Anglers visiting Florida for the first time, or those simply taking a few days off to enjoy Tampa Bay on the second Summer travel weekend, all have a wide range of fishing options available at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers.  Mangrove and lane snapper were perhaps one of the most consistent bites of the week, with many anglers reporting a mixed bag of keepers and plenty of smaller fish released.  Schools of snook have been spotted & targeted in the shallows, and these fighters are providing plenty of catch-and-release fun for visitors.  Spanish mackerel remain on the same unpredictable bite that has characterized this fishing season, but anglers willing to put in their time will find some cooperative macks.  Flounder remained strong for what seems like an unusual warm weather bite and many anglers took these tasty flatfish while in pursuit of other species.  Gag grouper are still feeding heavily, but anglers are still having to fish through numbers of short fish in their pursuit of one for the box.  Sharks, tarpon and goliath grouper are available for anglers looking for big game bites & battles from a fixed structure.

Brilliantly-colored lane snapper joined their mangrove cousins in producing a strong snapper bite on both the artificial reefs and pier & main bridge pilings.  The lane is one of the prettiest fish in the Tampa Bay Estuary, with a mixture of pink, red, yellow and sky blue giving way to a black spot near the tail.  Lane snapper often gather in some of the same places as mangroves, but will occasionally gather in smaller groups deeper in the reef or on the first sand bottom next to any structure.  As a result, one nice lane snapper landed should result in a cast as near as possible to the same spot.  This past week your author caught a few nice lanes and each one was caught precisely at the distance where I had spliced my braided lines – it was that exact.  In addition, lane snapper sometimes prefer live or freshly frozen shrimp or squid over the cut baits so popular for mangos.  Lanes do not grow near the size of mangrove snapper, but the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has placed less restrictive size & bag limit requirements on this smaller and often more abundant species.  Plenty of visitors this week reported a mixed bag of lane & mangrove snapper – with a few Key West grunts – and there are not many better combinations for a family fish fry than that cooler!

Snook love lurking in the shadows of bridges & pilings, so it should come as no surprise that many fine fish are taken at the Skyway Piers almost all season long.   Occasionally, some big fish are taken on the artificial reefs that line the piers, but most fish are caught along the approach sections of each pier from the tollbooth to the dumpster areas.  Snook are closed to harvest in the Tampa Bay region at this time, but for anglers who simply enjoy the battle, snook are willing and available.  Your author witnessed several nice fish taken on artificial lures right near the tollbooth this past week – with a swimming action tail fished on a 1/4 oz. to 3/8 oz. jig head producing most of the fish.  Some real monster linesiders are taken at the piers each year – often by anglers free-lining live ladyfish after dark in the shadow of the lights near the tollbooth.  This same method also produces plenty of tarpon.

Spanish mackerel seemed to be favoring the few hours right around the tide change this past week, but anglers ready at these feeding windows were able to catch several nice fish in a short amount of time.  When mackerel are in roaming packs, it does not often make sense to fish for hours throwing lures in the summer heat.  Pursue other species while you keep a mackerel presentation ready & available.  For example, many times mackerel will bust a baitfish school or chase a shrimp or strip of squid being retrieved from the artificial reef.  A rod already rigged with a silver spoon or Gotcha lure might rapidly take this fish and even several buddies.  In addition, fishing cut strip baits (like the belly portion of a scaled sardine or threadfin herring) on a long shank hook with several split-shot sinkers for depth control can take snapper, grunts, porgies, flounder, trout and mackerel at the piers.  A multi-species presentation like this will capitalize on mackerel whenever a pack enters your fishing area.

The Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers are a great place to experience the excitement of saltwater fishing in a convenient & family friendly atmosphere.  The piers and all their facilities are open 365 days per year and 24 hours per day.  You can park where you want to fish – with restrooms and full service bait & tackle shops very often just a short distance away.  No fishing license is required on the piers and special access points are available for folks with disabilities.  Safe travels and good fishing to Floridians & visitors alike as we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in the upcoming days – A Happy 4th of July to All!

Paul Bristow
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