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Daily fishing report

By BRENT GASKILL

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 28, 2001

Tarpon season is in high gear, and the Sunshine Skyway bridge is crowded. But the bridge is not the only place to catch tarpon.

If you fish the Sunshine Skyway, follow these guidelines:

Approach the bridge from the up-tide side.

One boat per slot, unless you are invited in.

Use enough chain on your anchor to stick on the first set and not drag through the fish.

Use tackle stout enough to control big fish around structure; 30- to 50-pound mono or 60- to 80-pound braided line gets the job done. Reel lines in to let hooked fish come through, and offer assistance if a fish runs under your anchor line.

Be courteous to non-tarpon fishermen. Many families fish the bridge area and are not aware that anchoring down-tide, or too close, may result in 100-plus pounds of silver tarpon jumping into their boat. Look out for fellow tarpon fishermen and respect their anchor buoy. When returning to your anchor after fighting a fish, avoid riding through others' lines.

When leaving for the day, idle up-current at least 100 yards before planing off.

Landing a tarpon at the bridge is organized chaos, at best. If you are ready to get out of the crowd, try looking along the gulf beaches, the Bulkhead, the Manatee River, outside Bishops Harbor, Bayboro Harbor, the Clam Bar, on artificial reefs inside the bay, the Gandy, the Howard Frankland, and up into Old Tampa Bay.

- Capt. Brent Gaskill charters the Summer Vacation out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 343-1765 or by e-mail at gaskill@tampabay.rr.com.

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