Inshore Fishing Report
Inshore fishing around John’s Pass, Madeira Beach, and the Tampa Bay backwaters remains productive if you think like a fish and fish the flow. Sheepshead are a top target around docks, bridges, jetties, rock piles, and any structure with barnacles—use small pieces of shrimp, cut clam, or fiddler crabs on light leader with minimal weight to keep the bait natural near pilings. Trout are biting well, with fish holding edges, potholes, and more shallow flats during the day, then sliding toward dock lights and bridge lights at night where bait stacks up especially with the new moon concentrating bait at night around artificial light sources. Redfish are steady and feeding best when the water is moving; look for mullet, birds, and nervous bait over flats, oyster bars, and mangrove shorelines. Snook are around but can be selective after fronts—focus on warmer, sun-drenched shorelines in the back bay, and time your effort around solunar majors and minors and the start of an incoming tide. Flounder are showing on sandy edges and around structure—slow-roll soft plastics tight to bottom. Bonnethead sharks are active, especially near passes and beaches; fresh cut bait on a small circle hook is a great way to add steady action and plenty of fun for the whole family.
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 podcast with Salt Strong: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/shutting-down-fishing-at-busy-pier/.
NEarshore Fishing Report
Near shore fishing in 40 to 100 feet is offering a classic mixed bag. Hogfish are chewing best on live shrimp with lighter tackle—run a long 10 to 15 foot fluorocarbon leader (around 30 lb), a 3/0 to 4/0 hook, and 1 to 2 oz of weight, then work hard-bottom edges and smaller ledges patiently. The hogfish action is best around 40ft to around 70ftt of water typically. You can get them deeper too, but as you get deeper theres many more aggressive fish competing for your live shrimp on lighter tackle making targeting and catching hogfish consistently a bit more challenging. Lane snapper are steady as you slide deeper, especially 60 to 90 feet and beyond; squid, shrimp, and small chunks of threadfin will all produce, with larger lanes often preferring live shrimp or threadfin pieces. Mangrove snapper are mixed in and can be finicky—downsizing hooks and leader often turns lookers into biters. Most often, the mangrove action gets better and better as you work deeper near shore and into the offshore waters! Red grouper are possible in the deeper near shore zone, but your best chance is bigger baits on stronger leader around hard bottom and ledges. They seem best starting around 70-80ft near shore into the shallow offshore waters up to around 140ft of water.
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, the lineup stays strong for deep sea fishing out of Hubbard’s Marina. Red snapper remain a major player when conditions allow—bigger baits like bonita strips, whole squid, or quality live bait help target better fish. We are seeing them most on the 12 hour extreme or 39 hour trips fishing around 140ft and beyond. Red grouper continue to cooperate on hard bottom, potholes, and ledges; bring a variety of larger dead baits and solid live baits to match what the fish want. Mangrove snapper fishing is also producing, especially on cut threadfin with a double-snell rig, while yellowtail snapper show well on lighter tackle with small squid strips or threadfin chunks, particularly around dawn, dusk, and night windows. Mutton snapper are a welcome bonus on live baits, and pelagic action—kingfish, blackfin tuna, and the occasional wahoo—can pop up any day offshore, so keep a pitch rod ready when bait schools show.
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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