Skyway Report, Paul Bristow 4/8/2016

A beautiful week at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers saw a great king mackerel bite continue for anglers chasing this speedy pelagic species.  Many kings were once again landed at both fishing piers, and a multitude of others struck and were lost.  Spanish mackerel have been somewhat spotty for several days now, but with massive baitfish schools painting the surface around the piers, look for their quick return.  Big jack crevalle have been ravaging baitfish schools at all hours of the day, and some mackerel anglers have even suggested that the Spanish mackerel do not stand a chance against these bulldogs of the sea.  Bottom fishing for snapper, grouper, porgies and grunts has been good along the artificial reefs.  Tarpon continue to run the shadow line after dark and plenty of small to medium-sized sharks are willing to take baits in the overnight hours.

King mackerel action remained good at both fishing piers for a second consecutive week.  The end region of each pier was most productive, but fish were also taken further back along the spans, including a nice 25 lb. fish all the way down at the approach section of the South Pier.  Most fish now are in the 20 lb. – 35 lb. class, but some fish in the 50 lb. range have already been taken this season.  Perhaps more so than anywhere else in the United States, the opportunity for a true monster smoker from land exists at the Skyway Piers.  The largest fish your author has personally witnessed was a 63 lb. leviathan going back about 5 years or so…  That fish – with it’s mammoth eyes – looked like a cartoon animal and was ultimately weighed on a certified scale at a local grocery store.

Although king mackerel tackle can look quite specialized to the novice, there is nothing involved that keeps the average angler from getting in the game.  Light single strand wire is very economical, and a basic assortment of hooks & swivels will provide plenty of rigs.  Trolley-rod systems might appear complex & costly, but in reality, most anglers already have the components for a nice set up in the garage.  The anchor rod can be just about any combo with strong braid or monofilament line.  If you prefer not to spend on ‘satellite’ sinkers to grab & hold bottom, simply tie some egg sinkers together and use pieces of cut coat hangers for grabbing arms.  PVC piping makes great rod holders for the piers, and clothes pins with a shower curtain ring attached can provide your releases.  Always remember – you are not fighting fish with these components – they are simply a mechanism to place baits at various positions in the water column to appeal to the greatest number of predatory fish.

Schools of large jack crevalle remained on the attack this past week, especially on early-evening incoming tides that pushed baitfish schools close to the piers.  Indeed, as the sun began to sink into the Gulf, these predators could be seen simply devastating sardine schools about 50 yards from the pier.  The jacks got closer after dark, and began to use the pier structure itself to help them ball up & corral the baitfish.  Anglers throwing jigs, plugs and even live baits connected until their arms were tired and their tackle pushed to the brink.  Some folks kept the jacks for bait while others have been making a wide variety of fish soups, patties and chowders.

As is typical once the warmth of Florida’s Spring truly sets in, tarpon & sharks are now commonly being seen cruising along the pier pilings – especially in the overnight hours.  It is typical for anglers to see bonnethead, blacktip and sharpnose sharks looking to feed in the pier shadow line.  Less commonly spotted are lemon and hammerhead sharks, but both will also fin along the surface at times.  Tarpon are showing themselves each night, and are perhaps most susceptible to artificial lure presentations when they first arrive in good numbers at the piers.  Speed casting 1 oz. – 2 oz. white bucktail jigs right along the pier pilings over the next several weeks is perhaps the surest way to hook a silver king from shore in the Tampa Bay region.