Fun Fishing with the Family
There is nothing better than spending quality time fishing with the kids or grandkids; November is just the right time of the year to get the family hooked on fishing.
Cooler weather brings many species closer to the shore and makes it a perfect time to fish many of the fishing piers along Tampa Bay on the Gulf shoreline. One often overlooked spot in our own backyard is Ballast Point Park pier, a public pier free to everyone and one of the few that has its own artificial reef built on each side of it. It’s like having your own private feeding station attracting many different species, including grouper.
Fishing piers offer a place where the whole family can fish and enjoy our great outdoors, which is just one of the many reasons for living in Florida. Seasons change, and so do the species of fish that feed in various locations, but there are always the regulars like catfish, trout, flounder and sheepshead that call the pier home.
Sheepshead are a great fighting fish for their size and make great table fare, they just take a little longer to clean than other fish because of their thick skin and scales. Sheepshead are known for their bait stealing abilities, regardless they’re a favorite of kids to catch.
Shrimp and fiddler crabs are their favorite baits, but small pieces of cut shrimp work great using a #1 or #2 J hook with a small sinker that has just enough weight to keep the shrimp close to the barnacles. Live fiddler crabs are another bait sheepshead find irresistible, they can be purchased at most bait shops or better yet, get the kids to catch then on low tide along the mangrove shorelines. I find the kids enjoy catching them as much as they do fishing with them, it also gives them a sense of pride for catching their own bait.
Fishing with fiddler crabs is easy. Just use a small jig-head and run a hook through the outside tip of the shell. The jig acts as the weight, just make sure that you buy jigs with small hook sizes, some are sold for trout fishing and the hook will be far too large to work on sheepshead.
Large gator trout move in from the Gulf starting this month. I find it best to use a cork and suspend the bait just off the bottom to let the current take the bait rather than casting. This method covers a large area and will help you find fish.
Piers with artificial reefs offer the advantage of attracting grouper, mangrove snapper and flounder and tend to hold more fish year-round. Take a kid fishing this weekend and make a fun family day on the water.
Tampa Bay Piers:
Big Pier 60 1 Causeway Blvd. Clearwater, FL.
(727) 462-6466
Gulf Pier 3500 Pinellas Bayway S. St Petersburg, FL.
(727) 864-3345
Skyway State Fishing Piers N 10501 Sunshine Skyway. St Pete, FL.
(727) 865-0668
Redington Long Pier Corp 17490 Gulf Blvd. Redington Beach, FL.
(727) 391-9398
Picnic Island Pier South Tampa
Ballast Point Park Pier, 5314 Interbay Blvd.,Tampa, FL 33611
Phone # 813-831-2112
Good fishing and tight lines.
Captain Sergio Atanes is a native resident of Tampa and has been fishing the water of Tampa Bay and Boca Grande for over 45 years. He is the owner and operator of S & I charters which is one of the largest charter booking services on the west coast of Florida with 55 professional captains on staff. Capt. Sergio Atanes can be reached at (813) 973-7132 or www.reelfishy.com