Even after a thorough renovation, Mary's Fish Camp hardly looks any different than it used to — which is just the way its new owners like it.

"I wanted to see it open again and turn it back into a fish camp and not see a bunch of condominiums," said George Foster, owner of an environmental consulting firm in Brooksville and the founder of Muddy Duck LLC, the group that bought the fish camp in August.

Its 11 partners all have Brooksville roots, and all have memories of the heyday of the camp on the banks of the inaptly named spring-fed Mud River.

That, by the way, is the era they want to re-create, the history of a few decades back, not the camp's more recent history, which they are in fact hoping to put permanently behind them.

That period of time was dominated by a previous owner (or claimed owner) whose disputes with neighbors, government agencies and the family of the namesake Mary (actually, the second Mary) led to the downfall of the camp and eventually, in 2010, its closure, said Mary's daughter, Janey Burch, 76.

Burch has been engaged in a long legal and bureaucratic fight to establish ownership and regain from the county the right to use the property as a camp. And that required the restoration that started to make the camp look like it did from 1964 — when her parents took over the property from the original owners, Jim and Mary Smith — until her mother's death in 1996.

Those were the years of the benign reign of Burch's kind-hearted mother, Mildred McDonald, who was so often assumed to be the camp's "Mary" that she adopted the name.

It was the period when the camp was a gathering place for snowbirds who returned winter after winter.

"They were family," said Burch, who now lives in Ohio.

It was a time when boaters on the Mud idled down just to look at the two-story, three-bedroom houseboat — the "arc" as it was commonly known — that Burch's father, E.O. "Mac" McDonald, built on dry land and rolled into the Mud on logs during high tide.

"It looked like a frickin' house floating around," Foster, 57, said.

It was when crowds of day visitors spread out over the seawall and filled buckets with freshly caught mullet and hooked smaller numbers of snook, redfish and snapper.

"I can just remember coming here and seeing this place just lined up with people fishing," said Kent Eppley, 56, co-owner of Gulf Coast Title Co. and one of the Muddy Duck partners.

The three wooden cabins are the same, though freshly coated with tan paint and fitted with televisions and microwaves. Mary's Fish Camp Road, about 5 miles west of U.S. 19 off Cortez Boulevard, has a new gravel surface but still leads through a shaded tunnel of oaks and cabbage palms.

The collapsing, old-fashioned trailers that once housed those loyal snowbirds are gone but stand to be replaced by their modern equivalent — recreational vehicles for the camp's 17 available pads.

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And, about a month after it reopened and three months after the Muddy Duck partners bought the 3-acre property for $650,000, the anglers are starting to return.

At one point last weekend, 37 of them had paid the $6 fee, parked their lawn chairs on the seawall and set out to catch their limit of 50 mullet, the population of which have surged since a ban on some forms of netting them was put in place 20 years ago.

On Monday, by contrast, John Mello, 65, had the wall to himself.

A retired construction supervisor and Air Force veteran who had topped off his head-to-toe denim outfit with a blue ball cap stating that fact, he explained his technique. On the end of his line, he forms a fist-sized wad of oatmeal and other grains that dissolve in the water. This creates a chum, he said, which fools the mullet into biting on segments of white plastic worm that he cuts thinly enough to mimic individual oats.

He showed off his catch: seven mullet churning in a barely submerged wire basket. Then, he settled back in his chair, looking so tranquil, with Billy Joel singing at low volume over the radio, that the conversation turned to the appropriateness of Mello's last name — which is when his rod suddenly bent under the weight of a big, thrashing mullet.

"Ohh! Noo!" Eppley and Foster said in unison as the line suddenly went slack. A moment later, Mello hooked another mullet.

"Don't screw this one up," Foster said.

He didn't. Mullet No. 8 in just over an hour of fishing.

Not that different, really, from Burch's first visit to the camp 51 years ago. She and her two young children drove up from Tampa so her parents could show them the property they were thinking of buying.

"We all leaned up against the palm trees and fell in love with the place," Burch said.

"And I remember the next day, I caught 18 mullet in a very short period of time."

Contact Dan DeWitt at ddewitt@tampabay.com; follow @ddewitttimes.

PHOTO (LEFT TO RIGHT): CEO Michael Mota, Justina Valentina and Ice T at MobMovieCon Awards Ceremony in Atlantic City in July 2021.

FORT LAUDREDALE, FL, UNITED STATES, September 21, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Jerrold Krystoff, CEO and Director CEO of Bayport International Holdings, Inc., today announced the acquisitions of 3FAMS LLC and its subsidiaries, including VirtualCons, LLC, BoxingCon, LLC and SopranosCon, LLC for 20 million shares of Bayport Stock. “These young, dizzyingly successful companies bring together tens of thousands of fans of iconic films and television productions and principal actors at events that reinvent the “meet and greet” model,” said Mr. Krystoff. “They are more like emotional family gatherings where individuals from diverse cultures and walks of life can form otherwise elusive bonds.”

3FAMS began in January of 2019 when three Sopranos super fans from different states connected on social media, met up, and decided to form a company.

The first SopranosCon took place Nov. 23 and 24, 2019 at the Meadowlands Expo in Secaucus, New Jersey. There, 15,000 super fans had the chance to meet cast members and attend an official “after” party.

After the incredibly successful SopranosCon, which saw fans from around the worlds interact with more than 50 stars from the show, walk through some of the most iconic sets, feast on ziti and cannoli, and even place themed tattoos, 3FAMS Productions was on its way to deliver more fan experiences. MobMovieCon and SopranosCon 2 were slated to take place in Atlantic City in April, and BoxingCon was in development when COVID-19 hit. Michael Mota and his team were forced to pivot and created a way to bring the “ConVention” experience to the fans.

About VirtualCons VirtualCons is a global event & entertainment platform made for celebrities and their fans, providing access and delivering engaging, one-of-a-kind experiences.

It is through this experience that the VirtualCons app was born. The app allows the “ConVention” community to attend their favorite convention 365 days a year during a time when large-scale events cannot be held, or fans are unable to attend in-person. Fans have access to unique opportunities for interaction with favorite celebrities, such as one-on-one meet and greets, personal shout-outs, and university style classes; exclusive viewership of never-before-seen footage; chat rooms, forums and more. Since COVID-19 restrictions were scaled back, the app has served as a guest passport for in-person conventions while continuing to provide remote access for fans around the world.

The addition of a streaming platform to the VirtualCons family further enhanced the fan experience. VirtualCons TV (VCTV) allows for the ultimate fan experience by streaming pre- recorded video which allows for high production qualities and activation inserts like advertisements and interactive fan experiences. Live events are also streamed via the platform, and the pay model varies from free to pay-per-view.

“VirtualCons’ cutting-edge conventions provide a fan experience like no other and are set to become a major revenue source in the future,” said Dr. Mota. “Along with the main events themselves, income streams emerge from merchandise sales and smaller, more exclusive events. They are about to set in motion a brand-new relationship between the fans and the creators.

“VCTV is designed and developed to encourage community connection both digitally and on the ground,” Dr. Mota continued. The online platform covers live and virtual events while delivering a powerful social platform, giving users everything they want in one single app. We deliver memorable events and experiences, in every niche, while providing meaningful interactions that our audience loves. What if every time you clicked in the app you became a VIP? Welcome to VirtualCons and VCTV.”

About Michael Mota, PhD. Michael Mota, PhD, formerly Vice President of Marketing at Alex & Ani and Seven Swords Media, helped lead both companies onto Inc. magazine's "500 Fastest Growing Companies" and "Fastest Growing Companies in Rhode Island" lists. In two years, Seven Swords' annual sales rose from $500 thousand to over $22 million. Alex and Ani grew from a small, regional company with $2 million in sales into a global lifestyle brand with annual revenues in excess of $250 million and an evaluation of $1 billion.

Bayport International Holdings, Inc. Bayport International Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded company on the OTC. Bayport consists of 3 divisions including Entertainment, Technology and Real Estate. For more information, please visit bayportholdingsinc.com.

#ENDS

Michael Mota, PhD Bayport International Holdings Inc. +1 401-270-1985 michael@bayportholdingsinc.com

NOTE: This content is not written by or endorsed by "KSWB", its advertisers, or Nexstar Media Inc.

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In one of the largest commercial real estate transactions along the Gulf Coast in the past five years, a Boca Raton investment firm and a Chicago financial partner have acquired the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay and adjacent Bayport Plaza office building for $226 million.

In the wake of the deal for the 444-room upscale hotel and 11-story office building, IP Capital Partners of Boca Raton and GEM Realty Capital Inc. are expected to embark on a major renovation and marketing plan aimed at better integrating the two properties.

“We think the overall product put together is superior to any other in the marketplace,” says Jason Isaacson, IP Capital’s president. “This real estate is more special than perhaps anything we’ve ever purchased in the past, and it’s one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever been involved with.”

IP Capital intends to expand the Rocky Point/Westshore Business District hotel’s 33,000 square feet of meeting space and upgrade the 265,976-square-foot office building’s lobby, bathrooms and common areas through a “heavy” capital investment, Isaacson says.

“Our job is to integrate these two properties in a way that’s never been done before in Tampa Bay,” Isaacson says. “And we’ll do that through a capital investment and by leveraging the components that are already there.

“We have an opportunity to take something that’s already stellar and create a homogenous hospitality and concierge high-touch experience. If we can execute our plan, the hotel will play off the office space and visa-versa, integrating the components of each to create a better whole.”

Bayport Plaza, completed in 1984, is currently 92% occupied. The Grand Hyatt was completed two years later. The waterfront hotel’s current amenities include a trio of food and beverage outlets, a pair of tennis courts, a 24-hour fitness center and a resort-style swimming pool.

IP Capital and its partner acquired the two properties from UBS Realty Investors Inc., of Hartford, Conn., according to Hillsborough County and state records.

UBS purchased the office building, at 3000 Bay Point Drive, in 2003 from Aetna Life Insurance Co. for an estimated $50 million. The investment firm bought the adjacent 14-story hotel seven years later from Hyatt Hotels Corp. for $58.5 million, according to a Hyatt Hotels press release announcing the sale.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm JLL negotiated the transaction on behalf of UBS, from in a Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) legacy deal.

The firm’s Preston Reid and Wyatt Krapf led the hotel sales effort, after former Senior Managing Director and head of HFF’s Hospitality Group Daniel Peek departed in late May.

Hermen Rodriguez, a JLL senior managing director, led the sales effort for Bayport Plaza.

JLL’s Chris Drew and Maxx Carney arranged acquisition financing for IP Capital and GEM, according to the brokerage firm.

JLL’s Reid notes that the Grand Hyatt should benefit from continued strength in Tampa’s tourism industry and a $2.64 billion expansion and renovation occurring at Tampa International Airport that is slated to result in increased flights and new air travel markets.

The hotel was valued at $145 million for the purpose of the sale, while the office building sold for $80.8 million.

Combined, the sale represents the largest commercial real estate transaction in the Tampa Bay area of 2019 and one of the largest Gulf Coast acquisitions of the past five years.

Other major sales since 2015 include the $214 million deal for the Don CeSar Hotel & Resort on St. Pete Beach in 2017; the $239.6 million purchase of the Mercato office and retail complex in Naples in 2015; the $198 million Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa last year; the $193.5 million transaction for the Bank of America Plaza office tower in downtown Tampa in 2015; and the LaPlaya Beach Resort & Club, also in Naples, which sold for $185.5 million in 2015.

Separately, the hotel deal ranks among the largest sales of the past year, eclipsed in price only by the Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, which sold in August 2018 for $180 million.

The Bayport Plaza deal also ranks as one of the largest transactions in the Tampa area of the past year in the office sector. Only Starwood Capital Corp.’s $143.1 million purchase of the two-building Urban Centre in the Westshore area and Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital Management’s $110 million deal for the 38-story Tampa City Center have been larger.

The acquisitions continue a string of office purchases in Tampa’s Westshore area by IP Capital, which was formed in 2012.

In addition to Bayport Center, IP Capital also owns the eight-story Westwood Center and the 13-story Airport Executive Center, and nine buildings that once belonged to Parkway Properties in Westshore. In 2015, it also bought the seven-building Center Point Business Center from MetLife.

The company also once owned the 19-story office tower at 501 E. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown Tampa.

“We’re big believers in the Tampa market, particularly Westshore,” Isaacson says. “Here, by adding Bayport and the Grand Hyatt to our portfolio, we believe we’ve bought one of the most iconic assets in all of Tampa. It’s fantastic real estate both locationally and aesthetically.”

HERNANDO BEACH — On any given day from May to early July, one or two dozen boats, most manned by experienced guides, troll the shallow waters off Hernando County. Their hunted game is silver king tarpon, a behemoth of a sport fish that's considered among the Gulf Of Mexico's most elusive species.

The hope of landing a prized tarpon lures some of the most dedicated saltwater anglers in the world. And to those in the know, the area from Bayport north to Homosassa Springs is prime ground where migrating tarpon gather before heading into deeper waters to spawn. Baseball great Ted Williams fished the area often. So have singer Harry Connick Jr. and golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

But the health of the area's tarpon is subject to constant debate. Some old-timers swear that the numbers have dwindled in Hernando waters in recent years. Others who make their living taking anglers out to catch the silver leviathan say that's not true.

In fact, most fishing guides in and around Hernando and Citrus counties said that this year's tarpon season, which winds to a close this month, offered plenty of action once the springtime cold fronts moved out of the region.

"It started about three weeks later than normal," said Jonathan Hamilton, who books charters out of Hernando Beach. "But everyone I talked to seemed very positive about the amount of fish they got."

Homosassa fishing guide Jim Long, a third-generation fisherman who has been plying his trade as a guide for 22 years, said that perhaps the toughest thing about tarpon season is predicting exactly when it will arrive.

"The biggest factor in fishing is always the weather," said Long, "You have to wait for the water to get warm enough to attract tarpon. The past couple of years that's happened later than usual, and that kind of throws things off a bit for people who plan vacations around tarpon season. But by June it was fantastic."

A couple of factors combine to make Hernando County's surrounding waters fertile with tarpon and the home of more tarpon fly-fishing records than any other place in the state. First is the depth, which drops a little more than a foot per mile for the first few miles offshore, leaving prime fishing waters between 3 and 10 feet deep. Next is the remarkable clarity of the water, which gives anglers like Hernando Beach resident and avid tarpon fly fisherman Bob Erra the opportunity to stand on the bows of their boats to view which fish they want to cast toward.

"If there was a better place to fish for tarpon, I'd be there," said Erra. "It's that fantastic."

Because tarpon are not fit for eating, the fishing is almost entirely of the catch-and-release variety. Anglers only keep their catch when there is a possibility of a world record, and then they are required to purchase a $50 tag.

Such was the case a few weeks ago when Brian Tang landed a 146-pound king using an ultra-lightweight fly rod outfitted with an 8-pound test tippet. Erra said the feat will likely earn the angler world-record status once the catch has been verified by the International Game Fish Association.

Tang, a doctor from Long Beach, Calif., is considered among the top tier of tarpon fishermen. The hunt for a world-record fish was the culmination of nearly 22 years of persistence and patience, plus the right setting for him and his longtime fishing guide, Al Doparik.

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"It took hours to finally bring that fish aboard," Erra said. "You can't help but be happy for him that he finally got what was going after."

While Erra admits that Hernando waters are revered as the state's most active tarpon grounds, he fears that could change if measures aren't taken to stop the exploitation of the fish by sportsmen. He dislikes the practice of night tarpon fishing because it involves chasing fish that are often seeking food and rest in areas outside the common sport fishing zone. Tarpon purists claim that the practice makes the fish "spooky" and forces them to seek refuge elsewhere.

"It really shouldn't be tolerated," Erra said. "If the tarpon decide to leave, they might never come back. And that would be a bad thing for everyone."

Contact Logan Neill at (352) 848-1435 or lneill@tampabay.com.

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay area residents with a taste for fresh, made-to-order sandwiches may have cause to celebrate. Orlando-based Earl of Sandwich is set to open two new locations in the Tampa area in May.

The first location set to open is in the Westchase area at 11721 W. Hillsborough Ave. in Bayport Commons. The eatery is scheduled to open its doors on Wednesday, May 3.

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“Inspired by John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich who invented the sandwich in 1762, this location is the third to open in the Tampa area and a great addition to the Tampa Bay community,” a media release announcing the opening said. The Bayport Commons location joins locations already open in the Royal Palms Shopping Center in St. Petersburg and a store at International Plaza in Tampa.

The second new location set to opens its doors in May will serve up meals in the lobby level of downtown Tampa’s Element apartments. A date for that location’s opening has not been announced.

“I am thrilled that Earl of Sandwich is opening at Bayport Commons where Hillsborough Avenue and Montague Street connect,” said Robert Earl, a founding partner of Earl of Sandwich and founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood. “We are excited to be part of this dynamic, fast-growing area where we will offer the same delicious gourmet sandwiches and salads and wraps that make Earl of Sandwich a popular place to dine, carry out, or for any catering needs.”

Diners new to Earl of Sandwich will find the eatery’s menu includes such items as “Holiday Turkey,” “The Original 1762” and the “Full Montagu,” among other specialty sandwiches. The restaurant also serves up soups, salads, wraps and baked goods.

The new Hillsborough Avenue location will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Breakfast items are available until 11 a.m. daily.

For more information or to check out the full menu, visit the Earl of Sandwich online.

Keep up with what’s going on by following Westchase Patch on Facebook.

Photo courtesy of the Earl of Sandwich