Fishing report
Inshore- Still no red tide in our area, allowing for great Johns Pass fishing! Mackerel are here in force feeding on the small white bait. This means you have to use the smaller spoons or Gotcha plugs but they are ready to fire off nearly every morning can be found chasing big bait schools around the pass. Plus, lots of snook still around ready to eat on the large dead bait along the bottom or free lined live bait. The whiting are biting well along our beaches right now just along the beach in the troughs created by the breaking waves. Were still hearing the trout are loaded up around the dock lights of Johns Pass at night, and now that the white bait is here and getting bigger the trout are ferocious at night. I love to work the smaller DOA shrimp or the Nekid ball jigs for the trout around the pass dock lights.
Near shore- Large schools of bait near shore are holding HUGE piles of mackerel and the kingfish aren’t far behind. I would imagine that the full moon we have coming up will bring in the schoolie sized kings. Right now though it’s 99% mackerel only near shore and they are loving the small squid spoons in the 2-3 inch range on the number one sized planners trolled between six to nine knots. We are also seeing lots of hogfish lately near shore especially on our private fishing charters that allow us the time and flexibility to dial in on these super smart, leader-shy, unaggressive fish. Plus, were seeing lots of lane snapper near shore too. The red grouper bite is still very spotty near shore but with a little luck and lots of hard work we are finding areas that are holding some keeper sized red grouper, but they are very unaggressive right now and seem to be way more willing to bite with a more finesse approach with less lines in the water allowing a more stealthy approach, meaning the smaller group charters or private anglers definitely have a benefit over the larger party boats trying to target the near shore red grouper.
Offshore – Amberjack season is in full swing and this past weekend’s 39 hour got some really nice jacks in the 60-70lb range, and we nearly had two dozen or so that were quite respectable sized. The triggerfish bite was going well too, but unfortunately they are closing at 12:01am on the 17th so most likely by the time your reading this they will be closed until spring 2019 when they typically re-open in March. The red grouper and gags were a little picky this past weekend on the 39 hour but Capt Mark on the Flying HUB 1 was able to find some truly monster red grouper in the 180-240 foot areas. The gags and mangroves seem to be biting well in the 120-160 foot areas especially through the early mornings through sunrise. Lots of big yellowtail chewing well right now around night now, especially at night in the 120-180 foot range. The vermillion snapper bite is going well through the day and night period the porgies are doing well too so that really adds some value to the trip with plenty of head and tail action filling in the gaps of the bite.
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Captain Jack’s dolphin corner
Currently red tide free right now and were hoping to stay that way, however, it is just to our south in Sarasota county but has to get all the way across the bay before reaching our area luckily.
However, due in part to this ride to our south I feel this has ‘pushed’ manatees up our way more and were spotting tons of them lately around Johns Pass and Upper Boca Ceiga bay. This has really been a unique sight to see manatees so frequently as of late. Were just hoping they don’t get caught in any more red tide but as long as they stay to its north side they will be fine.
Lots of playful dolphins around right now too, perhaps again due to the red tide to our south pushing greater concentrations north. However, our area is completely red tide free at the moment and we will continue keeping you up to date in our newsletters, on our facebook videos, and daily reports too!
Sea Turtle nesting season is still in full swing and were spotting lots of nests along our local beaches so were warning our island going guests to be aware of these nests and anyone walking the beaches at night should be aware of sea turtles making their way up the beaches to nest. Remember, if you do happen to spot a sea turtle never use a white light to photograph them or watch them you have to use a red light and most smart phones have an app you can download easily that will allow you to use a red light instead of a white light.
Right now, is an awesome time to experience some great times on the water at Hubbard’s Marina while cruising the back-bay waters of upper Boca Ceiga bay aboard the big blue dolphin boat out of Johns Pass Madeira beach. Our hour and a half dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour with guaranteed dolphin sightings has been spotting large pods of dolphin and it’s been super nice weather for us too. Plus, our entire cruise is narrated so the captain will tell you all about the local area and local wildlife as well. If you want to learn more about the relaxing, fun and family friendly Johns Pass dolphin watching tour with us at Hubbard’s Marina check out this page – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/dolphin-watching-cruises/
The shelling lately has been phenomenal around shell key and our three-hour shelling trip Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am until noon is a great way to spend an hour on the island hunting for tons of great local shells. Plus, you have an hour ride down to the island through the beautiful intercoastal waterways and then you have a relaxing hour ride back from the island along our gorgeous gulf beaches. What a great way to spend the morning with your family, friends or whoever you want to show off our gorgeous local islands too and share some awesome shelling opportunities with. For more information on the fun filled three-hour shelling adventure with us at Hubbard’s Marina check out this page – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/florida-shelling-cruise/
Baby face our local famous dolphin that was hit by a boat’s propeller has made a miraculous recovery and just recently had a baby of its own! This is great to see this dolphin doing so well after such a traumatic injury and her and her newborn are doing well and can be spotted easily aboard our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour or the Madeira beach water taxi service!
The waters in the back bays has been gorgeous lately! The weather has been great for dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tours because the dolphins are playful, birds are roosting, and waters are super clear making dolphin watching easy and fun! Plus, lots of manatees and sea turtles are around right now too. For more info on our guaranteed dolphin sightings tour check out this informational link with some great Madeira beach dolphin tours info – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/dolphin-watching-cruises/
Hubbard’s Marina Sea Adventures, Tampa bay ferry and taxi, and the Madeira beach water taxi are all now 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
Three bird rescues this week at Egmont key! Unfortunately due to fishing line issues we have found three seabirds this week that needed our help, two were brown pelicans and one was a tern. We feel very blessed to be in the right place at the right time to help out our local wildlife!
We are continuing to stay red tide free out at Egmont Key, Fort De Soto and shell key for now even with it just at the south end of Tampa Bay we are very lucky not to be experiencing in our local area on the north side of Tampa bay yet and were hoping it continues this way.
Unfortunately, we do have some bad news to report however. Due to the City of Madeira beach new city government voting to defund the Madeira beach water taxi we are being forced to shut down the Madeira beach water taxi operations as of September 30th. If you would like to ride the Madeira beach water taxi before the city shuts it down, there’s still plenty of time to join us! This is a great way to get to Johns Pass, sea the area, go for a pub crawl, or just hangout on a gorgeous water taxi as it takes guests, locals, and tourists alike around our beautiful local area. Check out this link for our Madeira beach water taxi schedule by Tampa bay ferry – http://tampabayferry.com/madeira-beach-water-taxi/route-and-schedule/
The shell key ferry has been spotting lots of manatees around shell key and bunces pass lately while cruising to and from the island. This island ferry ride is a great way to experience shell key and offers tons of flexibility on how long or how short you want to spend time on the island shelling, swimming and exploring this pristine island paradise! For more info on how you can join us for a ride to shell key aboard the shell key ferry by Tampa bay ferry and Hubbard’s Marina check out this page – https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/shell-key-ferry/
Don’t forget to check out the BRAND NEW shell key ferry from Fort De Soto County Park out to the beautiful shell key preserve! This is a great way to see the island, go shelling and enjoy a day on the water with a flexible schedule. For more info on this new ferry route check out this link to the Tampa bay ferry shell key page – http://tampabayferry.com/shell-key-ferry/route-and-schedule/
The Egmont key ferry is running daily as well with multiple rides out to the island from Fort De Soto’s bay pier. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday there’s an afternoon ferry option too instead of just mid-morning. Check out the website for ferry prices and times. Plus, while on the island they offer a snorkeling trip too!
https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/egmont-key-ferry-cruise/
Upcoming up at Hubbard’s Marina
Want to win some FREE fishing trips with us at Hubbard’s Marina? Join Capt Dylan Hubbard at Bass Pro Shops Tampa at 2pm, Saturday August 25th for a chance to win a free 5-hour half day for two guests or a FREE 10 hour all day fishing trip for two guests. All you must do is attend this free seminar and get a free raffle ticket just before the seminar begins and at the end, Capt Dylan Hubbard will draw the two lucky winners plus during the hour-long seminar he will give away whatever tips, tricks and techniques you want to learn about. Plus, this is held at the wonder Tampa bass pro shops location where there’s so much to do, see and learn about. Also, next door is a new Dave and busters arcade and top golf is across the street as well so it’s a great place to spend a Saturday. After the seminar you can join Capt Dylan Hubbard for a drink and gator bites at the Islamorada fish company right inside the bass pro shops, it’s one of his favorite restaurants and a great way to spend more time with him before he runs back to Hubbard’s Marina. For more info on the event, check out the event page on Facebook, and PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE the event to all your friends – https://www.facebook.com/events/463373337511901/
Amberjack season is HERE! It’s a great time to book your long range fishing trip aboard our party boats or a special long range private charter trip with us at Hubbard’s Marina!
Big news for the shop at Hubbard’s Marina our Icast orders are showing up we are getting a surplus of the two speed ld50s daiwa saltist and Saltiga reels which are the ones Capt Dylan Hubbard recommends for your mangrove snapper, grouper hunting on nearly every trip we offer. Plus, we have tons of new Fathom Offshore trolling skirts and trolling lures to use on your next 39, 44 or 63 hour fishing trips with us at Hubbard’s Marina. Finally, we have our new custom Hubbard’s Marina/Bull Bay rods coming very soon which will be custom sticks created by the master rod builders at Bull Bay rods with Capt Dylan and Capt Mark Hubbard’s suggestions and tips customized into these unique, strong, sensitive and extra light weight fishing rods. These are going to be truly special and we have a total of five different setups to cover the full gambit of offshore and near shore fishing needs.
Want to learn more about fishing locally? 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! https://www.facebook.com/events/249881722421418/
Regular’s club
Our regular’s club loyalty program is now closed for 2018, if you would like info on joining for 2019 you can email Capt Dylan Hubbard anytime and he can send you the info and get you on the list for a 2019 membership!
Captains Mark and Dylan Hubbard
Vice president and Regular’s club manager Hubbard’s Marina
(727)393-1947 ext. 306
Preferred partner spotlight
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