The Skyway Report, Paul Bristow 12/9/2016

As the first truly cold night of the fall hit the Tampa Bay region, folks were still seeing a mix of winter & summer fish species at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers.  Spanish mackerel remained on the same hot & cold feeding schedule that has dominated this species for almost all of 2016.  Mackerel had some banner days this past week and some days where visitors caught only a few mackerel.  Sheepshead activity seemed to start in earnest last week, but both the bite and fish size markedly improved this past week.  Gag grouper activity & aggression remains very high, but many anglers fell just short of the increased size limit for gags, and many fish that would have hit the cooler last year were released back into the bay.  Silver trout began to show in good numbers on both fishing piers, and visitors can fully expect these fish to school at both piers as they do almost every winter season.  Black sea bass and flounder rounded out some catches of fish species that prefer cooler water temperatures at the piers.

Spanish mackerel action could only be called confusing this past week…  Action was markedly better at the South Pier, where Tuesday saw lots of mackerel well over 20″ in length taken by visiting anglers.  Silver spoons fished behind a trolling weight & Gotha lures took fish, but free-lined belly baits cut from scaled sardines were the key to catching numbers of big macks.  The end of the North Pier also saw some mackerel action, but both fish size & activity was better to the south.  Many days this week saw windy & wavy action at both piers, and many mackerel gurus think fish need a little more time to locate baits in such conditions.  This is where the simple (but deadly) belly bait approach shines.  The white belly section of a scaled sardine (or threadfin herring) cut straight across with a sharp bait scissors and fished on a long shank hook behind a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader flutters in the wind & waves just like a spoon.  Floats or split-shot sinkers can be used for depth control, but the presentation is about as simple as can be…  It simply looks like a small white canoe hooked from one end swaying in the tide…

One visitor to the Tampa Bay area that is very-welcomed by pier visitors began to be reported by bottom anglers over the past week.  Black sea bass are one of the finest eating species found on the Florida coast, and this species seems to prefer the cooler waters that winter in the Gulf of Mexico most often brings…  Common all year long in states like Massachusetts & Virginia, this fish seems to occur in greater numbers whenever things begin to cool down in the Tampa Bay estuary.  These fish rarely exceed 2 lbs. in the bay area, but what they lack in size is made up for by hard strikes and succulent fillets.  Sea bass roam the very bottom of the water column, but are susceptible to a variety of angling methods.  They will strike pompano jigs and soft plastics just as readily as a piece of squid or shrimp placed on the bottom.  Look for hard bottom areas, which at the piers generally mean those near an artificial reef, bridge piling or erosion control retaining wall where bottom content has solidified over time.

Silver seatrout are another common winter visitor to the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers that began to show in catchable numbers over the past week.  Like other seatrout, the silver is actually a member of the Drum Family of Fishes, but is perhaps the most unlike many other family members…  The fish has very little coloration and spends as much time in offshore waters as it does in bay waters.  On the positive side, the fish is an aggressive striker and generally schools in very large numbers, most especially in brackish bays over the winter months.  Even a very large silver trout would rarely exceed 18″ in length, but many fish in the 12″ – 14″ size class are landed at the piers each winter.  The aggressive & competitive nature of this fish makes fishing with larger sabiki-style bait rigs, tandem jig rigs or natural bait ‘chicken rigs’ (multiple dropper loops) bounced on the bottom near the bait shop & end sections of each fishing pier very productive.  Silvers do not have a size limit in the Tampa Bay region, and are only subject to the general maximum poundage limit applicable to most non-regulated species under current FWC rules.