Skyway Report, Paul Bristow 1/13/2017

A week that began with some of the coolest & windiest weather of the New Year seems to have helped many traditional winter species settle into their routines at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers.  Spanish mackerel were smaller this week and were primarily taken by visitors employing a finesse approach.  Sheepshead action remains consistent, but anglers willing to target fish away from traditional hot spots found more success.  Spottail porgies are starting to show in good numbers on the artificial reefs, and anglers that enjoy catching & eating this species were rewarded with some nice fillets.  Silver trout action began to pick-up with the cooler weather as well, with the end portions of both piers offering some nice catches of silver, sand (and even a few spotted) trout.

During most mild winters, some Spanish mackerel will almost always be around the Skyway Piers.  As one of the largest aggregators of baitfish in the bay, the piers will often hold fish when other locations will not.  The size of these fish and their aggression level often varies with the weather patterns.  In the coldest weather, these fish are sometimes only found in the depths at the end of the North Pier.  In more mild to moderate years, some fish will likely be around both piers, but often must be finessed by lighter line & smaller lure presentations.  The toughest weather for mackerel fishing often occurs when strong frontal north winds cloudy Tampa Bay waters.  It is fortunate that tidal cycles in the Tampa Bay Estuary will often cleanse murky waters in only a day or two.

Most winters, anglers willing to fish smaller freshwater style crappie jigs or larger sabiki-style baitfish rigs will catch the most mackerel.  This is slow and methodical fishing where bite-offs occur quite frequently because of the light line needed to elicit a strike.  Many winter mackerel at the piers are just legal – often in the 13″ size range.  These fish still make fantastic eating for those willing to put in the time and make adjustments to their tactics.

Spottail porgies consistently gather along the artificial reefs that line each fishing pier during the winter calendar period.  Although sometimes called spottail pinfish, this fish commonly gets much larger and tastes much better than the common Florida pinfish so often caught and used for bait at the Skyway Piers.  This species has the traditional bream-like shape of most porgies, but is bright silver in appearance with a distinctive black spot near the tail.  Small strips of cut squid or bits of shrimp fished on the bottom using a sabiki-style baitfish rig with hooks in the #6 – #8 size range is a hard tactic to beat for these tasty fish.  It is often possible to take several fish at one time, but do not attempt this if you hook a solid spottail porgy because you might loose the entire bunch to the artificial reef.

Silver trout are another winter species that started to gather in higher numbers with the first cold snap of the New Year.  Silvers most often gather in the bait shop and end sections of both fishing piers, but the end of the North Pier in the overnight hours is probably the most consistent location and time frame.  Silvers are aggressive feeders that almost always school in large numbers, so if you take one fish, you can rest assured that others are nearby.  These fish are very competitive – making multi-hook rigs like sabikis, tandem jig rigs or natural bait chicken rigs great options.  Silvers will hit artificial lures without any bait, but if their mood is more neutral, tipping the rig with cut squid, sardines or shrimp will often improve your catch rate.