A warmer than average transition into Fall in the Tampa Bay region still provided enough wind & wave action to fire up plenty of bites at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers. Mackerel limits came easy at times, especially to anglers arriving just before sunrise and already casting lures at first light. Jack crevalle, blue runners and pompano also remained around the piers, and many were caught either by mackerel anglers or multi-species jiggers. Mangrove snapper continued on the feed and some very large fish are being caught. Lane snapper joined the mangrove bite and plenty of lanes exceeding 10″ were reported. Gag and red grouper are also feeding well on the artificial reefs, and although plenty of short fish were released, anglers were still having fun with a fast bite. Finally, anglers seeking big game species continued to hook sharks, tarpon and goliath grouper on both fishing piers.
Baitfish schools remained plentiful around both piers, with many size-classes and multiple species available for visiting anglers. When schools are this predominant, bait is simple for even novice anglers to procure at the piers. Many folks deploy cast nets using a spin, lift and drop technique that is very easy to learn. Sabiki-style baitfish rigs are also very effective, and the use of different hook sizes will take nearly all pier baitfish available. Bait can be kept alive using a simple aerator system and a small tank (or 5 gallon bucket) or stored on ice using plastic zipper bags. The Skyway Fishing Pier Bait Shops stock a wide variety of both live & frozen natural bait options, as well as the tools & tricks for catching your own bait.
Spanish mackerel were feeding near the surface in both early morning and late afternoon hours this past week. Moving water was important, but both incoming & outgoing tides produced fish. The ‘water-walking’ technique is deadly effective for a quick limit of macks whenever surface feeding is observed. Countless variations of this technique exist, but almost every one involves a float (or other agitating device) to create a surface disturbance. For example, instead of using a trolling sinker spoon rig, substitute a popping cork for the trolling weight. Gotcha lures are also fantastic when fished behind a popping cork because this extremely versatile lure has inherent action on nearly every single retrieve method. If mackerel are so focused on the surface that they are skyrocketing on baits, combine a northeastern-style striper popper fly with the float for incredible action.
Water walking for mackerel at the piers not only allows you to fish artificial lures like Gotchas, spoons, jigs, poppers or straw lures just below the surface, but can also be effective for natural bait fishing. The float can serve a dual purpose in this scenario, both allowing for longer casts with these very light baits and also acting as an agitator on the surface to attract schooling predators. Cut strip belly-baits from scaled sardines or threadfin herring that appear like little white canoes are the ideal choice for this game. Long shank hooks, split-shot sinkers and floats are the only terminal tackle necessary. If you think that popping a cork with a dead strip of fish belly 6 feet behind sounds ridiculous, you will quickly change your tune when a full limit of Spanish mackerel are iced in the cooler.
Grouper action was on the increase over the past week, but many anglers had to release plenty of fish in order to get a shot at a keeper. Anglers reported releasing double-digit catches of gag & red grouper, but some keeper gags in the 28″ range were also reported. Free-lining pinfish and smaller blue runners proved to be the best method for keepers, but plenty of fish also came on fresh cut bait fished on the bottom. Anglers seeking to have a shot at both grouper and snapper on the artificial reefs can deploy terminal tackle of 40 lb. fluorocarbon leader material and 3/0 black nickel hooks with a fresh chunk of sardine or herring. Egg sinkers in the 1 oz. to 2 oz. range will get these baits down and give you a shot at everything on the reefs. Indeed, some very large Key West grunts & lane snapper also fell prey to these simplistic bottom-rigs over the past week.
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 24, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 17, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 10, 2018
