A week of warm weather saw some early summertime patterns begin to settle in at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers. The mackerel bite (Spanish & king) remained steady – with some great days and other slower days. Mangrove snapper are becoming much more aggressive and larger fish are being taken with the increasing water temperature. Gag grouper are active as well, and many anglers are scouting gags in anticipation of the opener in the Tampa Bay Region. Jacks, ladyfish, blue runners, and pompano are keeping jiggers entertained on both piers. Shark action continued and both the number of species & sizes were on the uptick. Tarpon have begun to show along both piers – especially in the shadow lines after sundown – look for a great nighttime tarpon jig bite in the coming weeks.
King mackerel action remained good at the mouth of Tampa Bay, with the end of the North Pier getting most of the activity and the South Pier seeing more random bites. The action – especially at the end of the North Pier – was incredible at times. Many mornings saw double-digits of fish hooked and plenty of landings. On the other hand, some days were slower and saw only a few kingfish runs. The action is more scattered on the South Pier, but runs were becoming more numerous as the week progressed. The North Pier almost always gets more kingfish action early in the year, but the run seems to transition to the South Pier as each season matures. The South Pier has much more room for multiple sets and allows anglers to escape the crowds that often characterize the end of the North Pier. Rigs this past week ranged all the way from multi-tiered anchor quick-strike sets to simple free-lining with just a single hook. Blue runners, small (but legal) Spanish mackerel, and large sardines were all numerous, so bait was not a problem.
Spanish mackerel were often good at first light and some fish were even taken right in the middle of the day by adjusting tactics. A few summer-like patterns began to emerge this past week. First, the bite on spoons fished deeper with a trolling sinker began to improve. Second, the bite on cut natural baits free-lined with usually just a few split-shot sinkers also began to improve. The bite had been best on small white jigs for many weeks, and these lures were still productive, but the larger presentations often improve as baitfish gain size during any given season. If an angler fishing the piers had only about 5 simple presentations that included both natural & artificial baits, they could cover almost any bite scenario. Gotcha plugs, silver spoons, white jigs, larger sabiki rigs, and long shank hooks with floats & split-shots to present natural baits cover nearly the entire mackerel landscape at the Skyway Piers.
Mangrove snapper increased in both numbers & size as the week progressed, and many anglers were able to take some fat mangos home for dinner. Early season snapper fishing at the piers often involves sorting through plenty of 8″ & 9″ fish to get a bag of keepers. As waters warm, however, the size increases dramatically and that began to occur this past week. Live or freshly frozen shrimp outperformed cut sardines & herring – unless pinfish were in the area to pick-off the shrimp. The rigging for mangos at the piers could not be any simpler. Go with 1/0 or 2/0 black nickel circle or octopus-style hooks on 20 lb. – 30 lb. fluorocarbon leader material and use the lightest weight that will hold bottom during a given tide. You can rig live-bait style or knocker style – both are effective. Only scale-up in leader size if you are losing fish to break-offs. Getting the bite is always first & foremost – leader size can be adjusted from that point.
Gag grouper enthusiasts are already scouting for the opener and having fun catching-and-releasing fish. Gags are so territorial that fish can often be counted on to return to nearly the exact spot on a reef or piling upon release. Plugging is the best method of gag reconnaissance because fish are not hooked deeply and can released without harm using a drop down pier net. Some anglers even remove treble hooks and file barbs down as they want the fish to be set free without harm for future pursuit.
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 24, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 17, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 10, 2018
