Fishing Report
Inshore Fishing Report – The Snook action is plentiful right now inside the passes. They are being caught on the tail end of the outgoing or incoming tides mostly on live shrimp. Sheepshead and drum still very aggressive and plentiful as well loving cut oysters or small pieces of shrimp free lined to bottom. If the current is strong you can use some weight but you want the minimal amount to ensure your piece of bait is floating down the pilings of the local bridges and docks naturally ensuring your best bites from the local sheepshead. Trout action at night is still very active, you got to find them along the light lines or dock lights of the passes or back bays. During the day you can find them on the shallower flats but when the water is cool you got to remember to work your baits slowly.
Near Shore Fishing Report – Finally the near shore fishing has recovered from that super strong cold front, were starting to see the waters clear and the bite return. The end of this past week were starting to see the catches from our 5 hour half days return to normal. Looking forward to seeing the Hogfish start biting well again too. The ten hour all day Thursday crushed the fish with monster lane snapper, big red grouper, some nice hogs, a few nice mangroves and then tons of the grey snapper, porgies and seabass. They were able to find cleaner waters out near the edges of the near shore waters that helped them find very cooperative numbers of local fish.
Offshore Fishing Report – The Flying HUB 2 twelve hour extreme this past weekend demolished the fish with a limit of amberjack and nearly a boat limit of red grouper as well! The deep water closure stopped us from keeping some monster red grouper on the deeper amberjack stops but we were able to come inside 120 foot and still do very well on the red grouper. This past weekend we did not have a 39 hour due to gasparilla charters so the 12 hour extreme was our only offshore trip lately. 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: https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/hubbards-marina-fishing-reports/
Tampa Bay Ferry and Taxi News
Join us on the ferry ride to ROC Park in Madeira Beach this Friday night (February 3rd) for a movie ON THE BEACH at Archibald Park. The movie being featured is 50 First Dates showing from 7pm til 9pm and it is free! The Snack Shack at Archibald Park will be open for food and drinks, but of course feel free to bring your own snacks as well.
There are so many restaurants to enjoy at our many Ferry stops. Most offering entertainment as well as unique lunch/dinner specials. This weekend we would like to highlight the Bilmar Beach Resort and Sloppy Joes. For this location you would take the Ferry to stop #8. This weekend, (Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings) the Bilmar will have live entertainment at the Beach Café from 7:00 till 10pm featuring Reggae Beats. Sloppy Joe’s at the Bilmar will feature modern country music from 5:30pm until 8pm Saturday
Night. Another great opportunity to relax and enjoy right ON THE BEACH
The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend and we really hope you have the opportunity to join us as we travel the Intracoastal Waterway Friday night from 4pm until 10pm and all day Saturday & Sunday from 10am til10pm. The ride itself is guaranteed all the remarkable sights our area has to offer and while not guaranteed, there is a very good chance you will see dolphins swimming and frolicking nearby! Along the way, you may also want to get off for a relaxing lunch/dinner at any of the wonderful restaurants at or in the vicinity of our ferry stops. Then get back onboard as you continue on to your destination while cruising the beautiful intercostal waterways of the Gulf Beaches.
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/
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.
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!
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
The Roseate spoonbills are dawning their very pink colors today thanks to the brine shrimp they eat and their mating plumage is coming in which turns the pinkish color better than their normal feathers. They are really unique looking and can be spotted around
Believe it or not we are seeing our first baby seabirds starting to hatch at Dog leg Key Island! The Great Blue herons are always the first to have their babies of the year and were seeing a few pairs of them sitting on eggs and a few eggs have already hatched into baby herons.
Very strange to see manatees still around our area this time of year, typically come the winter we don’t see them any longer but lately we’ve been spotting them on our dolphin tours inside the pass and at Egmont key! We presume it’s due to the mild winter we’ve had.
The truly amazing thing is were seeing baby brown pelicans this early in the year! Some people may not believe us, but were seeing it with our own eyes truly amazing to have them hatching their babies this early, but were happy to have them maybe the warmer than normal weather is sparking this early hatchlings and we hope the cooler than normal weather coming this weekend won’t negatively affect them.
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 at Hubbard’s Marina
The February tenth 44 hour full moon trip has a super light load and it’s a great time to go fill up the boxes with mangrove snapper, amberjack, red grouper and tuna! With a light load and a big moon it’s a great time to get offshore.
Great seminar coming up February 8th starting at 7pm and being held at the Fat cat tavern in Largo. We will be talking fishing with the Fat Cat Tavern’s fishing club but their meetings are open to the public and all are welcome plus it’s held on a Wednesday which is burger night so I always show up an hour or so early to get some great food and a few drinks in before my seminars.
If you can’t make February 8th’s seminar join us at the Lee County civic center in Ft. Myers February 11th and 12th for the Florida Sportsman outdoor expo we have seminars at noon both days on hogfish!
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://www.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
Thank you all for renewing for 2017, we appreciate your continued interest and patronage of Hubbard’s Marina. It was great seeing you all for the Regular’s club Christmas party, and we hope to see you plenty during the coming year.
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
info@HubbardsMarina.com
UPDATED Coupon information
HALF OFF the dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour inside Johns Pass (Daily)
HALF OFF the kayak or paddle board rentals inside Johns Pass (Daily)
HALF OFF 5 hour half day fishing (Monday-Thursdays only)
-MUST HAVE COUPON PRINTED and must have reservation at least 24hrs in advance and give notice of coupon
-cannot combine discounts
-Good for entire reservation if you pay together
-While supplies last
Expires 2/10/17
