It was a week of on-and-off feeding periods at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers as fish species seemed to take a signal from the intermittent tidal flows and passing storms in the Tampa Bay region. Spanish mackerel were a prime example of a hot and cold bite as these fish aggressively fed & crashed bait on the surface at times and then suddenly disappeared for hours. Mangrove snapper were on a similar bite as many visitors said they caught all of their nicest fish within just a few hour time frame. Porgies and grunts were more reliable than mangos and macks as these smaller but tasty fish filled coolers even during the heat of the day and weaker tidal pulls. Flounder made a strong appearance this past week and many of the largest fish came to anglers either free-lining or bottom fishing for gag grouper. Gag grouper also remained on a good feed, but anglers continued to report large numbers of short fish versus keepers. Tarpon seemed to make a return this week with lots of fish rolling along the baitfish schools and plenty of unsuspecting anglers hooking up a silver king.
Spanish mackerel hit the top (literally) this week as most fish were taken from actively-feeding surface schools that busted large baitfish clusters. Visitors would go for long spells casting lures without action and then suddenly pick-up 3 or 4 nice fish in just a few minutes. The surface feeding was pronounced enough that anglers could do some bottom fishing while awaiting a mackerel school as long as one or two rods were rigged & ready to go with artificial lures. Gotcha lures and silver spoons fished behind a trolling weight reigned supreme once again and both of these lures did best when buzzed along the surface around the striking macks. When mackerel action was not concentrated on the surface, some visitors did take a few nice fish by presenting artificial or natural baits more slowly and deeper in the water column. The Gotcha lure and silver mackerel spoon can both be fished deep with a slow jigging motion type of retrieve. Strip belly baits of scaled sardines or threadfin herring also took some fish when deployed deep with the use of long shank hooks and a few split shot sinkers.
Mangrove snapper continue to be taken in good numbers, but the best fishing most often occurs after darkness falls. Anglers seeking just the largest mangos should focus on the hours around a tide change in the overnight hours. Daytime visitors that want some fine eating fish, however, need not be concerned. The bite on various types of grunts & porgies has been great – even in the heat of the summer sun. Key West grunts and spot tail porgies are perhaps the most common species being pulled from the artificial reefs right now. Both species are excellent eating and can be prepared using a wide variety of fish cookery methods. Common pinfish are a porgy and pigfish are a grunt, so while both are widely considered excellent free-line bait choices, they are also great eating when they reach the size worthy of a fillet knife. Fishing the artificial reefs for snapper and porgies requires only very simple terminal tackle rigging. The first choice is live bait style versus knocker-rig style – the difference being that the knocker sinker slides right to the hook. Use 20 lb. to 30 lb. fluorocarbon leader material and size 1/0 to 2/0 circle or octopus style black nickel hooks. About 24″ of leader will allow a few break-offs and a swivel is only needed as a sinker stopper in the live bait approach.
The artificial reefs at the piers can be fished productively using a wide variety of natural baits – both live and dead. Shrimp will attract almost everything on the reef, but are too often picked-off the hook by smaller pinfish. Chunks of sardines or herring are great to attract the larger grunts, snapper and even grouper on the reef, but sometimes the action from these species is slower. Freshly cut strips of whole squid are one of the best options because of their durability on the hook and economy value as a bait source. A bag of frozen whole squid goes a long way when kept on ice and cut into strips with a bait scissors. Thread the strips onto the hook several times while leaving a little section loose to flutter in the tide. This bait will catch everything on the reef and is often the best option when looking to fill a cooler for an upcoming family fish fry.
Flounder have made a somewhat unusual (yet strong) summer appearance over the past 10 days or so at the piers. Generally, the best flounder action is in the fall and winter time frame, but plenty of fish over 20″ have been seen in recent days. The largest fish have been taken by anglers free-lining pinfish for gag grouper and have come just before the bait arrives at the reef. Flounder at the piers are very predictable in this way – they love the sand before any type of structure or change in bottom content. Some fish were also caught by anglers fishing cut bait and shrimp, and even a few were taken by those bouncing jigs off of the bottom for other species like pompano. Flounder are every susceptible to jigs with soft plastic tails bounced around their strike zone. Do not be fooled by the bottom-shaped-contour of this species – it is ultimately a predator that will rise whenever it thinks it can catch a fleeing prey target.
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 24, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 17, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 10, 2018
