Fishing report
Inshore- The weather has been a roller coaster this past week with high and low pressures bouncing around our area, but the sheepshead and black drum didn’t seem to mind. Besides those species we did see a nice redfish caught from the jetty and heard of a handful of whiting. Other than that, it was a little slow this past week inshore and along the pass. The redfish hit a slow moving gold spoon being retrieved around the John’s Pass Bridge on our warmest day this past week on the beginning of the incoming tide. Whiting and black drum were hitting the same bait with the same technique just a live shrimp weighted to bottom with minimal weight around the sandy areas along the north jetty and beaches. The black drum can also be found around the docks and back bay areas while the whiting typically hang along the beaches. Sheepshead still loving the pieces of live shrimp, fiddler crabs or cut up oysters. The water have been very muddy though so stinkier bait helps and the slower you retrieve your lures the better. When the water is cold the fish move slower and a fast moving bait in cooler water doesn’t appear as natural and the predators are going to be more opportunistic when feeding in the chilly water temps. Also, these full moon negative tides have really had the back bays and even the pass a little shallower than normal. When the water is gone or very low it’s a great time to scout your favorite fishing areas to see the areas that fish tend to congregate and find all the little depressions and holes and troughs that will hold fish when water comes back in!
Near shore- This past week has been very turbulent weather as stated in the inshore report, but we did get a little weather window Tuesday behind a big front before a big high pressure. It was supposed to be very rough but we got a little reprieve Tuesday afternoon and were able to get a nice group of 5 hour half day guests out there and they did VERY WELL compared to what we thought we would see with how muddy and turbulent the weather was. They got some nice hogfish, mangrove snapper and even some big sheepshead plus tons of grey snapper. The Wednesday trip was much more bumpy and the high pressure had settled in and the fishing was much slower but they still did well for how bumpy and stirred up and cold the waters were. We did not get any 10 hours or private fishing charters out this past week due to weather, but we did get out there last Friday and Saturday before the big front Sunday and the fishing was very hot on hogfish, mangrove snapper, lane snapper, and even some red grouper. This coming week we got another big front Wednesday so Sunday, Monday and Tuesday should be KILLER fishing and weather getting better and better each one of those days before the big front Wednesday.
Offshore – Due to weather, we did not get any Flying HUB 2 trips or long range charters out this week but we did get a 44 hour full moon trip out before the front this past weekend before the bad weather rolled in Sunday and the catch was simply EPIC. They had a HUGE pile of fish for just two dozen anglers and nearly a full boat limit of mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper and vermillion snapper! Plus nice scamp grouper came in and a handful of fat red grouper too. We saw African pompano, yellowmouth grouper, mutton snapper, blackfin tuna and kingfish too. The entire night last Friday the fish just were on fire as soon as you dropped down you either hooked up or lost your bait. One of the best fishing trips we have had in a long time for sure, and it’s a prime example of how great fishing ahead of a front can be!
Want to watch Capt Dylan Hubbard’s Daily video reports? Check out the Hubbard’s Marina YouTube channel and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE! – Hubbard’s Marina daily fishing & boating report
Upcoming up at Hubbard’s Marina
We have super light loads coming up in February on our 39 hour long range trips and our February 44 hour full moon long range trip! Especially the Tuesday 39 hour in February is super light, below are the dates of the trips and these are GREAT opportunities to get tons of the big mangrove snapper, vermillion snapper, yellowtail snapper, porgies and more that we have been seeing and hopefully plentiful blackfin tuna and more as well!
February 8th – Friday 39 hour
February 15th – Friday 44 HOUR full moon trip
Feb 19th – Tuesday 39 hour
Feb 22nd – Friday 39 hour
BOOK YOUR TRIP TODAY BY CALLING US AT (727)393-1947 OR BOOKING ONLINE – https://HubbardsMarina.com/reservations
Our 12 hour extreme trips right now also are going out with super light loads as well, if you are ready for some big red grouper, scamp and mangrove snapper and plenty of others it’s a great time to get out on the flying HUB 2 for some offshore fishing fun with us at Hubbard’s Marina on a Wednesday or Sunday.
The 5 hour half days and 10 hour all day right now are also carrying smaller loads of guests especially during the week! If you want a chance to go out with only 20-40 people instead of the more full trips come visit us during the week for some killer snapper fishing and light loads on board the trips!
Want to learn more about fishing locally and WIN FREE FISHING TRIPS without leaving you’re house? Don’t forget we have the Weekly fishing conversation or seminar by Capt Dylan Hubbard LIVE on the Hubbard’s Marina Facebook page if you don’t want to leave your house to catch a seminar! We also then upload this video to the Hubbard’s Marina YouTube page shortly after the live video is over. This is weekly on Sunday nights from 8:30pm until 9:30pm, check out the event page and PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE the event if you have a Facebook page, and invite your friends as well! Here’s the page to find the facebook event link, and view all the past LIVE Q&A fishing shows – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/past-qanda-live-streams/
2019 TRIPS FILLING FAST Book your 2019 10,12, 39 or 44 hour trip TODAY while there’s still tons of open room, these trips will fill quickly so book NOW. Last year red snapper trips were filled up by end of January, so don’t miss your chance at securing your favorite trip TODAY. Here’s the link for all your 2019 12,39 and 44 hour trips – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/specialty-fishing-trip/
Want some FREE fishing trips with us at Hubbard’s Marina? Want to learn more about near shore and offshore fishing? Check out the upcoming Bass pro shops fishing seminar with Capt Dylan Hubbard at the Tampa bass pro location. The next seminar will be Saturday February 16th at 2:30 pm. The fishing seminar or fishing conversation will be about an hour long of fishing conversation, tips, tricks and more! Plus, at the end of each seminar Capt Dylan gives away a FREE 10 hour all day for two guests and a FREE 5 hour half day for two guests to two lucky winners of the FREE raffle. To be entered in the raffle you just have to show up around 2pm and stay for the hour seminar. Check out the Facebook event for this upcoming seminar here – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/bass-pro-fishing-seminars/ You can also view all the past bass pro shops seminars at this page too!
Captain Jack’s dolphin corner
We have been seeing plenty of playful dolphins around Johns Pass lately and even spotting the juveniles learning how to ‘play’ and interact with their family groups. Multiple morning videos where we do the fishing and weather updates with a sunrise view have featured the playful dolphins around Johns Pass. It’s a great time to get out on the water and enjoy this beautiful weather, red tide free water, and the playful local dolphins! Here’s all the information on our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/dolphin-watching-cruises/
Our sunset cruise is only Friday, Saturday and Sunday this time of year but that doesn’t stop the good times! Hope you get a chance to join us for this fun filled cruise in the near future. It’s a bit more of a party atmosphere compared to our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour, and it doesn’t offer the full narration like the dolphin tour but there’s great music and some great jokes. Plus, the sunset cruise takes you down the beautiful gulf beaches at the golden hour with the sunset to your left and the beautiful beaches to your right. Plus, we often spot pods of the dolphins cruising the beaches too while enjoying the free beer and wine offered aboard our sunset cruise at Hubbard’s Marina inside Johns Pass Madeira Beach. To learn more about the fun filled sunset cruise with free beer and wine check out this link – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/sunset-cruise/
Hubbard’s Marina Sea Adventures and Tampa Bay ferry are both proudly power by Honda Marine! If you come visit us for a dolphin tour, sunset cruise, Egmont key island trip, snorkeling, shelling, water taxi ride or any type of ferry or pleasure cruise trip then you will be riding a boat powered by Honda Marine! These new motors look great, are super quiet and are great on fuel economy! It was tough to get four boats re-powered with new engines but it was well worth the change and were very happy! Hope you get a chance to see these brand new super cool engines at work on board one of our pleasure cruise and ferry boats! To learn more about Honda Marine engines for your boat, check out their website: https://marine.honda.com/ they have the best warranty in the industry right now, you get a full 5 years and you just can’t beat that!
Tampa bay ferry News
Right now the water is a bit chilly to snorkel out at Egmont key island, but the weather is perfect for exploring the island’s walking paths and hiking trails and the big fort that sits on the island’s interior. Plus, this time of year the weather makes the island nearly bug free compared to the summer time when the mosquitoes can get a little thicker out there.
Also, the shelling is incredible this time of year due to less people visiting the island and the frequent cold fronts stirring up the local waters and pushing fresh shells onto the beaches. Since this is a true island nestled in the mouth of Tampa bay Egmont key island has some of the best shelling around and is harder to get to for the masses since it’s only accessible by larger boats since you have to navigate the deep shipping channel to make it to this island paradise. The Tampa bay ferry by Hubbard’s Marina offers 11am ferry rides to the island Wednesday through Sunday this time of year. You get three hours on the island after around a 20-30 minute ride out and back to the island. Plus, we often see dolphins, seabirds and sometimes even sea turtles on the ride out and back thus the ride time can fluctuate a bit depending on what we spot during the cruise out to your island oasis! For more info on the Egmont key ferry, visit this page of the Hubbard’s Marina website – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/egmont-key-ferry-cruise/
The Shell key ferry trip is not running or offered this time of year due to the low amount of interest in the area. However, it will resume this spring starting in March with daily rides out to shell Key Island multiple times per day! For now, the only option is a day out at Egmont key with the Tampa Bay Ferry by Hubbard’s Marina.
Regular’s club
We have finished 2019 regular’s club renewals and we are starting on signing up NEW MEMBERS, if you are interested in becoming a 2019 regular’s club loyalty program member please reach out to Capt. Dylan Hubbard by sending him your name and cell number via email to CaptHubbard@HubbardsMarina.com. He will be in touch in the coming few weeks about the loyalty program that offers discounted trips if you fish more than 10,15 or 20 times a year with us at Hubbard’s Marina. It also comes with some free gifts and other benefits too besides discounted trips, but it’s NOT simply a discount program. It’s a loyalty program and it requires fishing often and being a model Hubbard’s Marina guest and showing the passion shared by all of us at Hubbard’s Marina for fishing and our fellow anglers.
PAST AND PRESENT MEMBERS: be sure to renew your membership before 2018 ends!
Captain Dylan Hubbard
Vice president and Co-Owner
(727)393-1947 ext. 306
CaptHubbard@HubbardsMarina.com
Fishing Report Special
FREE 10 HOUR ALL DAY FOR TWO GUESTS! Join Capt Dylan for the Sunday night live stream show that happens EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT at 8:30pm! The next show: Sunday February 3rd at 8:30pm Capt Dylan will be giving away the free fishing trip for two during the show, all you have to do is tune in and watch the entire hour live Q &A fishing show! Here’s more info on the show – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/live-q-and-a-fishing-shows/
Expires: 2/03/19
Preferred partner spotlight
