Author Topic: Florida Middle Grounds in Pictures (Read 2521 times)

harbison · « **on:** June 16, 2011, 10:19:46 AM »

clpJust returned from still another 39 hour adventure, on the Florida Fisherman, to the fabulous Florida Middle Grounds. Yes! I said fabulous. As far as the Grounds go, the good old days are now! Speaking from over thirty years of grounds fishing experience, I can attest to the fact that our middle grounds are in better shape now than anytime within the last three decades. Simply put, the grounds are now holding more fish than thirty years ago. And, contrary to what we are being told, the situation is getting better & better as time marches on. The regulations now in place are working well; in fact, too well as far as ARS go. They are taking over the middle grounds. On a two day trip we are allowed four ARS each. Saturday, the 33 people on board caught their limits in under an hour. Problem was, we found it difficult getting away from them. ARS dominated to the extent that often we could catch nothing else. We need a real season with realistic bag limits. For the sake of other fishes, our ARS need to be controlled.
On the way out Will, backed up by Dyllin, our trusty professional mates, give us a how too seminar. Boy do they know their stuff. We would be fishing very deep into the
grounds where the big boys play. It took us ten hours to reach our destination. No problem, trolling for mackerel & kings, eating hot dogs & snoozing filled every minute of our time. We also witnessed a sight of great beauty, one of natures wonders. Simply breathtaking were the huge schools of flying fish gleaming in the bright moon light. They looked like stars across the water, amazing does not adequately describe their splendor. it was almost as if they were showing off for us.
Luckily for us, Captain Mark Hubbard was always there to give advice. His hands on approach is most needed & appreciated.
Mister Carol Kisner really tore them up. He was really proud of his four American reds; we all were.
Our professional mates, Will & Dyllin, take great pride in posing with our fish, as well they should, they had a great deal to do with our success.
It was a real pleasure to have our own Captain Buddy as the second Captain on the Florida Fisherman.
This man is a teacher; He was constantly helping us, he was more than willing to share with us his vast knowledge. What a welcome addition to the Hubbard's tradition of excellence. He will be appreciated by one and all.
Saw some really huge AJ's caught, vented and released. Same with gags. AJ season opens up again in two shore months. Captain Hubbard is promising us AJ's in the 60-70 pound class. We caught, vented, and released like fifty gags, and we were in no way targeting them. Come September 15, pay back time. I intend to be ready. Captain Mark has too many numbers not to take advantage of. I will be there!
OH! one more thing than I will turn you over to the pictures. The food. Our on board chef, Tammy, outdid herself on this trip. This wonderful lady even makes hot dogs something special. I will never forget her bringing us grilled cheese & ham sandwiches to our fishing spots. night time on the grounds, great sandwiches, and plenty of fish. Who could ask for anything more? Tammy could! How about pancakes & bacon for breakfast, great fresh fish sandwiches for lunch, and then the best of the best, chicken, yellow rice, and green peas for dinner. Tampa's Columbia Restaurant is known as the chicken & yellow rice capital of the world. Guess what! The Columbia has absolutely nothing on Tammy's version of this classic.
Tried to catch a few mangrove snapper after dinner. I still could not get away from the American reds. In fact, the biggest one I caught all day long was ten minutes before Captain's Mark Hubbard, and Captain Buddy fired up those huge twin 1,100 HP diesels and guided us back to Johns Pass. Snooze time for a bunch of wore out fishermen.
Yes! We proved once again that, as far as the middle grounds go, "The good old days are now!" Join us. Bob H.
1. Boarding the Florida Fisherman