A wide variety of species were cooperating for visiting anglers as March came to a close at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers. Big jack crevalle literally invaded the piers, crushing everything in sight, including the hopes of anglers fishing with very light tackle! Spanish mackerel were a mixed bag – with one spectacular day followed by a spotty day – look for a more consistent bite as waters clear from a few windy days. Mangrove snapper are already starting up and plenty of fish are in the legal size limit. Gag grouper strapped on the feedbag and many anglers had fun with catch-and-release gags as they anticipated the opening of gags in the Tampa Bay region. Snook action was steady around the tollbooth areas on both fishing piers. Finally, tarpon season has officially arrived at the piers, with many anglers reporting pods of fish working the shadow line after dark and multiple hook-ups.
The ‘bulldogs of the sea’ left visiting anglers with little doubt that jack crevalle are one of the toughest fish that inhabits any aquatic environment. Jacks generally in the 7 lb. – 12 lb. range stormed the Skyway Piers this past week and many folks new to fishing the marine environment were left in awe. While lighter tackle can be used to tame most Spanish mackerel at the piers, a large jack is an entirely different animal. When you combine sizzling runs with pure diving & pulling power around the structure at the piers, one is in for a real battle. Jacks could be seen pushing water on the outskirts of the piers before the massive baitfish schools and ideal tidal cycles drew them inwards to feed. Jacks will literally stick their heads an inch or two out of the water when cruising like this and it makes them easy to distinguish from other fish – especially when there are many different sizes, species and year classes of fish in the same area.
Jacks are generally not too fussy about presentation, but several tactics did seem to outperform others over the past week. Free-lining live or cut belly strips of scaled sardines or threadfin herring was very effective. Some anglers chose a weighted popping cork to increase casting distance and attract jacks when using cut belly strip baits. Gotcha lures, spoons and jigs were all very effective for jacks and gave anglers the ability to move and cast quickly to rampaging schools. If seeking fillets for the table, jack crevalle should be bled immediately in a 5 gallon bucket of water before being placed on ice. Make a quick few cuts to the gills on each side and place the fish head down into the bucket. When cleaning, simply remove the blood lines from each fillet and discard. The remaining fish can be used in almost any method of fish cookery – ranging from marinating & grilling to cutting into fingers and deep frying. Spicier marinades & batters are generally a better choice for jacks because they have a richer flavor than some of the other light & flaky inshore species.
Spanish mackerel remained in the up & down feeding pattern that has dominated much of this young fishing season. Some days saw not only limits of mackerel, but also some very large fish in the 24″ plus range. Anglers throwing Gotcha lures, spoons and jigs took plenty of fish, but fishing live scaled sardines using a long shank hook / free-line presentation seemed to be the best way to get both a limit and some monster mackerel. Winds this past week caused some areas of cloudy water and anglers taking the time to find the cleanest water available took the most fish. Anglers are trying for king mackerel with set anchor trolley-rig systems and release clips. Although the kingfish action has been slow up until now, some of these folks are catching very big Spanish mackerel – even a few fish approaching the 30″ size range. Look for kingfish action to take off in the coming days.
The silver king has made an early arrival at the Skyway Piers as many tarpon are being both spotted and hooked by pier guests. Some fish can already be seen rolling during the day – especially at tide change periods – but the best action has been in the shadow line after sundown. White and glow buck tail jigs are the ticket when tarpon first arrive in good numbers at the piers. Make long casts parallel to the structure on a tidal cycle that will pull your jig towards the pilings. For example, you would fish the Gulf side on an incoming tide and the bay side on an outgoing tide. Use an 8 foot plus stout spinning outfit with 60 lb. braid and 80 lb. fluorocarbon leader material to hold your jig right in the shadow line created by the overhead lights. Your jig weight can range from 1/2 oz. on up to 4 oz. based upon wind and tide conditions. Constantly rip and bounce the jig as you retrieve and most times you will get a hook set right off of your rod action. Most fish will be lost on the first jump or two, but that type of fun is the name of the game in land-based tarpon fishing. Live bait options like a scaled sardine, threadfin herring or select shrimp are a great choice to float to stubborn fish you have spotted.
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 24, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 17, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 10, 2018
