As much of the Sunshine State awaited the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, plenty of hot bites continued to be reported at the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers.  The Tampa Bay region avoided the worst effects of Matthew, essentially impacted only by some strong winds and rainfall bands crossing to the west coast as the storm hugged the Florida peninsula.  It appears to be a fantastic fall weekend in the weather forecast, and certainly is a fine opportunity for residents & visitors alike to spend some quality time in the Florida outdoors.

The positive news from a fishing standpoint is that wind and waves will often fire-up pelagic species like Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bonito and bluefish.  This was certainly the case this past week as anglers were catching large Spanish mackerel and bluefish during some of the heavier squalls.  Mangrove snapper remained on a good bite and mango chasers are hoping for a great October of snapper fishing at the piers.  Pompano made a strong appearance in recent days as smaller fish gave way to some skillet-sized fish that would make master chefs fight for a shot at their preparation.  Finally, sharks and tarpon remain around in many size classes for anglers looking to do battle with big game adversaries.

Baitfish schools kept Spanish mackerel around the piers this past week, and some of the wavy weather seemed to ignite the hottest bites.  Scaled sardines and threadfin herring attracted fish to the pier structure, but Gotcha lures and silver spoons took most of the fish.  When mackerel are most aggressive, artificial lures very often shine at the piers because they are immediately available and require no down-time for re-baiting.  However, it is often anglers versatile enough to fish both artificial & natural baits that produce the most mackerel limits at the piers.  Natural baits free-lined on long shank hooks and fluorocarbon leader material with either a float or split-shot sinker for depth control need not be held by the angler to produce fish.  Simply make adjustments for depth in your terminal tackle based upon where you are seeing the most strikes.  If this rig is fished with a medium-light drag, most mackerel will hook themselves as you are actively working a spoon or plug for more aggressive fish.
Mangrove snapper provided some great action for anglers willing to fish the best tides in the middle of the night.  The beginning of the outgoing tide occurred in the wee hours and anglers ready with freshly cut chunks of scaled sardines or threadfin herring too some nice snapper limits of fish in the 12″ – 15″ range.  A few large grunts and even some gag grouper also took cut baits and provided additional action for bottom diggers targeting the artificial reefs.  Live or freshly frozen shrimp also took plenty of snapper, and cut squid took some fine grunts when other bait choices failed.  Anglers should always remember that freshly caught Gulf squid will periodically visit the Skyway Piers, and these squid can be one of the finest multi-species baits available.

 

Pompano are common fall visitors to the Skyway Piers, and schools of this fighting member of the Jack Family of Fishes appeared over the past week.  The start of the week had anglers complaining about releasing too many fish short of the legal length limit, but this quickly changed to anglers bagging some big pompano.  The approach sections to each pier – generally ranging from the tollbooth to the dumpster area – are most often the best place to start when in pursuit of this species.  The end of the mid-morning outgoing tidal cycle was best this past week.  Pompano love moving water, but seem to avoid the most extreme tidal flows, so very often the start or end of a particular tide is most productive.  Pompano swim jigs in chartreuse, pink, and yellow were best this past week.  Small teaser flies near the jig (or above on a dropper loop) in contrasting colors were favored by many successful anglers.

Paul Bristow
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