Tropical Storm Colin soaked the Tampa Bay region with large rainfall totals this past week, but anglers willing to pursue the species most adaptable to brackish & cloudy waters were still finding good bites at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers. Mangrove snapper remained active throughout the week, and anglers were getting limits of fish over 12″ to line their coolers. Spotted and silver seatrout also remained good throughout the week, with some big spotted trout and good numbers of silvers. Snook remained active as well, with some spawning behavior being noted in the schooling fish. Gag grouper are on a good bite, and numbers of legal-sized fish have already been taken since the opener. Sharks were not deterred by the influx of rain, and some monster fish were hooked in recent days.
Baitfish activity returned almost immediately to the piers following the stormy weather. In addition, Tampa Bay waters have already cleared from the dramatic influx of freshwater & sedimentary material after several days of tidal cycles. As a result, any fishing-related impacts of Colin were certainly minimal and the fishing action at the piers remains good.
Mangrove snapper were best at night, but a few nice fish are still being taken from underneath the pier structure in daylight hours. Tidal cycles produced flows that allowed anglers to fish underneath the old span on the incoming tides this past week, and indeed these tides seemed to out-produce the outgoing tides for larger fish. The outgoing tides perhaps produced greater numbers of mangrove snapper, but many were smaller fish tabbed for release and/or fish that were just legal (often released by many anglers hoping to secure larger specimens). Small whole scaled sardines – fished live or dead – earned top billing with visitors. The live ones took many of the largest snapper (over 16″) this past week. Live or freshly frozen shrimp and cut chunks of large threadfin herring also worked well.
Several large sharks took stingrays deployed whole or winged on floats during the evening outgoing tides this past week. Many of these fish were very large – testing both the tackle and will of the angler before breaking free. Some were so large that they did not even appear to know they had been hooked. Big sharks will remain in the Tampa Bay estuary for nearly all of the warm water months, and the Skyway Piers are a great land-based option to set large baits. The most common larger shark species at the piers include spinner, nurse, lemon and bull sharks, but hammerhead and tiger sharks have been caught at the piers as well. Always consult the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regulations on what shark species may be retained & whether any size limits apply. Anglers seeking fresh shark steaks for the grill have many options with the smaller and quite plentiful blacktip, bonnethead and sharpnose sharks so common at the piers most of the year.
Spotted seatrout and snook were active in the shallows of each fishing pier over the past week. Live scaled sardines, pinfish or shrimp free-lined or deployed with the lightest egg or split-shot sinkers possible comprised the method of choice. Anglers will use fluorocarbon or monofilament leaders ranging from 15 lb. to 40 lb. in class. The lighter lines get you more bites and the larger ones land you more fish, so each angler must perform their own balancing act. Hooks are usually black nickel octopus or circle style in the 1/0 – 3/0 range – based upon the bait selection. Target main Skyway bridge pilings on the incoming tide & submerged rocks or tidal channels on the outgoing tide. Remember that both trout and snook will use not only the pier structure itself, but also the artificial reefs as habitat. This is especially true during the warmest months of the year when some shallow grass flats become less desirable due to either high water temperatures or low oxygen content.
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