Hubbard’s Marina Fishing Report 11/3/17

Fishing report

Inshore– Big news this week was Sebastian Leonard, our first mate, catching a nice keeper gag from the dock while hand lining for some snook after our morning half day fishing trip. Sheepshead bite is still going very well getting thicker and thicker inside the passes around structure like docks, bridges and jetties. Black drum, a cousin of the sheepshead, are also getting more and more common this past week we’ve been seeing some true dinosaur looking drum being caught from the beach behind Hubbard’s Marina. Pompano still steady from the beaches, mostly on the Nekid ball jigz or Doc’s goofy jigs. The trick to pompano is fish the best tide either sunrise or sunset, or an incoming tide during the day while bouncing your jigs just along the bottom. You don’t want it getting too far from the bottom either, just a few inches high of a bounce is all you want. Snook action has been steady, but as waters cool they become more opportunistic. This time of year does bring the big girls out to play though, 40+ inch snook become more commonly caught.

 

 

Near shore– Triple tail time of year is upon us! Thanks to the local influx of crab traps due to stone crab season triple tail become easier and easier to target. If you run a crab ball line with your eyes peeled often you will find a few triples to free line some shrimp to. You can even use a live shrimp under a popping cork with a 6-12 inch leader. Trick with that is to cast beyond the fish as to not spook them with the cork then reel it back to the triple tail sitting by the buoy. Hogfish action continues to heat up, this past week we had a HUB private charter with a handful of hogs and some beautiful triple tail as well! Gags are becoming more and more common in the near shore waters but the offshore waters are teeming with the hungry gag grouper!

 

 

Offshore– It’s a killer time to get offshore right now as the gag bite is going strong. The 39 hour trips have absolutely been stomping monster fish, which many are lost to the ledges and rock piles but a good amount are landed too! Big gags take some patience as you have to soak the bait much longer for a big gag compared to the quick action of mangrove fishing for example. The 12 hour extreme has been doing well on the gags too, but with a limited amount of fishing time the break offs of big gags hurts quite a bit more. Keep in mind when a fish breaks off it can sit on the bottom or in its hole grunting loudly and that shuts down the bite for the area and typically causes the boat to have to move, this isn’t seen as such an impact on the 39 hour since your fishing larger spots with more area for fish to move around. Also, you get more fishing time so the captain has more time to try new areas where the bite hasn’t been shut off due to multiple break offs. Tuna action should really pick up this weekend on the full moon, especially at night. They love to follow the squid up to the surface and go nuts on a full moon night bite. The 44 hour full moon this weekend should do well on the gags, snapper and tuna!

Want to read the past reports? Check out this link: https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/hubbards-marina-fishing-reports/

Tampa Bay Ferry and Taxi news

 

 

Madeira beach Water taxi is running Friday-Sunday 10am-10pm right now and now that the weather has cooled down it’s a great time to enjoy a relaxing boat ride around the bay!

We are very pet friendly on the Madeira beach water taxi, plus you can pack your cooler with your favorite drinks too! It’s always a relaxing ride, and you can enjoy it how you see fit with as few or as many of your friends as you want the boat can hold up to 49 passengers. In addition, we even offer private party taxi service for your next dinner party we can come to the house or hotel and pick up your entire group to take you to the after party or on the water for a relaxing cruise.

And you can’t beat the price. Eat, explore, shop, or cruise, all for one low price! Don’t miss the most affordable boat ride in town.

There’s tons of stuff to do while catching a ride with the Madeira beach water taxi, check out all the things to do: http://www.tampabayferry.com/things-to-do/

Captain Jack’s dolphin corner

Baby face the local famous dolphin known for being hit by the boat propeller and getting that nasty scar on its tail is back to full health for a while now. We’re seeing her moving into the large play groups of dolphins and everything is back to life as normal minus her ‘badge of courage’ where you can still see where the prop scared her back.

The local baby dolphin named ‘tig’ that was bit by the shark and survived has been doing very well, spotting it often around the pass and playing with the other juveniles enjoying the weather.

Weather has cooled down significantly, this provides a great opportunity to explore the interior of Egmont key without dealing with severe heat or mosquitos. Plus, it makes it an all-around more enjoyable day on the boat and on the island. Nothing like laying in the sand with a relaxing cool breeze.

Mating plumage is starting to appear on our local brown pelicans turning their white heads yellow in preparation for the mating season. The colorful plumage is meant to attract a mate.

The bald eagles are starting to return to our area for their ‘winter stay’ we will only start to see more and more of them around the middle school, VA and local oyster bars.

Manatees are still in our area being seen fairly often, and they will remain around the area until the water temps reach or go below seventy two degrees. They will head north for the winter weather to hide in the springs that remain 72 degrees year around.

Discover the island is coming up out at Egmont key! Join us on November 11th or 12th for this special day at the island when the lighthouse is open for tours, the guardhouse and many walking tours and other special events are going on. The Ferry runs back and forth all day 9am-2pm and then we start returning guests to Fort De Soto after 2pm and 4pm is the last ferry back from the island. This special event is put on by the Egmont Key Alliance to celebrate all the history of the Island and all the island has to offer.

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

We are moving to a new booking software in the coming weeks, that will mean a new look to the online booking system and it will be SOOO much easier plus confirmation emails will begin, plus were hoping to have reminder emails and even thank you emails as well. Plus, better communication and ease of use for our staff. We will also finally be able to split payments with ease! We are all very excited but it will take a lot of training and some hard work to get it running smooth so please bear with us over the coming weeks as we settle into our new software and work through any kinks.

Want to learn more about offshore and nearshore fishing? Join Capt. Dylan Hubbard and Capt. Mike Anderson on November 14th at the Gator Ford fishing conversation on November 14th from 7-9pm there will be free food and drinks and great fishing fun. Plus, Capt. Dylan Hubbard will be raffling off a FREE 10 hour all day and a FREE 5 hour half day at this great event to anyone who attends the whole fishing conversation.

Discover the island is coming up out at Egmont key! Join us on November 11th or 12th for this special day at the island when the lighthouse is open for tours, the guardhouse and many walking tours and other special events are going on. The Ferry runs back and forth all day 9am-2pm and then we start returning guests to Fort De Soto after 2pm and 4pm is the last ferry back from the island. This special event is put on by the Egmont Key Alliance to celebrate all the history of the Island and all the island has to offer.

Last but not least, don’t forget about the Reel Animals fishing show the weekend of November 17th! Captain Mike Anderson will be at the helm for this show, but Capt Frank Sergeant will be there as an advisor and will be there to meet and greet all weekend like the good ole days! This show is a can’t miss, and Hubbard’s Marina will have their booth set up all weekend raffling off that FREE 39 hour. PLUS, Capt Dylan Hubbard has a 1:30pm seminar on the 17th and a 1pm seminar on the 18th.

Want to book a fishing trip for 2018? The schedule will be released for bookings early December! We will finalize the date soon and give you all plenty of advanced notice as to what day you can go online or call us to start booking

We have changed around a lot of stuff on our website, you should check out the added material on our FAQs page to further explain bait options, best spots on the boat, rod rental options and lots more helpful information to hopefully help first time anglers with us have a more quality experience. To see the changes, check out the FAQs: https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/faqs/

Gag grouper also open up June first and remain open until the end of 2017 so get ready for some big grouper fishing action with us at Hubbard’s Marina.

Regular’s club

2018 Club signups will begin around 1st or 2nd week of Nov this year. Keep in mind, if you are a paid member you will get a call and/or email automatically when it is your turn to renew your membership. You don’t have to renew when we call, but the earlier you pay the earlier you are able to start making 2018 bookings. If you are NOT a paid member, but would like to become a Regular’s club member in 2018 then please email Dylan your full name and best phone number (preferably a cell number) at the email below. Then your info will be added to the 2018 potential new member list and once were done offering renewals we will call you potential new members to see if they want to sign up or wait. There is no rush to join or sign up or renew there is no cap on how many members we have, but again the earlier you sign up the sooner you can book for 2018 but you must become a PAID member with receipt before bookings and you will be contacted when it’s your turn to pay if you so choose. Please do NOT contact us until you have got the green light to sign up by receiving a personal call or email from Capt. Dylan Hubbard.

Captains Mark and Dylan Hubbard
Vice president and Regular’s club manager Hubbard’s Marina
(727)393-1947 ext 306
CaptHubbard@HubbardsMarina.com

 

 

Hubbard’s Marina Preferred Partner Showcase:

Friendly fisherman restaurant – http://www.GoFriendlyFisherman.com/

FRESH GROUPER COUPON
$3.00 off a Grouper meal or
Grouper sandwich
October 30th – November 15th
(please print and present to server when ordering)