To all of our media friends – both the North & South Skyway Fishing Piers are now open.  This is the same fishing report sent earlier with only that change made in the first paragraph.  If you have any chance to mention that both piers are open on air, online or in print over the next few days that would be great!

Thank you so much for your coverage & support of the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers!

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Hurricane Irma set her sights on the Florida Peninsula this past week and everyone at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers wishes all the best to both Floridians and visitors alike who were impacted in any way by this massive weather event.  These are obviously tough times for the State of Florida, but the Sunshine State is full of some of the finest folks found anywhere – exactly the perfect prescription for coping with natural disasters like Hurricane Irma.  At the Sunshine Skyway Piers, both fishing piers are now open with live bait and are welcoming visitors who are catching fish at the mouth of Tampa Bay.

Fishing?  Are people still going fishing?  Yes!  Florida does not loose the “Fishing Capital of the World” status because of a storm!  Actually, to the total surprise of your author, there were some great fishing stories to report at the Skyway Piers after the passing of Hurricane Irma.  Please keep in mind that most of these stories are based upon North Pier reports and sightings.  Baitfish returned quickly, but avoided the mud lines created by the storm in the same way that predators who target them did so.  Whenever a large storm passes through the region, the most savvy anglers revert to the basics concerning the local marine environment.  In essence, Tampa Bay is one of the world’s largest marine estuaries.  This makes it an incredibly large & diverse saltwater/freshwater/brackish river system.  During a severe rain event, a multitude of rivers and runoff points pour into the bay like a coffee maker.  The water clarity goes down and the salinity approaches brackish or even freshwater status for periods of time.

Fish species that either grow from immaturity in brackish waters or are designed to hunt without much water clarity are often the first returnees following a serious storm like Irma.  Your author was at both fishing piers just after the main bridge opening and immediately saw ladyfish and jack crevalle feeding on schools of glass minnows.  Both ladyfish & jacks commonly run far into saltwater rivers to the point where they deal with both freshwater and low clarity.  Sharks of various species (primarily blacktip, bonnethead, bull & sharpnose) also returned quite quickly.  All of these sharks are known for hunting well in stained water, but the bull & bonnethead in particular are often seen in brackish or even freshwater river environments.  Indeed, recent scientific studies have hypothesized that the infamous Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 were most likely committed by a bull shark, rather than the previously maligned great white culprit.  The bull shark is one of the most tolerant of freshwater amongst the various types of sharks.  Gag grouper fed aggressively following the storm, but this should come at no surprise to flats anglers who fish brackish water.  Gags literally grow up in the Tampa Bay Estuary and are accustomed to changing water clarity & salinity.

Baitfish schools of scaled sardines & threadfin herring did return to the piers almost immediately, but these same fish avoided the mud lines and pockets of dirty water created by Huricane Irma.  If you could find clean water or a clean / stained water line, it was almost always filled with jack crevalle and ladyfish busting these baitfish against the line.  Anglers throwing white or chartreuse colored pompano-style jigs caught plenty of both species.  For anglers seeking a fresh fish meal after many days without power, jack crevalle & ladyfish alike can both be gems when properly prepared for the table.  Jacks are best when they run in the 1 lb. – 3 lb. range and are bled immediately upon catching.  At that point they can be filleted and used for nearly any method of fish cookery.  Discriminating eaters can also remove the red lateral line, but many chefs like to keep the line for dishes like soups or chowders.  Ladyfish have a brilliant white flesh, but are very bony…  Place you catch in a food storage plastic bag for about an hour.  Fillet each side right to the tail (cutting all bones but the spine) and then use a spoon to scrape the flesh away from the skin.  Mix with your favorite bread crumbs & seasoning and then deep fry…  Dip into your favorite sauce and enjoy one of Tampa Bay’s unknown treats.

Gag grouper were the hottest post-storm story at the piers this past week.  Reliable reports of at least five legal-sized fish taken on plugs and dead baits on Wednesday & Thursday alone were accompanied by plenty of short fish and fish that broke off in the artificial reefs.  Large and brightly-colored crank baits were perhaps the best taker of keeper grouper, but freshly dead baits like ladyfish, jacks and lizardfish all took some nice gags.  Free-lined live baits (like pinfish & pigfish) are often the most effective gag baits available at the piers, but this past week, they were far-outshined by the aforementioned options.  There may be several reasons for the change from some of the top baits & methods following a storm.  Large diving plugs that often run from 8″ to 12″ provide a huge profile for attacks and likely send off a great amount of vibrations into the water column.  Larger dead baits, like jacks, ladyfish or lizardfish give off no vibrations, but they do give off plenty of scent.  Qualities of large diving plugs & larger dead baits simply outperform a free-lined pinfish given the current state of the Tampa Bay Estuary.

Once again, the folks at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers hope that all Florida communities and visitors stayed safe during Hurricane Irma.  We know that many places will take plenty of time to recover.  We encourage you to spend some quality family time at the mouth of Tampa Bay and look forward to your next visit.

Paul Bristow
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