Pelagic visitors to the Tampa Bay region invaded the area around the mouth of the bay and visitors at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers were rewarded. King mackerel provided some wonderful mornings, especially on the end of the North Pier, but runs & landings are increasing on the South Pier as well. Spanish mackerel were available on both fishing piers and seem to be holding deeper in the water column than might be expected for this time of year. Cobia activity made a dramatic increase – with sightings, fights, and landings occurring all day long. Big jack crevalle roamed through the pier spans and delighted both new & seasoned anglers with their incredible pulling power. Mangrove snapper remain good on the artificial reefs and some nice snook & spotted seatrout are hanging in the tollbooth areas.
King mackerel seemed to prefer the end section of the North Pier that is closest to the shipping channel. Some mornings were simply outstanding, with multiple rods screaming in concert and some fish even launching into the air as they grabbed baits. Free-lined and anchor-clipped presentations both seemed equally productive. Effective baits were broad in variety as well, with large sardines & herring producing almost as well as the ever-popular small Spanish mackerel & blue runners. Reports of kings are becoming more common on the South Pier as well, and look for that pier action to heat up as we progress later into the kingfish season.
Spanish mackerel were around both piers and fishing deeper in the water column seemed to be the ticket to the best catches. Often at this time of year, the Spanish are feeding up high on baitfish near the surface, and perhaps that will occur soon, but right now deeper presentations seem more effective. A silver or gold spoon fished behind a trolling sinker is a top choice, but Gotcha plugs, white nylon jigs, and larger sabiki rigs or mackerel trees can all be adapted for deeper fishing by adding split-shot sinkers and allowing for a deeper drop with the retrieve. Some Spanish mackerel are also being taken on live or cut scaled sardines fished on a long shank hook with a small sinker. As the mackerel progress to feed higher in the water column, look for plastic casting bubbles and Styrofoam floats to be employed with both live bait & artificial lure methods.
Cobia activity seemed to take the largest increase this past week, with many sightings of anglers running up & down the pier as they chased the brown clown. The tidal turns on both piers – especially when large mats of sea grass pulled in & out of the pier spans – were the top times. Cobia are also following the large schools of cownose rays that are cruising the piers. This occurs for several reasons, because cobia not only like the shelter of the rays, but also like to eat crabs the rays stir up from the bottom. Many seasoned anglers think cobia perhaps even eat baby rays as they are born and just initially learning to swim. The key to cobia success is the same at the Skyway Piers as anywhere else – preparedness. A stout rod ready & rigged with a live shrimp or pinfish in a bucket is top notch, but the same rod rigged with a buck tail jig and eel-like soft plastic trailer tail is also effective. Your author blew a shot at a beautiful cobia floating under sea grass this past week by not being ready, so do not make that same mistake when these fish are around in good numbers.
Big jack crevalle were simply devouring baitfish schools on the South Pier approach section this week and anglers were having a blast with these powerful adversaries. Free-lining a large scaled sardine was the best method, but plenty of fish were taken on jigs as well. When these jacks reach the 10 lb. range – as plenty did this past week – lighter tackle simply will not handle them. Some rods were broken, but folks did not seem to care that the fish won a few of the battles. Rods with some composite glass (instead of all graphite) are a better choice for these fighters, and ones that load-up with fast action just after the tip are even more ideal. These are one of the strongest pound-for-pound fighters that swims in any body of water worldwide, and the chance to take really big ones is something that all anglers cherish.
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 24, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 17, 2018
- The Skyway, Paul Bristow - August 10, 2018
