Cold mornings and windy days started the week, but with a nice warm-up in sight, anglers can expect the return of many hot bites at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers in the coming days. Spanish mackerel remained around the piers all week, and although numbers were tough during the coldest snap, they were improving already by Friday morning. Sheepshead took top honors this past week, with many fish over 15” and a few over 20” being reported by visitors. Mangrove snapper and gag grouper (catch-and-release) were still biting despite the cold snap. Lane snapper and a wide variety of grunts & porgies are also taken by fish fry fillet seekers. A trout & whiting bite returned to the end of the North Pier with the cold snap. Anglers picking big game fights tried for goliath grouper with good action. Finally, folks seeking their first shark catch were entertained by bonnethead, blacktip & sharpnose sharks on light tackle.

Sheepshead porgy were both plentiful and large this past week, as anglers took plenty of 15” plus fish and a few trophy-class fish over 20” in length. Larger fish seemed to congregate on the artificial reefs, while greater numbers were taken on pilings along the approach & restroom sections. The outgoing tides are best for fishing the reefs on the Gulf side as it is simply too hard to free-line small baits to the bayside reefs. Fiddler crabs, sand fleas, mussels, and shrimp were the chosen baits and most were used on Size #1 bait holder or octopus style hooks. The best reefs will often hold numbers of sheepshead, so once you are on a good bite you can expect multiple fish.

Silver and spotted seatrout joined whiting in a return to the end of the North Pier. What is normally a cooler-water bite is usually winding down about this time of year, but the cooling water temperatures continue to support this bite as fish hug the deeper bottom nearest the shipping channel. Bottom-bouncing is the ticket for these deep water schools of fish, and multiple-hook bait rigs are perfect to cover several areas of the water column with a single drop. A simple “bandit” or “chicken” rig with a drop sinker and several hooked loops works just fine, but larger sabiki-style baitfish rigs are perhaps more effective and save the angler some tying time. In addition, the flash included on many sabiki rigs offers a greater chance that a mackerel or bluefish will be attracted to the offering. Tip the rig with a bit of shrimp or squid and use a lift-and-drop method in the tidal pull. You simply never know what species will hit this approach at the Skyway Piers.

One of Tampa Bay’s favorite fish for dinner is the gray (mangrove) snapper, and snapper were still hanging around the piers during the cooler weather. Scaled sardines, threadfin herring and live or freshly-frozen shrimp are the best baits for these fish. Use a simple live bait or knocker rig with 15 lb. – 25 lb. leader material and a 1/0 or 2/0 black nickel octopus or circle hook. Keep your bait fresh and in the 1″ square size range so it completely covers the hook. The artificial reefs are holding more legal snapper than the pier & main bridge pilings at this time, but that will change with impending warming waters. You might also encounter grouper, lane snapper, grunts, or porgies.

A variety of smaller sharks crossing multiple species were eager to feed for visitors to the Skyway Piers this past week. Setting a series of rods with cut baits and light wire leaders on the bottom will catch plenty of small sharks this time of year. Fish mostly range from 2 ft. to 4 ft. – but larger fish are not far away. The Tampa Bay Estuary serves as an ideal breading & rearing habitat for many shark species and very big fish congregate here each year. Most blacktip, sharpnose and bonnethead sharks are easily handled on medium-class freshwater spinning tackle used for bass & catfish. Plenty of novice saltwater anglers catch their first toothy-critter at the piers every season.

As Spring Break approaches for many Florida residents & visitors, the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers at the mouth of Tampa Bay are one of the finest and most family-friendly places for vacationers to experience the joy of saltwater fishing. The piers offer visitors a drive-up fishing location open 24 hours per day and 365 days per year. There are restroom facilities and full-service bait & tackle stores with food and beverages. You can park right where you want to fish and a Florida Fishing License is not required on the piers. Rod rental is available and convenient access points are located on the piers for folks with disabilities.

Paul Bristow
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