Inshore: Victor Vizaro from Seminole has been fishing local flats and bridges day and night. He reports the redfish and trout to be active on the flats right now. The redfish are most common and feeding most aggressively on live shrimp, cut ladyfish and even finger mullet. The trout love shrimp or live greenbacks. Victor reported the snook action to be best at night around the lights of docks, bridges or passes. His bait of choice for the snook is a large live pinfish, threadfin, or grunt. Tarpon are still lingering in the passes at night and sometimes can be spotted during the day but most hook ups have been early morning recently before the sun comes up. Turner Bryan, from Madeira beach, reported catching a handful of nice speckled trout on the grass flats using live shrimp. Jill Peeples a local Redington beach resident fishes the north jetty of Johns Pass often with her husband. Jill caught a huge thirty inch redfish while using large live shrimp at the beginning of a recent outgoing tide from the jetty while her husband watched with excitement and bit of envy. Bryan Johanning reports the redfish are aggressive at slack tide inside Johns Pass and they were fighting over his D.O.A. paddle tail jig with a red jig head. He reported catching them till his arms were sore!
chuck_drew
Photo: Chuck Drew Jr. caught his first amberjack weighing in at 61lbs aboard the Hubbard's Marina 39 hour his uncle Joey Drew is on the right in the photo – hubbardsmarina.com
Nearshore: Mackerel are starting to show up in our near shore waters thanks to all the recent rain lowering our water temps. However, as we move into September and as the water temps fall into the higher seventies we will see the mackerel population in our area sky rocket as their fall run kicks into high gear. Gags are moving in closer as well, again thanks to the cooling waters brought on by recent heavy rains. Mangroves have been a bit tougher during the heat of august but using lighter tackle or small jig heads you can greatly increase your chances of getting this leader shy fish to bite your hooks. Red grouper are still biting well for us especially when drifting larger areas of hard rock bottom.
Offshore: Jacks biting well for us offshore but the deepwater wrecks seem to be holding the smaller amberjack. We have found the larger amberjack to be biting well for us on the natural bottom in the shallower areas of the middle grounds in the 80-100 foot range. Gags were biting the best on small rock piles and they seemed to be very close to their sharp rocky homes busting off most anglers it took patience and focus to actually hook then successfully land these larger gag grouper. The mangrove snapper bite has been a bit picky lately but they have been steady. August is typically the end of their summer spawn and due to the extreme heat it requires a bit more work to get a large catch of mangroves. Using lighter tackle or jig head set ups are allowing us to overcome the slower bite. Kingfish while trolling has been doing well for us on our long range trip, and were even getting a few while anchor fishing and using flat-line setups. Occasionally picking up a blackfin tuna or two as well on the flat line gear.
Written by: Captain Mark and Dylan Hubbard
Captain Jack’s Dolphin Corner
While snorkeling recently at Egmont key our guests had a visitor come by and cruise past the ruins we were snorkeling around Egmont Key. It was a large manatee that stuck by our guests while they were busy enjoying the fish, coral, ruins and other plentiful sea life in the area.
The trip between Fort De Soto county Park and Egmont Key state park has been enjoyable recently on the Hubbard’s Marina ferry boat. We have been seeing playful and plentiful dolphins on the short ride between the mainland and the island paradise we take our guests to. Also, lately the logger head turtles have been spotted on the ride as well. They spook easily however so this makes them tough to spot unless you are already looking for them.
We are fairly certain there was a new baby dolphin born somewhere in the Boca Ceiga bay area. However, we have been unable to verify this yet with our local dolphin research team. For now we are simply keeping our eyes peeled waiting for another spotting of this super small newborn bottle nosed dolphin.
Update on Baby face the recently injured dolphin that made the local news headlines. This dolphin has made a miracle recovery says our dolphin experts at Hubbard’s Marina. The wounds are nearly completely healed and now almost completely filled in again as well. This dolphin has been and continues to hunt on its own seemingly unbothered by its recent run in with a boat propeller. The best news lately is that it returned to its social group meaning it is doing so well the other dolphins do not notice a difference.
Sunsets have been gorgeous lately on the water and these fun relaxing cruises is a great way for you to get on the water before the kids go back to school. We don’t guarantee dolphin sightings on this FREE beer and wine cruise but lately the dolphins have been showing off for us as we watch the beautiful sunsets.
We have rescued two pelicans recently out at Egmont Key due to fishing line getting wrapped around their legs and wings. Our experienced captain and crew works with the rangers on the island to capture these birds long enough to gently free them from the lines, hooks and other snags so they can continue their lives unimpeded.
Some local juvenile dolphins were found playing keep away recently by our dolphin watching nature cruise and eco tour boat. The instigator of the group is named stick and he earned this name because as a baby he was always carrying mangrove seeds around in his mouth which resemble sticks. Now that stick is older he loves to play keep away with his friends and this is a great example of the social behavior that dolphins use to teach their young how to become effective hunters.
Dog leg key aka Bird Island is the local rookery to Hubbard’s Marina. The island has been looking great recently with no trash or litter on the island and no predators scaring away the roosting sea birds. There are not anymore juvenile birds out there but spring will bring us a new nesting season to go baby bird spotting.
Written by: Captain Mark and Dylan Hubbard
Upcoming up at Hubbard’s Marina
August is a special month at Hubbard’s Marina! We have one more 63 hour deep drop pelagic trip this month on Friday August 31st 2015. Want to join us for one of these trophy hunting expeditions? Want to land a fish that most haven’t even seen before then this is the trip for you and we have tons of room, but we only allow up to 22 anglers so book NOW! However, for our 44 and 63 hour trips you are not able to book via our reservations page. The reason for this is to keep quality of the trip high by allowing us to vette guests as they call to book these extra long range specialty trips.
63 hour trip of a life time is an extreme trophy hunting trip. You get tons of trolling time while heading out for sailfish, wahoo, tuna, mahi, marlin and more. Then once we get into the deeper waters we deep drop to bottom fishing 500-1,000 foot of water for monster grouper, unique snapper, and other species people only dream about. Also, we only allow up to 22 people on these trips but they are typically going with 14-18 anglers. We highly recommend electric reels but don’t require them. We have been told the blue line tiles we get are some of the biggest around. If you want a chance to land a true once in a lifetime prize fish come join Hubbard’s Marina for this super unique deep drop special. Also, you can email Dylan Hubbard to find out more: info@HubbardsMarina.com
We have a super light 44 hour full moon trip leaving Friday August 28th. This trip offers 25 hours or so of fishing time 70-100miles from shore and a two day bag limit. We plan to go get some big plentiful snapper, monster gags, and maybe even a true trophy snapper called a cubera snapper! They often are caught in august and last year we landed around 3 of them during august but they are most often caught around the full moon.
Amberjacks Re-opened August first and should remain open the remainder of our year but now we’re hearing they could be closed early due to National marine fisheries claiming we caught our quota. They are saying we will reach this quota mid to late September causing a closure with extremely short notice. If you want jacks, book a 12 hour day trip, 39 hour, 44 hour or HUB private charter with 6 or less for at least 8 hours or longer to get your freezer filled before these fish go out for the year!
During September we have another 39 hour on Friday the fourth. This trip will offer around twenty hours of fishing time around a hundred miles from shore in around 120-250 foot of water. This trip offers a two day bag limit allowing you two amberjack instead of one normally, eight grouper instead of four normally and twenty mangroves instead of just ten!
We also have another 44 hour during September! The 44 hour full moon trip will fall on September 28th. This trip leaves five hours earlier than our 39 hour which allows us longer night fishing times during the full moon period.
Gag grouper opened July 1st and should remain open until December 3rd.
Ever wanted to buy something from Hubbard’s Marina but didn’t want to or couldn’t drive down here to get it? We have always sold gift certificates on our site and over the phone, but now for the first time Hubbard’s Marina has a online storefront to sell apparel, tackle and more! For now we just have a few of our products up, but we plan to add tackle, rods, reels, and even more apparel soon! Check it out at this link: http://hubbardsmarina.com/marina-store.html
Written by: Captain Mark and Dylan Hubbard
Galley Corner recipe – Grits and Grunts by Alyson Collins
Hello everyone! The other day I went out on a five hour half day fishing trip with Hubbard’s Marina on my day off. My brother and my six year old nephew joined me for this fun filled day on the water and we had a blast catching grey snappers which are also called grunts by many anglers. In honor of this great day, I can’t help but highlight the even by sharing a truly southern recipe, one of my family’s favorites, grits and grunts. Who does not like breakfast for dinner? The gag grouper stock we had in the last recipe would be perfect for this but if you do not have any leftovers you can improvise with chicken stock.
Ingredients:
Grey snapper fillets
Flour
5 strips of Bacon
1 cup of stock
Grits (stone-ground or quick-cooking)
Directions:
Cook grits according to instructions. Cut bacon into half sections and fry. Once the bacon is cooked to your liking remove them and let them cool. Dust fillets in flour, salt and pepper and fry them up in the left over bacon grease. Remove from pan and deglaze with stock. Stir and cook until thickened. Ladle over grits and grunts then serve!
I know grits are not for everyone but give this dish a try and you might be surprise at how good the combination of fish and grits really is. Always remember to eat more fish!
Written by: Alyson Collins
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