Flying Hub 2 of Hubbard’s Marina (John’s Pass, FL)

Started by ReelFishingProblems, April 08, 2021, 02:35:49 PM

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ReelFishingProblems

Quick report for the Ohana,

Hubbard's does not allow phones on their boats so I have no action shots, I will apologize up front.

I went with a group of four on the Flying Hub 2. This boat only has room for 16 folks and employs 2 deck hands and the captain who helps out when the catching is hot.

We left the dock at 5am and flew out to the Middle Grounds for 2 1/2 hours getting us just past 200ft of depth. The captain said this depth just opened up to charter boats this week. We were greeted by two commercial grouper boats that had been in the area for 14 days. Despite this we still caught a ton of fish.

At the first stop I caught a keeper red grouper and a huge trigger fish. Both caught on a 114H with tiburon frame and motive fab drag insert kit. The rod was made for me by Thorhammer. The acid wrap was great on that triggerfish. No twisting at all.

The next few stops the boat caught a few fish, but it was not as hot of a bite as the first stop. The captain made the decision to push further out into the gulf to get away from the commercial boats. The first stop was a rock pile holding a ton of American Red Snapper. They were out of season so they had to go back. I managed to catch two Scamp Grouper in addition to 2 ARS. We moved to a few more spots, while the boat in general had lots of luck, with folks catching massive fire truck red grouper and an enormous out of season gag grouper, I managed only one more scamp grouper.

These were caught on a Biscayne Rods custom build I bought off a coworker with the T4NI reel (Cortez plates, full SS internal upgrade available through Pro Challenger with his 113HX gear and drag stack, and a Striper Lou custom acrylic knob). This setup more than adequately handled everything, but the biggest red snapper had the rod bent over good and there was more than a little twist at the tip. Those big snapper put up a great fight.

The 114H had 85lb braid and an 80lb top shot of mono, the T4NI had 65lb braid and 80lb fluoro leader. Thorhammer's rod did great, but the 114H with stock handle and chromed brass spool was uncomfortable to fish all day. I will add an aluminum spool and new handle, maybe later Tom's plates. I could fish the T4NI all day.

My group did pretty good catching 6 red grouper, 4 scamp grouper, 1 huge mangrove snapper, 1 triggerfish, 1 vermillion snapper, lots of red snapper, and the strange catch of the day was a lion fish.

When I got home I cooked up a scamp filet for the wife and me. Olive oil in the pan, pepper and a little random seasoning I have in the camper. Cooked everything on the outside stove. Made sure not to overcook the filet and it turned out perfect. Best grouper I've ever cooked.

Happy fishing everyone,

Nick


thorhammer

NIce! The Californian would do well on that rod, not sure i would fish it tho.

oldmanjoe

 Sounds like you did pretty well , I am surprised you didn't do better with Mangrove , Trigger  and Yellow tails .
Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

Gfish

Great narrative. Would like to see the fish, but this could be worth it...

No phones on the boat!? I love the idea! Must drive some folks nuts. I envision them running to their vehicles/phones asap upon return.
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

ReelFishingProblems

Quote from: oldmanjoe on April 08, 2021, 09:07:12 PM
Sounds like you did pretty well , I am surprised you didn't do better with Mangrove , Trigger  and Yellow tails .

I'm sure there were plenty down there. I think out of all 16 people on the boat there were 3 triggers caught and 4 or 5 big mangroves. It was a great trip though.

ReelFishingProblems

Quote from: Gfish on April 08, 2021, 09:26:37 PM
Great narrative. Would like to see the fish, but this could be worth it...

No phones on the boat!? I love the idea! Must drive some folks nuts. I envision them running to their vehicles/phones asap upon return.

The deckhands stayed pretty busy helping untangle lines and get fish over the rails, but they say they are more than happy to take pictures for you since they are allowed to have their phones. They definitely made the time to take photos of the biggest fish and the fish caught by the one kid on the boat (kid was probably 13 or 14 and was just killing it out there).

oldmanjoe

  The reason why no phones is gps  , they don`t want to give spots ...      But you can bring a camera .
Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

ReelFishingProblems

Made ceviche with the triggerfish, turned out great. Grouper sammiches with a scamp filet, and bought a vacuum sealer for the camper and now have 7 individually sealed filets to eat when I'm back where i can't buy em

conchydong

Nice, Triggers make excellent ceviche and Scamps are one of the best eating Groupers along with Snowy in Florida waters.
Here is a pick of a good Trigger day.



oldmanjoe

  My buddy makes up the ceviche the day before going out , the first fish goes into the jar and by 2-3 o'clock its crackers and fish time 
Grandpa`s words of wisdom......Joey that thing between your shoulders is not a hat rack.....    use it.....
A mind is like a parachute, it only work`s  when it is open.......
The power of Observation   , It`s all about the Details ..
 Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.   Alto Mare

alantani

the "no cell phone" rule seems a little weird.  maybe he doesn't want anyone getting gps numbers for his spots?  weird.....   :-\
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Brewcrafter

Quote from: oldmanjoe on April 10, 2021, 01:31:47 AM
  My buddy makes up the ceviche the day before going out , the first fish goes into the jar and by 2-3 o'clock its crackers and fish time 
I like the idea of being ready to make ceviche on the spot!  And on those days the fish don't cooperate - you now have Bloody Mary mix...

Wally15

I went out on a overnite to the Middle Grounds on a Hubbard's boat about 6 years ago. Probably the worst fishing trip I've ever been on. After a 6 hour drive to John's Pass from GA. The "regulars" were some of the rudest fishermen I've ever seen. Rules are for everyone else. Lots of cell phones, the "no braid" rule was totally ignored. Rail hogs! Some bought enough tackle to open a store. I've never been back. But the food was good.
Another positive - after that fiasco I started flying to the west coast and fishing with the courteous and professional folks from the Alan Tani website.
And unless you have a sat phone, GPS is inop 100 miles out in the Gulf.
GA Mike
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.
"Fire and Rain"
James Taylor