Growing up in Tampa Bay in the 50’s and 60’s had so much to offer when it came to fishing. When we were not going to Boca Grande on the weekends, we spent a lot of time exploring new spots, and there were plenty to find. In the 50s and 60s, the mindset was to fish offshore, and very little attention was paid to inshore areas. Last month, I covered the upper part of the Bay, and this month, I have some stories about how it was in lower Tampa Bay in the 50’s and 60’s.
Bayside Power Station (Port Sutton Road)
We called it Black Docks, and the winter fishing was terrific. The colder it got, the hotter the bite. In those days, we were allowed to fish from the bank or to run our boat right up to the hot-water runoff. The bank would have elbow-to-elbow fishermen catching pompano, redfish, snook, trout, sharks, sheepsheads, and yes, sometimes a school of catfish would move in and mess up the bite. I can’t remember the year, but I do remember the story of an angler who fell into the water from the bank and drowned. After that, all shore fishing was stopped, and no trespassing signs went up.
Bullfrog Creek Railroad Crossing
There’s a railroad crossing on Bullfrog Creek that I remember well. Before there was a catch limit or size on redfish, we would sit next to the crossing and load up on 12-inch redfish all morning long using fiddler crabs or shrimp. The last time I stopped by was 10 years ago, and an old lady with her cane pole was fishing at the same spot we used to, and had several undersized redfish on a stringer. I walked the area and saw several large redfish and sheepshead hanging around the piling, so I guess the fishing was still pretty good at the old crossing.
Little Manatee River
We didn’t fish in the area much since it was a long run for us from the old boat ramp on the 22nd Street Causeway next to the Seabreeze restaurant, but when we did, one of our favorite spots was the broken-down bridge area and the mouth of the river. Winter was our most productive time, as in the summer months, we were too busy fishing Boca Grande or the Courtney Campbell Causeway.
Piney Point
In the 40’s through the mid 50’s, there was the Bee-Line ferry that went from Piney Point to Pinellas Point, the original site of O’Neal’s bait shop. It was a 69-mile drive on US Highway 41, which took about 55 minutes, and it saved a long drive if you wanted to go from Pinellas to Manatee County. The Skyway Bridge did not open until 1955, and that was the downfall of the Bee-Line ferry. This fishing around the docks was fantastic all year round, with some of the biggest snook and redfish for residents. Still, today in the spring, it’s one of the best places for large snook if you can get them out of what remains of the old pylons left from the loading dock of the Bee-Line ferry landing.
Bishop Harbor
There used to be a small boat ramp off the old 41 Hwy Road that took you to the Skyway Bridge, and from that ramp, we could access the fertile grounds of Bishop Harbor in our little boat. Mariposa Key at the entrance to the harbor was a home base for mullet fishermen in the 30’s, and to this day, there still exist some of the remains of their cabin and part of the dock.
I look forward to hearing from my readers about any fishing stories they have from the 50’s and 60’s fishing in Tampa Bay. Thanks to my uncle, who took the time to teach me how to fish and make me the angler I am today.
Good fishing and tight lines.