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Post by jeremiahisbrown on Jan 15, 2020 0:50:27 GMT -5
Hey everybody, long time, no see! So, I've noticed for the most part that 90% of the anglers who fish the skyway Bridges both North and South are there mainly for offshore and pelagic fish like the grouper and snapper and such but what about the inshore fish that seem to get neglected out there? How is the fishing for other inshore species like redfish, trout, snook and especially flounder? If I had to pick a pelagic to catch from the pier it would be a Cobia or kingfish but they're rare out there I've heard. Anyway, everybody is so grouper, snapper and mackerel crazy out there I want to know my chances at targeting flounder and the other fish named before wasting any time. Thanks!
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Post by saltybass on Jan 15, 2020 2:11:03 GMT -5
Those are all closed besides flounder so I try not to catch the others from a pier but...
Snook are all over from the beginning to end when its warm. They aren't picky either. My last one crushed a fly on a bubble rig as I was catching macs. The one before that was on a pinfish freelined for grouper with 100# leader. Both were slot or over. Lots of little ones get caught while snapper fishing.
Trout are almost always there. Night time is great. They school up like anywhere else. Some monsters are out there and ready to eat hand sized greenbacks.
Redfish are not my thing. Maybe someone else can help with them.
Flounder are there but it's hard to get a live bait past the junk fish. You might want to drag/bounce a jig with a pinfish, stripbait or plastic grub. They are definitely there and would be worth targeting. You'll get some gags fishing for flounder, so hold on tight.
Don't forget about the sheepshead either.
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Post by seabird on Jan 15, 2020 6:38:20 GMT -5
JB, good to see you on the forum again. Another good fish to target is Whiting which seem to be more active early or late in the day. Same true for silver trout.
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Post by jeremiahisbrown on Jan 15, 2020 9:10:53 GMT -5
Those are all closed besides flounder so I try not to catch the others from a pier but... Snook are all over from the beginning to end when its warm. They aren't picky either. My last one crushed a fly on a bubble rig as I was catching macs. The one before that was on a pinfish freelined for grouper with 100# leader. Both were slot or over. Lots of little ones get caught while snapper fishing. Trout are almost always there. Night time is great. They school up like anywhere else. Some monsters are out there and ready to eat hand sized greenbacks. Redfish are not my thing. Maybe someone else can help with them. Flounder are there but it's hard to get a live bait past the junk fish. You might want to drag/bounce a jig with a pinfish, stripbait or plastic grub. They are definitely there and would be worth targeting. You'll get some gags fishing for flounder, so hold on tight. Don't forget about the sheepshead either. It's ok that they're all closed, I didn't mean particularly this time of year, I just meant in general. I'm planning to hit the area more during the summer and fall more than anything really. Waiting for the first week of June or so. |
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Post by jeremiahisbrown on Jan 15, 2020 9:20:15 GMT -5
Those are all closed besides flounder so I try not to catch the others from a pier but... Snook are all over from the beginning to end when its warm. They aren't picky either. My last one crushed a fly on a bubble rig as I was catching macs. The one before that was on a pinfish freelined for grouper with 100# leader. Both were slot or over. Lots of little ones get caught while snapper fishing. Trout are almost always there. Night time is great. They school up like anywhere else. Some monsters are out there and ready to eat hand sized greenbacks. Redfish are not my thing. Maybe someone else can help with them. Flounder are there but it's hard to get a live bait past the junk fish. You might want to drag/bounce a jig with a pinfish, stripbait or plastic grub. They are definitely there and would be worth targeting. You'll get some gags fishing for flounder, so hold on tight. Don't forget about the sheepshead either. That's pretty exciting though, I never knew the trout and snook were that plentiful at the skyway because I never see them get caugh, just different kinds of bottom fish 90% of the time and never on artificial unless it's a gotcha plug for mackerel or something. I may try jigs under the pier for flounder and snook and probably some live bait but the pinfish will probably still bite off my jig trailers. The sheepshead are definitely there but hard to catch. Just looking for other things to catch after limiting out on grouper and snapper you know? Bringing my girlfriend with me and looking for sporty fish we can catch on artificial lures like snook and reds. Topwater bite might be good at night during the summer on the Rocky Banks before the bridge too I think. |
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Post by beerfishin on Jan 15, 2020 9:42:26 GMT -5
JB, good to see you on the forum again. Another good fish to target is Whiting which seem to be more active early or late in the day. Same true for silver trout. How do you target whiting at the pier, have caught them at beaches on the east coast not sure how to at the pier. |
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Post by jeremiahisbrown on Jan 15, 2020 10:12:39 GMT -5
JB, good to see you on the forum again. Another good fish to target is Whiting which seem to be more active early or late in the day. Same true for silver trout. How do you target whiting at the pier, have caught them at beaches on the east coast not sure how to at the pier. Target Sandy areas instead of Rocky areas. Fish with shrimp or squid on bottom. |
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Post by tears143 on Jan 15, 2020 10:46:24 GMT -5
What about pompano guys? Have you guys catch them at skyway fishing pier? Do you guys catch them there as well? :-p
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Post by shadowxmas on Jan 15, 2020 11:11:17 GMT -5
Welcome back jerimiahisbrown.
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Post by parkpass on Jan 15, 2020 11:26:41 GMT -5
Shrimp or squid??
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Post by skywaypa on Jan 15, 2020 11:27:05 GMT -5
What about pompano guys? Have you guys catch them at skyway fishing pier? Do you guys catch them there as well? :-p You know damn well you're the only guy that catches pompano at the pier. |
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Post by parkpass on Jan 15, 2020 12:58:40 GMT -5
His GF catches his fish.....hahahaha
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carey
Rod Polisher
Posts: 159 
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Post by carey on Jan 15, 2020 13:59:54 GMT -5
I've caught plenty of slot trout at night on the skyway. I'll jig a gotcha near a light and catch them along with ladyfish.
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Post by tears143 on Jan 15, 2020 14:41:23 GMT -5
His GF catches his fish.....hahahaha dang, don't tell people my secret now. See when you cannot catch fish, you catch someone that can catch fish for you! Duh! :-p |
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Post by jeremiahisbrown on Jan 15, 2020 17:48:03 GMT -5
shrimp is the best all around bait for basically anything in the ocean but squid is tougher and holds up better. I may also suggest the EZ strips by fishbites in the shrimp flavor to keep away from bait stealing fish like pinfish. I catch a lot of whiting on the hot pink ones but it probably doesn't matter what color. You're better off fishing a Sandy Beach area than the pier for whiting though because there's mostly reef and bottom fish that will eat your bait instead of surf fish like whiting and pompano. My problem is I know the typical areas and gear and techniques to Target pretty much any fish but I didn't know if they were even there at the piers to be caught because it seems nobody fishes for them |
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Post by saltybass on Jan 15, 2020 18:43:26 GMT -5
That's pretty exciting though, I never knew the trout and snook were that plentiful at the skyway because I never see them get caught, just different kinds of bottom fish 90% of the time and never on artificial unless it's a gotcha plug for mackerel or something. I may try jigs under the pier for flounder and snook and probably some live bait but the pinfish will probably still bite off my jig trailers. The sheepshead are definitely there but hard to catch. Just looking for other things to catch after limiting out on grouper and snapper you know? Bringing my girlfriend with me and looking for sporty fish we can catch on artificial lures like snook and reds. Topwater bite might be good at night during the summer on the Rocky Banks before the bridge too I think. You already know how to fish. Just put the time in and stay mobile. I'm a lure guy and can't sit waiting for a bite on bait either. Throw goofy jigs & small bucktails for pompano & spanish on lighter tackle. Something will always bite these even if its not the target species. You will get cutoff but try jerkbaits/plugs for spanish. Throw big ones for the first wave of big spring spanish. Scale down the size once it gets warmer. Huskyjerks in the 10/12/14 sizes are deadly. Bubble rigs & straw rigs are another active way to catch spanish. It's fun just watching a pack chase a little fly out of the water as you reel it up. You don't have to use a 10' leader with these either. 3-4' is about perfect so you can use your normal tackle. When the sun comes up throw jerkbaits for snook & trout where you're fishing topwaters. The current edges can hold some good fish around there too. |
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Post by parkpass on Jan 15, 2020 18:45:29 GMT -5
People do fish for them on the ssp, but not with bait, mostly jigs and teasers. They weren't around that much last year, at least not there. Red tide was the cause I guess
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Post by jeremiahisbrown on Jan 16, 2020 13:52:27 GMT -5
People do fish for them on the ssp, but not with bait, mostly jigs and teasers. They weren't around that much last year, at least not there. Red tide was the cause I guess red tide did a number on the fishing in the area I heard. Apparently there was a huge resurgence in the flounder population last year though |
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Post by parkpass on Jan 16, 2020 14:33:57 GMT -5
Didn't hear that about Flounder, I caught a few on pomp jigs but don't fish for them or pompano that much, I prefer Mack fishing with spoons. Last Jan we caught some 17-20" Permit in Terra Ciea bay, tastes like a pompano
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Post by sigeptrooper02 on Jan 16, 2020 16:56:21 GMT -5
Think I’m going to try NSP tomorrow morning, haven’t been out there since fall. Water holding about 70 so I guess I’m going to look for some Mack’s before the cold front comes in next week. You guys been getting Mack’s lately out there? Anything else been biting?
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Post by carlf on Jan 16, 2020 19:01:46 GMT -5
Get out before the cold front hits on Sunday evening!!
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Post by seabird on Jan 16, 2020 19:42:15 GMT -5
Get out before the cold front hits on Sunday evening!! I am going out tomorrow. |
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Post by tears143 on Jan 16, 2020 22:59:05 GMT -5
Think I’m going to try NSP tomorrow morning, haven’t been out there since fall. Water holding about 70 so I guess I’m going to look for some Mack’s before the cold front comes in next week. You guys been getting Mack’s lately out there? Anything else been biting? Macks, snappers, pompano, bluerunner, whiting, ladyfish... macks are mostly barely keeper. |
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Post by parkpass on Jan 17, 2020 13:08:08 GMT -5
I've noticed that ladyfish aren't spooked by the dolphins like macks are, macks will haul azz when flipper shows up but ladyfish will stick around....strange
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Post by tears143 on Jan 17, 2020 14:59:32 GMT -5
I've noticed that ladyfish aren't spooked by the dolphins like macks are, macks will haul azz when flipper shows up but ladyfish will stick around....strange They do. Usually when I fish for ladyfish and dolphin come the school disappear for awhile then come back later. |
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Post by parkpass on Jan 17, 2020 15:41:59 GMT -5
Other day I hooked a nice mack but didn't get it to the surface in time, dolphin grabbed it, pulled it loose then came up with the mack about 15yds out, made a circle and came up below me with mack crossways in his mouth....just taunting me
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Post by tears143 on Jan 17, 2020 15:56:57 GMT -5
Other day I hooked a nice mack but didn't get it to the surface in time, dolphin grabbed it, pulled it loose then came up with the mack about 15yds out, made a circle and came up below me with mack crossways in his mouth....just taunting me They have grab my pompano before.. then swim in front of me and then start tossing it in the air. >.< |
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