It appears that summer temperatures have arrived in Tampa Bay right along with the love bugs, but big tarpon & sharks also arrived like clockwork at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers. For the first time this season, multiple schools of rolling tarpon were spotted around both fishing piers. The even larger toothy predators follow the silver king like ticks on a hound, and your author witnessed a massive hammerhead shark entering the bay with a school of remoras in tote. Spanish and king mackerel action remained for those in pursuit, and very early or late afternoon bites were the best. Jack crevalle were ravaging baitfish in the shallows once again, and a few pompano were available for jiggers. Mangrove snapper action continues on the uptick as well, with plenty of anglers now bringing some keepers home for dinner.
The link between love bug and migratory tarpon arrival in the Tampa Bay region is nothing short of the workings of a fine timepiece. As your author watched these flying nuisances invade the bay, schools of tarpon were rolling in the distance. There are almost always a few resident tarpon around the piers in all but the coldest of months, but the arrival of massive migratory schools each year presents one of the most unique land-based angling opportunities in the Sunshine State. These fish have been traveling and thus they are both aggressive and hungry. Visitors wanting to tangle with a tarpon can use 1 oz. – 4 oz. buck tail jigs in the shadow line of the piers and often jump 10 fish in an evening right after the tarpon have arrived. Try to hit the afternoon outgoing tides that bleed into darkness. Burn your jig along the pilings – always trying to beat the tidal pull moving it away and tie your shoes on tight. If you spot a tarpon working the shadow line that will not take a jig, try tossing a big shrimp or pass crab slightly up tide of the fish – this often elicits a strike from neutral or negative fish.
The link between the big breeder hammerhead & bull sharks arriving with the tarpon is right along the same lines as the love bug link discussed above. Big greater blacktip (spinner) sharks, plus a few lemons & tigers will arrive as well, but the bulls & hammers dominate among the species that aggressively feed on tarpon. The Tampa Bay Estuary is also a perfect marine nursery for large females to drop their pups, so expect a deluge of smaller sharks in the next few weeks as well. Indeed, some visitors to the piers this past week reported catching as many as 10 small sharks over their visit. The monster hunters usually come out at night with highly specialized big game tackle and massive baits (like cownose rays or bonito) that they float out with the tide. Your author has seen many sharks over 10 feet long landed along the rock wall near the tollbooth for a quick photo & release. The anglers that do the best are usually in small groups, working together and passing off the rod so someone can rest as they work the fish down the pier. If you choose go it alone, realize you might just be in for a 5 hour battle that still ends up in a lost fish.
Visitors reported some nice mangrove snapper catches and fish gaining in both length & girth measurements over the past week. Freshly caught & iced scaled sardines took most of the larger fish, but live or freshly-frozen shrimp performed well in areas where pinfish could be avoided. Some anglers also used cut bits of pinfish or ladyfish, and it seems that if you keep your bait fresh and in the 1″ square size, all of these options can produce nice snapper. Fishing the artificial reefs, pier pilings and main bridge pilings all produced for mangrove snapper this week. Visitors are still reporting having to release plenty of 9″ fish, but that trend is changing to more keepers and will continue to do so as school lets out and we get into the heart of the summer travel season.
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 24, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 17, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 10, 2018
