# Health And Fishing Reports



## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

Health And Fishing Reports:
As an old-time Florida native I have been enjoying the Sunshine State's great outdoors ever since the late forties. During the early sixties I decided to start sharing my fishing and hunting adventures with other sportsmen/women. I wrote many articles for the Tampa Tribune & Tampa Times. Sharing quickly became a passion; payback for living in Paradise:

My long time dream was to fish the Florida Middle Grounds. I will never forget my first trip to the Grounds. It was on Hubbard's Florida Fisherman l. The Captain was the man himself, Captain Wilson Hubbard:

The fishing was better than anything I could have ever imagined. Decades later I am still fishing the Florida Middle Grounds on the Florida Fisherman ll.
Often, while preparing to leave for the up-coming 39 hour trip to the Grounds, I, in amazement, watched the 1/2 day boats unloading. So many smiling faces; so many fish. I had to see for myself why 10,000 people a year fish on Hubbard's 1/2 day trips. It did not take long to find out why:



The fishing was great and the eats were fantastic:

Shortly after returning home from the 1/2 day trip I encountered swelling and pain between my (R) shoulder and waist area. By Monday morning the pain was very bad and increasing. My daughter, Dee, raced me to the hospital. I was immediately operated on for a base-ball size hernia. After a week in the hospital, three weeks in rehab, I returned, under heavy restrictions, home.
While I was recuperating at home Captain Dylan Hubbard kept me well informed as to what was being caught and where.
Talk about exciting, that 12 hour night snapper trip looks like something to be added to my bucket-list:



[URL=http://s644.photobucket.com/user/harbisonphoto/media/HEALTH%20AND%20FISHING%20REPORTS/11_zps1j3usjjj.jpg.html]





Captain Dylan Hubbard is a strong fighter for our 'Right To Fish'.

He is now attending the April Gulf Council meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi. His report directly from the meeting:
Dylan Hubbard "Heated debate for sure, bottom line is the new FES survey shows Rec landings were at least 2x higher than originally thought so dr Crabtree says the total quota should have been higher and allocation should have been pushed a little more Rec had they had the new fes survey back originally".
As of the first of April I have no more restrictions and am anxious to return to...

Last year the fishing in April was fantastic:


Will be giving full reports, or, better yet, join me on the deck of the Florida Fisherman ll.
Bob Harbison
Florida Outdoor Writers Association


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

Great. Maybe the guys that fish and make payments on there own boats can keep one or two if it doesn’t put y’all out to bad.


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## Harbison (Apr 18, 2012)

"put y’all out to bad."
The difference in the ARS seasons between boat owners and federally permitted head, charter, boats is because of Sector Separation. 
Sector Separation, the 'separating' of federally permitted for hire boats and the 'rec' sector, was passed, in spite of overwhelming opposition, by the Gulf Council. 
Hubbard's Marina, Madeira Beach, Florida, has always been a strong, fighting, opponent of Sector Separation. 
Hubbard's official stance on Sector Separation was published several years ago. It remains the same today:

"Hubbard’s Marina DOES NOT and has NEVER SUPPORTED SECTOR SEPARATION so before you think that we are happy with 3 day season for recreational anglers and our 49 day season for red snapper first realize that we have vehemently opposed this idea since it was first ever discussed and begged the recreational anglers to get involved in fighting against Sector separation (amendment 40) when that didn’t work we waiting till the sunset provision when it came up for a reinstatement and again we vehemently opposed it and urged recreational anglers to join us.Despite our opposition and actually, a majority of fed permitted for-hire sectors opposition the amendment was pushed through. (More than 3/4 of for-hire sector opposed this still don’t know how it was passed) However, Sector separation is now law, there’s nothing more we can do about it but we still have to unite."

Unite and fight, fight TOGETHER, for our 'Right To Fish;' for an OPEN fishery of available, sustainable, stocks for one & all.
NOAA's use of 'divide & conquer' is what Sector Separation is all about.


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