Skyway Fishing Pier State Park
Encyclopedia
Florida State Parks
The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 160 such entities, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites, which can be found in every corner of the state...
located on the north and south sides of the mouth of Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
. When the new Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a bridge spanning Tampa Bay, Florida, with a cable-stayed main span, and a total length of 21,877 feet . It is part of I-275 and US 19 , connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and Terra Ceia in Manatee County, Florida, passing through Hillsborough...
was built on I-275
Interstate 275 (Florida)
Interstate 275 in Florida serves the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, measuring 60.696 miles in length. The southern terminus is I-75 near Palmetto, just five miles east of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a toll bridge crossing Tampa Bay. The highway passes through St...
(US 19
U.S. Route 19 in Florida
U.S. Route 19 in Florida runs along Florida's west coast from an interchange with U.S. Route 41 in Memphis, Florida, south of Tampa, and continues to the Georgia border north of Monticello, Florida....
) after one part of the old bridge collapsed due to a barge accident, the approaches to the old bridge were turned into the longest fishing pier in the world. The bridge is lit at night, and the park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The most common activity is fishing. Common catches include snook
Snook
Snook or Snoek may refer to:* Fish in the family** Centropomidae especially the common snook.** Gempylidae ** Percidae ** Scombridae , subfamily: Scombrinae** Sphyraenidae...
, tarpon
Tarpon
Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
, grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...
, black sea bass
Black sea bass
The black sea bass is an exclusively marine fish. It is a type of Grouper found more commonly in northern than in southern ranges.It inhabits the coasts from Maine to NE Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico....
, Spanish mackerel
Atlantic Spanish mackerel
The Atlantic Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus, is a migratory species of mackerel that swimsto the northern Gulf of Mexico in spring, returns to south Florida in the eastern gulf, and to Mexico in the western gulf in the fall.-Description:...
, king mackerel
King mackerel
The king mackerel is a migratory species of mackerel of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is an important species to both the commercial and recreational fishing industries.-Description:...
, cobia
Cobia
Cobia —also known as black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeaters, aruan tasek, etc.—are perciform marine fish, the sole representative of their family, the Rachycentridae.-Description:...
, sheepshead
Sheepshead
Sheepshead or Sheephead is a trick-taking card game related to the Skat family of games. It is the Americanized version of a card game that originated in Central Europe in the late 18th century under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means "sheepshead", it has nothing to do...
, red snapper
Red Snapper
Red Snapper may refer to:Fish:* Several species from the genus Lutjanus, for example the red snapper .* Several species from the genus Sebastes, for example the vermilion rockfish and yelloweye rockfish Red Snapper may refer to:Fish:* Several species from the genus Lutjanus, for example the red...
, and pompano
Pompano
Pompanos are marine fishes in the Trachinotus genus of the Carangidae family . Pompano may also refer to various other, similarly shaped members of Carangidae, or the order Perciformes. Their appearance is deep bodied and mackerel-like, typically silver and toothless with a forked tail and...
. Snacks, drinks, bait, and fishing supplies can be purchased on the fishing pier, which charges an admission fee of $4.00 per car plus $4.00 per adult, $2.00 per child (6–12 years old) and free, children 5 and younger.
Other activities include kayaking, swimming, wading, kite surfing and other misc water activities.
The piers, which can have excellent fishing, are very high above the water. This is not for everyone, so the area around the pier has many legal spots to fish from shore. From these spots one can access the edges of some deep channels (excellent for snook) and have lots of unfettered access to huge “flats” (shallow water) areas. These areas are usually less than chest deep at most high tides and hold red fish and spotted sea trout, most of the year. In the warmer months migratory fish move through the area including snook, cobia, tarpon, sharks, Spanish mackerel and in the deep water around the piers occasionally some kingfish.
In August 2008, Florida Department of Transportation officials announced that the eastern spans of the pier would be closed on August 29, 2008 for safety reasons. They were built in 1954, and after 50 years of corrosion and wear and tear had worn out. The western spans, built 17 years later,were still safe to use.
Sources
http://www.skywaypiers.com/prices.html