Skyway Fishing Pier State Park

The Skyway Fishing Pier State Park was created when then new bridge was built across the bay and the remains became the world's longest fishing pier. Anglers of all sorts come around for miles to fish these plentiful waters for all species of fish. Park your car right next to your fishing spot, throw out a line and kick back while you're waiting for the big one to bite.

The original Skyway Bridge opened up in 1954. It was instantly the new fad to drive across the bay. By 1969 the novelty had long worn off and the bridge was being over used. A second bridge built parallel to the existing bridge provided four lanes for traffic.

A tragic turn of events occurred on May 9, 1980 that changed the bridge forever. The freight ship Summit Venture collided with the bridges western column. Over 1,200 feet of the bridge collapsed during rush hour traffic and 35 people lost their lives. It was a sad day for bay area residents.

In 1987, a new suspension bridge was built nearby. By the 1990's, the public wanted to use the old bridge. The state took over the property and instead of demolishing the old bridge, the remaining areas still found to be safe were left in place and reinforced. By 1994 the work was done and a new state park was formed, the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park.

The park is an amazing place to fish. Small vehicles can drive their cars up to a certain point along the pier and are able to literally fish from their cars. Being the world's largest fishing pier, there is always plenty of places to fish from, even when the park is packed.

A bait store and concession stand midway along the pier provide guests of the park with bait, fishing tackle, food, drinks and snacks. While the concession stand holds regular hours of operation the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park is open 365 days a year 24 hours a day.

Anglers at the park should expect to catch a wide variety of saltwater fish. Pompano, redfish, snook, grouper, tarpon, mackerel, sea bass, sheepshead, cobia and a wide variety of other amazing Florida game fish can be caught in various areas all along the pier.

For more information about directions to the park, fees and other park questions, visit the official Skyway Fishing Pier State Park website here.