Inshore Fishing Report
Trout are really doing well around the area, while the summer was impressive overall we should see that continue to only improve as water temps cool and trout flourish. They get more shallow, concentrated and aggressive in cooler waters. Look for them on the flats, around the mangroves, and oyster bars during the day. At night, dock lights and bridgelights where some bait and water is moving should be holidng tons.
Snook are on the move, retreating into the back and upper bay waters as photo period shrinks and water temps slowly dip. They are still around the passes and a few on the beaches, but mostly on the move now with cold fronts rolling. Look for them staging in areas like points, pockets, and cuts on their way back into the upper and back bay waters from the passes and beaches.
Redfish action going extremely well around the area as of late. This is peak and premium redfish time in our region. They are concentrated, feeding heavily, and preparing for their big move out of the bays to near shore waters in huge schools for their spawning thing. Look for these schools by watching for birds, bait, and big mullet in any combination.
Flounder have been really aggressive this past week with a lot of folks getting lucky on some nice fish around the region. They are getting ready to spawn too, and have a closure coming up starting October 15th, but they of course are getting super active ahead of that.
Mackerel are really thick in our inshore waters around the deeper bridges, jetties, piers and flats where water is moving and bait is present. Fast moving and flashy lures are a go to option to target these speedy fun to catch fish. However, you can use white baits and a long shank J hook to target them with around 20lb floro too.
Fishing Tips
- Snook: Use live baits like greenbacks, threadfins, and shrimp, or try flair hawks and soft plastics at night.
- Redfish: Look for them around mangroves, oyster bars, and flats, and use dead baits during higher tides.
- Trout: Target them with soft plastics, white bait, and shrimp around deeper flats and potholes.
- Tarpon: Target them during the full moon with crab flushes, making it an ideal time to target them.
- Flounder: Find them near sandy bottoms and structures, biting on bottom baits.
- Pompano: Be prepared to move frequently to stay on their bite.
- Sharks: Use big dead baits in areas with moving water.
Help spread the word about what to do if you hook or entangle a bird. Never cut the line; instead, reel in the bird carefully to dehook and release it. If you accidentally hook a dock, break the line at the hook to avoid leaving any line in the water. Seabirds with fishing lines hanging from them are becoming more common, and this could lead to the closure of fishing areas.
Rising concerns about bird entanglements might result in closing fishing spots, impacting the few available locations around Tampa Bay from shorelines, docks, bridges, or piers. Learn more in our recent podcast with Salt Strong: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/shutting-down-fishing-at-busy-pier/.
NEarshore Fishing Report
Hogfish action is starting to really heat up as things are cooling down and fronts are rolling. Cold fronts really force these guys to congregate around the near shore structures and allow us a better opportunity to target them on hook and line. We are doing well on live shrimp, lighter tackle like 30lb floro leaders and 3-4ot hooks and 1-2oz egg sinkers on a 4000-5000 series spinning reel with 20-30lb braided line. The trick is a super long 10-15ft piece of mono or floro on top of the braid before tying on that knocker rig set up. Keep in mind, we have an in depth video or three on our website too diving DEEP into how to catch hogfish on our fishing tips and tricks page. You can visit Hubbard’s Marina website, click ‘fishing trips’, then click ‘fishing video links’ then click ‘fishing tips and tricks’ to find that video and tons more!
Lane snapper are steady near shore too, and we typically see quite a few while targeting the hogfish. Especially if we go a little deeper, around 50-70ft they start to really fire up and get solid as you go beyond that range too. They love a live shrimp but will also take just about any bait we fire down when they are ready to eat.
Mangrove snapper action is hit and miss overall near shore but we do see some sprinkled in while targeting the hogfish and lanes in that 40-70ft range this time of year. Typically on the live shrimp or the cut threadfin for the most part. I like using a very small chunk of threadfin and a smaller double snell set up with smaller hooks like 3ot for example and around 30lb test leader but maybe even lighter if the bite is slower.
Red grouper action is going decent near shore, but really you have to get offshore for solid numbers of keeper sized fish. Near shore is a lot of the juvenile red grouper, but we do see a keeper sized one here and there, but they are few and far between with the teenagers of 13-19 inches dominating near shore ranges.
Fishing Tips
- Red Grouper: Target the deepest near shore waters with big dead baits or solid live baits. Use 60 lb test and 7/0 hooks for best results.
- Red Snapper: Use big dead baits like whole squid and bonita strips with heavy tackle to focus on larger fish. Prime trips include the 12-hour extreme, 39-hour, and 44-hour trips.
- Scamp Grouper: Use small to medium pinfish and cut threadfin, especially while targeting mangrove snapper.
- Mangrove Snapper: Near shore, use live shrimp and small chunks of threadfin on 30-40 lb test with 3-4/0 hooks. Offshore, use bigger chunks of cut threadfin or medium pinfish on 40-60 lb test with 5-7/0 hooks.
- Vermillion Snapper: Start around 100 feet of water using cut squid or threadfin. These fish are aggressive and not leader-shy.
- Yellowtail Snapper: Use shrimp, cut squid, and threadfin.
- Pelagic Species: Keep flat lines and pitch rods ready for sailfish, kingfish, wahoo, tuna, and mahi mahi.
Offshore Fishing Report
Offshore fishing is in full swing, and the action has been impressive. Red grouper are biting well offshore, especially in the 120–180 ft depths on cut or live baits. Scamp grouper have been showing up on the longer-range trips, with some solid catches on small pinfish or cut threadfin. Mangrove snapper remain a reliable target, especially with cut threadfin on the double snell rig. Yellowtail snapper have been active during night and sundown bites on the 39-hour trips, with a few being caught during the daytime as well. Vermillion snapper, porgies, and almacos are rounding out the catches, while the pelagic bite is keeping things exciting with blackfin tuna, kingfish, and the occasional wahoo making an appearance.
Overall, it’s a great time to head offshore with Hubbard’s Marina to take advantage of the variety and quality of fish biting right now and plenty of fish able to be kept. Challenge lately has been this weather, were hoping for a little weather window to take advantage of this full moon bite!
Don’t forget, that we have some great videos on our fishing tips and tricks page here to show you how to target and rig for almost any species-> https://www.hubbardsmarina.com/fishing-tips/
Remember that when fishing in deeper nearshore and offshore federal waters, the Descend Act requires you to have a descending device or venting tool “rigged and ready.” If you know how to use a venting tool, keep it prepared. If not, here’s some helpful advice: https://bit.ly/3L5HTnv. Using a descending device is straightforward and doesn’t require as much precision or practice as venting. Return em’ Right has a training course only takes about 10-15 minutes, and you can learn valuable techniques to protect our offshore fishery. Spread the word by visiting: https://returnemright.org/.
TERMS OF REFERENCE-
Inshore: This covers the areas from the inner bays, through the bridges, and right up to the beaches.
Near Shore: This includes the coastal waters from the beaches up to twenty miles offshore, or up to a depth of 100 feet.
Offshore: This extends from twenty miles offshore or from a depth of 100 feet and beyond.
For more fishing reports, photos, videos, and other content, check out Hubbard’s Marina on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, or Snapchat by searching for @HubbardsMarina. Remember our family motto: “If you’re too busy to go fishing, you’re just too busy!” Thank you for reading our report.
Capt. Dylan Hubbard, Hubbard’s Marina
Phone or text: (727) 393-1947
Website: Hubbard’s Marina
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