If you're putting that offshore fishing trip on the back burner due to rapidly rising fuel costs, you can still nail the big ones from the Sunshine Skyway Fishing Piers. The south side — 8,250 feet long, with 571 parking spaces — is the longest fishing pier in the world. (We asked around to make sure the pier still has bragging rights; Richard Leitz, who works at the bait shop, said, "It hasn't shrunk, and nobody has one bigger.")
Drive onto the pier, find a spot, unload your equipment and catch the same fish as the boaters lurking nearby. You also have the north pier as an option; located on the other side of the bridge, it's 3,300 feet long with more than 200 parking spots. Anything piscatorial that transits Tampa Bay can probably be caught from the piers. Grouper, mangrove snapper, lane snapper, snook, tarpon, amberjack, king mackerel, sheepshead, cobia, a variety of sharks — it all depends on the season. If you don't have your own fishing gear, it's available for rent on the piers (along with plenty of free advice). The bait shops have restrooms, telephone, snacks and sell bait. Everything is handicapped accessible.
A few days ago, someone hooked a 7-foot lemon shark. "They had to gaff it and use heavy rope to lift it," said Leitz. One of the regulars hauled in a 240-pound goliath grouper, a protected species; it was released and survived (circle hooks are recommended as they "lip" hook a fish and aren't ingested). At the end of the North Pier, the water depth is 25 feet, deep enough to attract the biggest fish.
Artificial reefs attract marine life. There are 65 of them along the south side and 18 running perpendicular to the north pier. The underwater structures owe their existence to a tragedy: the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapse in May 1980, when a freighter crashed into a bridge support during a terrible storm (35 people died). Rubble from the collapsed bridge was placed on the sandy bottom to form the reefs.
Don't forget to bring your camera. Gorgeous sunsets, seabirds, boats and the golden Sunshine Skyway Bridge in the background make for irresistible photo ops. Not everyone is at the pier to fish; many people come to walk or jog in a gorgeous waterfront location and enjoy the breezes.
There are more adventurous spots to fish. You could be fishing the Middle Grounds 80 miles from the closest friendly marina or halfway to Barbados — a great experience, no question. But if you should encounter a sudden summer storm or your engine won't crank or you start taking on water, have a seasick fishing partner or even run out of beer, you've got a big problem.
On the pier, you just pack your gear into your vehicle and head back to terra firma. No boat? No problem.
This article appears in May 7-13, 2008.