Post by SlotSnook on Jun 6, 2021 9:46:45 GMT -5
Thank you all for the great info. I didn’t get a chance to read it all before going but I referred back to it during the downtime out there. Learned a lot and definitely got a better feel for it even though I was skunked. I do have a lot of questions though.
Drove two hrs and got there at 6 pm, didn’t realize the tide charts were way off so the water was still slowly moving out and started to slack. I started catching bait, most were little grunts (do these work at all? They’re way less active than pins) so I moved around until I found pins and pigs. Loaded up maybe two dozen baits in my livewell and the tide started to come in around 8 pm so I was around piling 80 something just dropping it straight down with a 2oz knocker rig and seeing if anything was hanging out around those. Nothing for several pilings. Then my buddy came and said that the tip is better so went all the way down to 160s and tried the same pretty much all night and nothing. As tide came in stronger I switched to a freeline to drift it under the bridge and nothing.
I figured the grouper bite wasn’t too great at night but I didn’t expect it to be this tough. I fished pretty hard but didn’t even get a nibble. I have some experience fishing other piers/inlets and live bait fishing but skyway is another beast. There’s so many areas to hit that I could never even get to in a day trip. This trip ended early after getting a deep hook caught in my leg and I couldn’t get it out so I just gave up and went home but I’ll be back soon, maybe again this coming week. I have the gear and equipment, just need to figure out where they’re hanging out at. Also can someone explain the tides to me? Is it always +3 hours? Thanks again for all your help!
Drove two hrs and got there at 6 pm, didn’t realize the tide charts were way off so the water was still slowly moving out and started to slack. I started catching bait, most were little grunts (do these work at all? They’re way less active than pins) so I moved around until I found pins and pigs. Loaded up maybe two dozen baits in my livewell and the tide started to come in around 8 pm so I was around piling 80 something just dropping it straight down with a 2oz knocker rig and seeing if anything was hanging out around those. Nothing for several pilings. Then my buddy came and said that the tip is better so went all the way down to 160s and tried the same pretty much all night and nothing. As tide came in stronger I switched to a freeline to drift it under the bridge and nothing.
I figured the grouper bite wasn’t too great at night but I didn’t expect it to be this tough. I fished pretty hard but didn’t even get a nibble. I have some experience fishing other piers/inlets and live bait fishing but skyway is another beast. There’s so many areas to hit that I could never even get to in a day trip. This trip ended early after getting a deep hook caught in my leg and I couldn’t get it out so I just gave up and went home but I’ll be back soon, maybe again this coming week. I have the gear and equipment, just need to figure out where they’re hanging out at. Also can someone explain the tides to me? Is it always +3 hours? Thanks again for all your help!