Fishing report
Inshore– The weather has the mullet on the move, this means big snook are following them around the bayous and passes. This is the time of year big bait gets you monster snook inshore. The red fish are on the move as well, it’s a great time to get out and find you a monster school of fish heading out of the bays or back through. We’re spotting them offshore too in huge breeding or traveling schools. Trout are active where they can stay warm especially around the dock lights at night, find and underwater light and let your lure sink a little deeper than you would in the summer and remember to move it slower as water has the fish a little slower. However, deep around that warm light you will find you some willing participants ready to take a bit of your bait.
Near shore– Well we had a lull in the kingfish there at the end of last week and early this week but lately they have picked up quite a bit it seems as some water pockets of water are being found between 7-12 miles. They have definitely moved off the beaches but were still seeing them in the near shore waters surprisingly. The hogfish bite has been incredible though with numbers as high as nearly 20 keepers on half days and nearly 30 keepers on all days and the charters get near limiting out with them. It’s been great to see such a strong push of these yummy hogfish!
Offshore– The 39 hour fishing trips have started back up thanks to the Florida fisherman returning to action after its long nearly three month dry dock. Our first trip out of the yard smashed the fish, tons of big gags, red grouper, scamp, mangroves, yellowtail, tuna, kingfish, vermilions and more! Then the Second trip was a bit bumpy but still smashed the snapper with a monster push of yellowtail snapper that was pleasantly surprising for this time of year with some in the 3-5lb range. Kingfish action around the middle grounds and elbow is outstanding right now they were even hitting dead sardines being dropped down or reeled up by guys using grouper rigs. Those who switched to the deadly kingfish rig of Jig head with a piece of wire trailer and treble hook into sardine floated back into current were catching the kingfish personal limits with ease. The mangrove snapper bite on both trips was steady, solid and filled with monster mangroves some nearly the 8-9lb range! Check out our 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
The Ferry plans to run this weekend, hope you get a chance to catch the #TBFerry for a fun filled and relaxing ride out to the beaches while avoiding the traffic and parking issues!
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!
The Tampa Bay Ferry and Taxi by Hubbard’s Marina is doing well and we have the ferry running Friday afternoons starting at 4pm until 10pm then also on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 10pm. For a full route map, schedule, fares, and to buy tickets check out our new site: http://www.tampabayferry.com/madeira-beach-taxi-route/
If you like the night life, you can use the ferry for your very own pub crawl with your friends!
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/
Captain Jack’s Dolphin Corner
Great time of year to explore Egmont Key Island, the temps are low and the bugs and heat are gone. Awesome time to go hunting through the island and spotting wildlife. Plus, the island has tons of great exploration trails to the fort and lighthouse and this time of year it’s relaxing and cool to take a stroll through the island’s interior.
Our local rookery named Dog Leg Key is really active this time of year. This adds a great bonus to our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tours during the day. Also, this time of year our sunset cruise goes by the bird nesting island during dusk when the birds are returning to the island to roost for the night. This is a perfect opportunity to see our local wildlife up close and personal.
Manatees have made their moves north for the winter to the natural springs and power plants, we do have a few local Johns Pass Manatees that hang out here through the winter but the bulk of the local population have moved up north for the time being and will return sometime this spring around March or April when the water warms up in the mid to high 70’s again.
Lately the dolphins around Johns Pass have been super active and playful with our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour at Hubbard’s Marina. They are really loving the cooler waters and are enjoying feeding on the plentiful mullet that are running through the area waters.
Want to learn more about dolphins? Hubbard’s Marina now has a great dolphin facts series on our YouTube channel to check out to see them all watch our dolphin playlist here: https://goo.gl/2mYjX2
Egmont Key Island has recovered quickly from the recent brush fire that occurred on the island thanks to a lightning bolt. This fire burned away much of the brush and the trunks of the trees on the island. However, the trees now have lush green tops now and the cleared out brush areas have allowed visitors to more easily spot the islands wildlife.
The Bald Eagles are back in the area and we have a nesting pair on top of a local cell tower. You can spot these beautiful birds of prey from our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour at Hubbard’s Marina.
Did you know that Hubbard’s Marina now offers a Paddleboard fitness class? We are working with Sea Strength to put together these unique classes. They are Saturday and Sunday mornings for now at the Johns Pass sandbar. You can meet your trainer at the Hubbard’s Marina beach behind our shop before paddling to the sandbar for a unique fitness class with your knowledgeable instructor, plus it’s only $20 to join! Check out Sea Strength on Instagram or Facebook to learn more about these unique classes! Here’s the link to their page: https://www.facebook.com/SeaStrength
Upcoming up at Hubbard’s Marina
The NEW 2017 specialty trip schedule at Hubbard’s Marina will be coming out December 9th around mid-day or early afternoon. Stay tuned to our weekly email newsletters to see the newest schedule and trips for 2017 we have tons of great 12 hour extremes, 39, 44 and 63 hour trips coming up for you and your fishing friends to hop on. Remember to book early and often as we plan to load up on the fish in 2017.
Want to learn more about winter time offshore fishing? Join Hubbard’s Marina for their FREE seminar at the Tampa Bass Pro shops! Our next seminar is coming up December 18th at 3pm. We always raffle off a free 10 hour fishing trip at these seminars as well for anyone who attends the whole seminar they have a chance to win this free trip in our free raffle!
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
“If you’re too busy to go fishing, You’re just too busy!”
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