Hubbard’s Marina Johns Pass Fishing
Inshore– The recent cold front had the inshore waters completely stirred up this past weekend. This caused the fishing to be a bit tough since the inshore temperature dropped over ten degrees in a 12 hour period. The sheepshead were biting well however, despite the turbid waters and cooler temps. These fish thrive in “chocolate milk” looking waters and love to feed on barnacles, clam strips, or bits of dead shrimp. Cody Smith, from Tennessee, stopped by our shop to get his bait and tackle this past weekend. We set him up with the 2ot hooks, small split shots, and clam strips and he went under the Johns Pass Bridge and caught almost a dozen of these good-eating fish. Catfish was a popular by-catch this past week due to the murky waters. As the water clears the whitebait will move back closer to shore with the mackerel following them. The redfish seemed to fare okay during the dirty water since local angler Tom fuller reported catching a half dozen this past Monday while fishing with large live shrimp around our docks from the beach.
Near shore– Unfortunately this past weekend we missed three full days of fishing due to the nasty weather. However, before the front moved into the area our ten hour all day and half day trips were doing amazingly well! The ten hour right before the front brought in over ten keeper sized gag grouper. We also had kingfish, mackerel, hogfish and mangrove snapper! The kingfish are plentiful near shore and the mackerel are even more plentiful closer to shore. The half day trip was catching plenty of great eating grey snapper and hogfish before the front. The hogfish have been biting on the live shrimp and have been fairly regular. We also are getting kingfish on the half day too while trolling or flat-lining.
Offshore– Unfortunately no one has gotten offshore this past weekend. The ten to fourteen foot waves and the thirty seven knot gusts kept us onshore. It was quite the weather event, which will push the gags closer to shore and closer together. This will only improve the gag fishing throughout the month of December. We have a full moon 39 hour trip coming up this week so the next email should have a detailed offshore fishing report, and you can check our Facebook this coming Sunday to see our photos.
Captain Jack’s dolphin corner
Captain Jack, Captain Sean and Lani report that the dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour boat has been having great fun-filled trips. The cooler weather has the manatees herded up and plentiful. They are collecting the last of the greens as they prepare to make the journey north to the springs for the winter. In the spring as the gulf warms, these same manatees will make their journey back south to our local area in search of more plentiful grass beds to feed on. They also have noticed that the Bald eagles are making their return to our area for their winter stay. We are starting to see more and more of them hanging out on the channel markers and flying around the bay. The north winds we have had from this past strong cold front will have pushed tons of great shells onto our beaches. Now would be a great time to head out to Egmont key for some pristine shelling opportunities. Also at Egmont key, on November 8th and 9th will be the Discover the Island event put on by the Egmont key alliance. Check out their website for more information and ticketing:
egmontkey.info
By Hubbard’s Marina
Dylan and Captain Mark Hubbard
Upcoming up at Hubbard’s Marina
Discover the island is coming up at Egmont Key! Have you ever been to this unique event put on by the Egmont key alliance? This event is the best way to learn about the island and all it has to offer visitors! On this weekend the island will have experts on the islands rich history from the 1800’s to the present time. If you are a lighthouse enthusiast we have one that was built in 1858 and will be open for visitors to view the spiral staircase and to ask questions of our Lighthouse Keeper re-enactor. If nature is your interest, we will have experts on migratory and shorebirds, gopher tortoises and sea turtles. We will also have experts on the native plants found on Egmont Key. We will have Civil War re-enactors, both Union and Confederate with uniforms and equipment from that time. Also, there will be people knowledgeable on the part that the island played in the Spanish American War in 1898. Other activities include a Silent Auction, kid’s games, local artists, music, souvenirs; self guided walking tours and the best hotdogs on the island! If you want to learn about Egmont Key and what it means to the history, nature and recreation in the Tampa Bay Area then mark November 8th and 9th on your calendar and make plans to spend the day with us! Hubbard’s Marina will NOT be making reservations for this event, to buy tickets simply visit:egmontkey.info
We only have four more 39 hour overnight fishing trips this year! Two of them in the coming month of November on the 7th and 21st. These are both Friday trips that depart at 3pm and return at 6pm, and the December trips are the same. The December trips are on the 5th and the 19th. Gags close down December 3rd so hopefully you can join us this coming month! We still have mangrove snapper, porgies, vermillion, scamp, strawberries and many other fish to go after, plus the crowds are gone! Also, don’t forget that November is Captain Mark’s favorite month for gag grouper fishing, and it typically brings in some big grouper!
Want to try a specialty trip in 2015? Our specialty trip schedule will be posted to our website by the end of November sometime. When this happens, then you will be able to book any of our 12 hour night trips, 12 hour day trips, 39 hours, 44 hour full moon snapper trips, or 63 hour deep drop/pelagic trips! To see the 2014 specialty schedule, or to see where the 2015 schedule will be posted simply visit the specialty trips section of our website and then click Specialty trips schedule the green button on the top right hand side! Also, make sure all your fishing buddies are signed up for this weekly email so all your friends will hear about our specialty trips as well! You also have the option to forward this message to friends to ensure no one misses out on the important announcements.
Do you have your Christmas shopping completed? Don’t know what to get the fisherman or Dolphin enthusiast in your life? Hubbard’s Marina has the answer to your problems! We are offering $25 back for every $100 you spend on Gift certificates. Purchased gift certificates are good for anything in our shop and any trip with us including rentals. The free $25 certificates you get for every hundred spent are good for fare only. For example, spend $400 to get someone in your life tons of fun in the sun with us at Hubbard’s Marina and you get $100 for FREE good toward any trip. The 400$ certificate however is good for ANYTHING at Hubbard’s Marina including souvenirs in our shop, tackle, rods, reels, trips, rentals or anything else!
Hubbard’s marina is excited to announce we plan to offer some unique kayaking trips next year. We want to offer nature cruises, sightseeing, meditation, and island trips all from kayak and paddle boards with our experienced guides. Would you enjoy something like this? Give our kayak rentals a call to inquire about information and bookings. We can always schedule you privately or you can wait till a regularly scheduled trip!
If you plan to fish with us sometime soon, make sure to bring trolling and flat-lining tackle! The kingfish and mackerel are now rolling into the area and were picking them up on all our trips.
Reservations become imperative this time of year! If you do not have a reservation we cannot forecast our trips appropriately and we may end up canceling a trip you plan to do if you do not make your reservations. Also, once you have reservations if we have to cancel due to the cold fronts that will be starting soon we will be able to call and let you know or warn you of the adverse weather.
We have slowed down dramatically at Hubbard’s Marina. Due to this, Hubbard’s Marina will now close at 8pm. Also we have changed our sunset cruise time to 6pm. We have canceled our 5pm dolphin watching trips due to our sunset cruise time changes. Our Ferry to Egmont key is still running but we do not offer the 10am ferry ride anymore and the ferry will be closed Mondays. Also, we have discontinued shark fishing trips and night fishing trips. If you want a trip we canceled, we can always book you a private charter!
There seems to be some confusion on seasons, due to this we will now include what has CLOSED at the bottom of our emails. If it is not listed, this means we can go out and harvest it! Come join us for some fishing sometime soon, there is plenty of fish in the sea!
Red grouper CLOSED October 4th at 12:01am
Amberjack CLOSED August 25th
Red snapper were only open June 1st through June 9th
Gray triggerfish CLOSED May 31st
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727-393-1947 or Toll Free 1-800-755-0677
hubbardsmarina.com
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