina. These 39 hour fishing adventures offer 20 hours of fishing time, a two day bag limit, and you get to fish 70-100 miles from shore in 120-300 foot of water for monster jacks, red grouper, mangrove snapper, tuna and much much more!
The 12 hour extreme trips right now are limiting out on big jacks and catching monster red grouper and the Wednesday trips are consistently super light! Join us for some ‘reel’ offshore fishing fun at Hubbard’s Marina aboard the New and one of a kind Flying HUB 2.
Well were already hearing rumors that Amberjack may be a short season this year, it could be as short as 4-5 months for 2017! If this is true jacks could close April or May, so if you want to go catch some jacks let’s get you offshore on a 39,44 hour 12 hour extreme here asap since jacks opened January first and we may not have very long to continue keeping them before NOAA’s National Marine fisheries gulf council decides to close them early. Remember, we don’t get much advanced notice of this so stay tuned to our email newsletters and social media for more updates.
To book trips on our site, check out this link: https://hubbardsmarina.com/reservations/
Want to stay up to date with the latest catches, reports and more from Hubbard’s Marina? Follow the new live video segments that Hubbard’s Marina is posting daily to Facebook! Also, more Instagram photos and videos are popping up too! Plus, were on the FishBrain app now too and they were nice enough to add Hubbard’s Marina as a fishing location so now on your future trips you can upload your catch to our location. If you have questions or want more info about all this message Dylan Hubbard on the Hubbard’s Marina Facebook page or shoot him an email: info@HubbardsMarina.com
Regular’s club
We would love to have some of you all join us for the March 3rd-5th outdoor expo at the fairgrounds. We will need help manning the booth and talking to our fishing friends more about what we have to offer at Hubbard’s Marina. If you want to come join us at the booth let Dylan know via email info@HubbardsMarina.com we will have a cooler with drinks and be talking fishing all weekend.
If you have not renewed yet for 2017, please do so before booking your 2017 trips and you definitely want to get it done before January first. If you do not, we will be changing you to the FREE Johns Pass club which does not give you benefits you’re used to. Once in this club, you can always upgrade again to a paid club but if you book using your number while it’s a FREE Johns Pass membership you will not have your discount tied properly to your trips so get renewed before you book!
Captains Mark and Dylan Hubbard
Vice president and Regular’s club manager Hubbard’s Marina
(727)393-1947 ext 306