Inshore Fishing Report
Snook fishing is going really well around the area lately from the beaches to the upper bay. We are seeing quite a few around the passes throughout the night and into the early morning. They are chasing a variety of baits around the area, but the threadfin or bigger pigfish are the go to for most of the big fish right now. However, the cut dead bait is already picking up with the water temperatures. Also, keep in mind, that the snook along with most any inshore species right now, area going to be looking for those shorelines, bridges, or mangroves for shaded areas during the day to find reprieve from the sun and heat. Also, this is part of the reason that the night time snook fishing is always such a great option.
Redfish are pretty concentrated in areas where you find them, especially around the mangrove shorelines right now. We are finding them around the docks, piers and bridges occasionally too but much less concentrated. Some are around the pass and beaches, but very sporadic coverage. They are starting to get more summertime ready, meaning they are starting to like those dead baits like cut threadfin or mullet around the shaded areas during the day. We also find them around the bottom at night around dock lights and bridge lights too.
Tarpon are thick around the area. We are finding quite a few around the mouth of tampa bay around our Egmont key ferry trips. We are also finding a few around the pass, especially under the bridge around the fender lights in the morning. Finally, quite a few spotted along the beaches while cruising back and forth between our shell key shelling trips.
Trout action has been solid around the area. While they are not as active in the shallows, we are finding a few in the early morning up on the flats. However, by mid day they are all in deeper water like the pockets, holes, or channels looking for a little reprieve from the hhot water temps.
Sharks are super common around the inshore waters lately too. We are seeing tons of them up in the bay, on the beaches and everywhere in between. Virtually any stinky bait soaking right now will likely attract sharks!
Help spread the word about what to do if you hook or entangle a bird. Never cut the line; instead, reel in the bird carefully to dehook and release it. If you accidentally hook a dock, break the line at the hook to avoid leaving any line in the water. Seabirds with fishing lines hanging from them are becoming more common, and this could lead to the closure of fishing areas.
Rising concerns about bird entanglements might result in closing fishing spots, impacting the few available locations around Tampa Bay from shorelines, docks, bridges, or piers. Learn more in our recent podcast with Salt Strong: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/shutting-down-fishing-at-busy-pier/.
Nearshore Fishing Report
Lane snapper are thick right now near shore with great numbers coming up around that 60ft of water mark. We are finding them on shrimp, squid, and cut threadfin. They are great eating fish and so fun to catch, and while we can find them shallower they start to get more consistent around that 60-70ft mark.
Mangrove snapper are going well near shore with the full moon ironically bringing with it some really good day time mangrove snapper action even near shore. We saw some truly impressive mangrove snapper throughout this week near shore around 60-100ft of water on shrimp, pinfish, and cut threadfin.
Red grouper action is going well for us near shore, but it has been very feast of famine with trips ranging from 3-6 or from 20-30 it seems. There has not been many trips in the middle of that range oddly enough. They are mostly keyed into the live baits, but we are finding some on the big dead baits.
Mackerel and kingfish are virtually gone from our near shore waters. While we haven’t given up complete hope yet it sure seems that is likely as of late.
Offshore Fishing Report
The red grouper fishing has been going really well for us offshore lately and were pumped to have the red snapper opening up soon with the red grouper. That has been a challenge getting past them to the red grouper. However, soon we will be able to thin out the red snapper and get down to our hungry red grouper. Keep in mind however, that red grouper will be closing at the end of June so make it out early to capitalize on the ability to keep both! Red grouper have been nailing the live pigfish lately, but pinfish work well and we also have seen plenty on nice dead baits too.
Mangrove snapper action is going well offshore lately too with some solid fish being caught using live pinfish. We of course see plenty on the cut threadfin and double snell rig too! They have even been so thick that some were coming up on squid, chicken rigs and other unconventional mangrove snapper methods lately too!
Vermillion snapper have been super large and plenty cooperative as well. We are seeing some nice fish caught lately especially on the lighter tackle and cut squid.
Pelagic action has been a bit dry for us, but we are finding them occasionally out deep with big tuna, wahoo, and kingfish being most common around our region this time of year.
Remember that when fishing in deeper nearshore and offshore federal waters, the Descend Act requires you to have a descending device or venting tool “rigged and ready.” If you know how to use a venting tool, keep it prepared. If not, here’s some helpful advice: https://bit.ly/3L5HTnv. Using a descending device is straightforward and doesn’t require as much precision or practice as venting. You can even get over $100 worth of descending device gear for free by taking a short course on barotrauma mitigation, which helps more fish survive. The course only takes about 10-15 minutes, and you can learn valuable techniques to protect our offshore fishery. Spread the word by visiting: https://returnemright.org/.
TERMS OF REFERENCE-
Inshore: This covers the areas from the inner bays, through the bridges, and right up to the beaches.
Near Shore: This includes the coastal waters from the beaches up to twenty miles offshore, or up to a depth of 100 feet.
Offshore: This extends from twenty miles offshore or from a depth of 100 feet and beyond.
For more fishing reports, photos, videos, and other content, check out Hubbard’s Marina on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, or Snapchat by searching for @HubbardsMarina. Remember our family motto: “If you’re too busy to go fishing, you’re just too busy!” Thank you for reading our report.
Capt. Dylan Hubbard, Hubbard’s Marina
Phone or text: (727) 393-1947
Website: Hubbard’s Marina
