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At Skyway, You Can Find It All

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By MEL BERMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2008

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Mel Berman.

Most of the folks who work at the popular Skyway fishing piers are avid anglers. When their shifts are over, many grab their rods to crank in some of the abundant species at the productive fishing venue. After his shift, Jim Phillips, who loves to catch larger species like sharks and tarpon, recently hooked an 8-foot lemon shark that had been circling the pilings. Using a live bat ray for bait, he hooked up and finally landed the huge trophy.

Recent cold fronts have inhibited the Skyway bite, but pier manager Jamie Foster thinks that once the weather settles into a more typical spring pattern, the kings and Spanish mackerel will show up again in good numbers.

Numerous tarpon are also cruising through the area, along with excellent numbers of keeper-sized mangrove snapper, some grouper, cobia and sheepshead, plus trout, snook and redfish in the shallow grass along the approaches to the Skyway.

There are hordes of bait schools percolating in the surrounding bridge waters. A Sabiki rig or cast net is all that is required to load up on enough bait for a day of fishing. The greenbacks also entice many species to hang around the great Skyway structures for some ideal angling possibilities. Meanwhile, encouraging numbers of pompano are showing up there, as well as at most of the bay's big bridges.

Hear "The Captain Mel Show" Saturdays from 6-9 a.m. on WFLA, 970 AM. Also, visit "Fishing Florida OnLine Magazine" at capmel.com.

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