Mangrove snapper action continued to improve for visitors at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers this past week as we rapidly approach the summer travel season.  One of Tampa Bay’s favorite summer fish species & culinary selections continued to make folks happy as both mango size & aggressiveness increased once again.  Some nice Key West grunts and even a few larger porgies added to the action for bottom-fishing anglers.  Scouting gag grouper for the rapidly-approaching regional opener was popular and anglers had plenty of fun releasing both short and (soon-to-be) legal grouper.  Sharks remained on a strong bite as well, with plenty of greater blacktip (spinner) sharks showing their incredible leaps to folks catching their first shark.  Tarpon are starting to show on almost all the pilings at night and the flush of both blue & pass crabs is good during strong outgoing tides.  Some shrimp & squid also started to show in the lights for netters during the overnight hours.

Scouting for gag grouper may sound like a waste of time during closed season, but for many anglers who know the habits & nuances of this species, it makes perfect sense a few weeks ahead of the opener for the Tampa Bay region.  First off, it is always fun to catch nice grouper from a fixed structure because you feel the pure striking & pulling power of these fish.  Second, gags not only gather in packs of several fish along the best nearby reefs or pilings, but they have also been shown to return to those same structural elements when released nearby.  Free-lining pinfish on conventional tackle is one primary method at the piers, but diving plugs are even better for fish-scouting because they will reveal the most aggressive fish in that area.  When scouting for gags, hit lots of different reef & piling areas and remember that even a missed strike has accomplished your goal.  You can return with confidence that some fish will remain on that piece of structure.  Use a pier net instead of a gaff and consider that a law enforcement presence will be heavy around the opener – indeed it already is with some tickets being issued for out-of-season gags this past week.  Simply follow the rules & enjoy one of the best shore-based grouper fisheries in the entire United States.

Visitors began to report some mangrove snapper limits and fish gaining in both length & girth measurements over the past week.  Freshly caught & iced scaled sardines took most of the fish, but live or freshly-frozen shrimp performed well at times.  Scaled sardines are easy to catch at the piers using either a cast net or sabiki-style baitfish rig in sizes #10 or #12.  Baitfish had been riding somewhat lower in the water column most of this season, but Friday saw massive schools along the surface at both piers.  These baitfish are easily kept on ice in a plastic zipper bag and each decent-sized bait can give you several cut bait pieces.  Some anglers choose 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 will attract snapper.

Fishing the artificial reefs, pier pilings and main bridge pilings for snapper at the piers this past week did not limit the species encountered.  Cut chunks of sardines produced lane snapper, grunts, porgies, and even smaller sharks.  Outgoing tides at the piers make reef fishing easiest, but incoming tides can be very effective for targeting pier and main bridge pilings.  Bait-bouncing to get your offering underneath the pier or between two pilings can be performed on either tidal cycle.  Use the lightest sinker that will just barely hold bottom with a slack line and lift, drop, and position your bait to the desired location with the tide.  This method is deadly effective at the piers and often produces some of the largest mangos – perhaps because baits are not often being presented to them in such tight structure.

Anglers dip-netting the outgoing tides are beginning to take nice blue crab catches and even a few bonus species.  Blue crabs are the most obvious dipping targets – especially on the North Pier during hill tides over the next 2 – 3 months.  The South Pier also has good flushes, and while perhaps not the shear numbers as the North Pier, it is much less crowded for dipping.  Visitors this past week reported plenty of pass crabs, shrimp and even some squid during overnight flushes.  Pass crabs are primarily caught as bait for species like tarpon, and these tarpon obviously love the same tidal flushes.  When shrimp are around, a smaller mesh net and a quicker reaction are both required.  Fresh shrimp & blue crabs from the Skyway Piers are incredible ingredients for some of the freshest & finest seafood gumbo in the Tampa Bay area.  This fine dip netting action is just getting started and will likely peak over the next 60 days or so…

Paul Bristow
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