TAMPA — Angel Cruz frequents the Skyway Fishing Pier almost every day.
He has discovered a few casts in the water could always produce a lifetime memory. With this in mind, he enjoys the quiet relaxing time before the day ahead, often catching a sunrise and the occasional fish in Tampa Bay.
“I live in Pinellas and work in Bradenton,” said Cruz, who always has a fishing rod with him. “I stop for an hour every morning to fish, typically targeting redfish, snook, trout or tarpon when they’re around.”
On a chilly January day, Cruz made his normal stop, hoping to run into a snook or trout. Rigged with an 1/8-ounce jig head and pearl Zman Slim SwimZ, he worked the light tackle and jerk bait along the rocks when he hooked into what seemed a familiar feeling.
“I got a hit on the drop when I didn’t twitch it. I thought it was a typical ladyfish bite,” he recalled. “But it made a couple fast runs, similar to a mackerel.”
The fish stayed low in the water not jumping like a ladyfish would. It fought harder than other fish of a similar size and left him wondering. Soon it reached the surface, and as he saw it was a pearlescent silver. This color revealed a big surprise that is rarely seen in Tampa Bay waters.
“Eventually I got it to the surface and knew what I was looking at immediately,” Cruz said. “I thought that’s crazy rare.”
In low 60-degree water during the middle of January at the edge of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, the fish he landed was a bonefish. After a quick picture to document the rare catch, he released it.
Bonefish, while not big and sometimes reaching sizes beyond 30-inches, are known for their pound-for-pound ability to fight far greater than their size. Cruz’s fish was around 17 inches, but it wasn’t the size that mattered; it was the species that many travel around the globe to target caught in our backyard.
Bonefish are typically found in tropical, clean waters around the world patrolling shallow flats for crustaceans. Anglers spend hours stalking them as they are known to be very spooky. Seeing one around Tampa Bay is not unheard of but still extremely rare. Most catches of them occur along the beaches and anglers fishing for snook or pompano.
“I hope to see more caught in the bay,” said Cruz, who will never forget the moment. “I went into work excited, telling all my coworkers about that fish. They thought it was cool, too, as they’ve never caught one either. It really made my day — bucket list fish for sure.”
By JON CHAPMAN/Miami Herald