Skyway, Paul Bristow 7/29/2016

In a week that saw many visitors to the Tampa Bay region observing the wildfires on Egmont Key, plenty of strong bites were available at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers.  Anglers fishing early and late in the day were able to catch some quality Spanish mackerel, but bite windows were small, especially once the heat of the day was established.  Mangrove snapper continue on a strong night bite, but anglers had to work a little harder to procure a limit of quality fish this past week.  Small tarpon continued to feed aggressively along the approach sections, and were often joined by schools of snook that have taken up residence in this location as well.  Plenty of blacktip and sharpnose sharks have been taken over the past week, often by anglers who cast directly to them as they cruised near the surface.

Schools of feeding snook were spotted gathering along the approach sections of both fishing piers.  The snook were scooping up mouthfuls of small young-of-the-year sardines that were schooling near the rock retaining walls.  Anglers free-lining small to medium sized sardines were able to do battle with many of these fish.  Some also found that free-lining a large shrimp was quite effective on fish that would not take the sardines.  A ¼ oz. jig head with your favorite soft plastic swimming tail or jerk worm is nearly as effective in tempting these fish – especially during the low light hours.  When snook school in this manner at the Skyway Piers, the largest fish are very often found underneath a group of smaller fish.  Larger natural baits (like pinfish and small ladyfish) will eventually entice these fish to strike.  When seeking the larger fish, simply prepare yourself for less action, but also anticipate a bigger reward for your time.  Snook remain closed to harvest in the Tampa Bay region at this time, so remember to safely & carefully release your catch.

Mangrove snapper remain the best species selection when looking to supply fillets for a family fish fry.  Anglers were having the most success fishing a late afternoon incoming tide that flowed into the darkness hours.  Some were fishing pilings of the older (closed) pier span and/or main bridge, while others were bouncing bait underneath the pier structure itself.  Some savvy snapper sleuths have taken to fishing the bay side artificial reefs where older pier sections have been removed.  These fish are less pressured and some true monster mangos inhabit these reefs.  Cut scaled sardines and threadfin herring were one ticket to a limit, but live or freshly frozen shrimp did well in the areas without many pinfish.  Anglers mentioned that stronger tidal pulls over the past week produced the highest quality fish.  There were numbers of smaller fish during slower pulls, but larger fish fed best during flow peaks.  Quality tidal charts will allow to you target periods within a tidal cycle where the flow is highest within that particular time frame.

Juvenile tarpon in the 15 lb. to 40 lb. class remain a great attraction at both fishing piers – especially for anglers seeking their first battle with the silver king.  Tarpon can gather at nearly any point on either pier, but many younger fish seem particularly attracted to the shallower areas that generally run from the tollbooth vicinity to the dumpster area on each side.  The tarpon are very easy to spot once the angler has trained their eyes…  The fish appear like blueish / green torpedoes that move in and out of the shadow line created by the pier structure.  These fish especially like holding near areas with multiple pilings.  The tarpon are almost always facing the current flow and will slide in and out of the pier shadow.  Free-lining large scaled sardines or pinfish directly to these fish is perhaps the most proven technique.  It is often the case that multiple presentations must be made before a fish will strike, however, the presence of multiple fish in one area will raise the odds that fish will be aggressive.  Small tarpon are often walked down to the rock retaining wall for a quick snapshot with the angler prior to release.