Shark population question/opinion

With the pier being shut down so long, this should lend credit to a couple theories on the shark situation.

-We know it wasn't the fish cleaning stations.

-With the pier being shut down so long, would the sharks conditioned to free meals from anglers move on and forget what they have adapted to?

-If the shark population is still strong around the pier, it has to be more than just sharks chasing schools of fish right? Are the attractors/structure really holding enough fish to support the numbers of sharks we've seen in the past.

We've spent the past 3 years fishing other pan handle piers a few times a year and it's totally different in regard to sharks. We caught more sandbars, duskies, fine tooths, and smaller black tips than anything. Another observation was that they really only came out at dusk/night. You also had to be using bigger live or cut bait.

The past few times we came out to gssp several years back, we hooked sharks on any type of live or cutbait, even thumbnail sized pieces. Almost all the sharks were spinners, blacktips, bulls, sharpnose, and sandbars. And this was mainly during daytime hours. In one day fishing at gssp, we hooked into more sharks than all the week long trips to other piers over 3 years.

I'm excited about the pier opening back up and already have a week long trip in October in the works. Just curious what others takes are on the subject after the pier being shut down so long.

Based on a few videos from anglers boat fishing near the pier, the sharks are still present in large numbers.

farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies-farewell and adieu you ladies of spain

It has become obvious these particular sharks (mostly mature Blacktips) have become conditioned to feeding around the structure and reefage of the pier. The more sharks are present, the more aggressive they become. At this point in pier history our biggest ally is the commercial longlining operation that has apparently put a dent in them...

I am probably in the minority, but not crazy about all the large tiger sharks killed this summer.

I remember when they put the double cleaning tables out on the Octi I began “noticing” a change😆

Does the rubble from the old pier (pre-Ivan), stationed several hundred yards out from the existing pier, hold enough food to keep the sharks around?

Not sure I’m not sure they even leave anymore! Dude it was a double whammy of depredation out there the other day with flipper getting involved Marty lost a small king- he said a blowfish got em😂

Had a full-sized Jack eaten by flipper right by the pier last summer. Swam around with it for a while. Only got the squished head back.

I'm hearing GSP may be renamed Sharksville.

can anyone confirm?

It's just wild hearing the reports on facebook with the sharks.

I really wonder if the position of gssp in relation to all the passes and bays plays a role with the local shark population, along with increased regs spurring a population boom. It's location definitely makes it one of the best piers for fishing for multiple species. It's just insane seeing that large of a presence with sharks in that specific area. I know of no other pier from North Carolina to Texas with a similar issue. I've witnessed shark chew downs before but they are strictly following migrating schools of bunker or mullet. GSSP literally has a huge local population that just hangs out there.

Going back to 2010, the shark numbers weren't so thick. 2013/2014 was when we started witnessing increases and it has just exponentially exploded each year.

It would be nice if we could get a permit/course to legally harvest sharks from the pier. Even then, I'm not sure if it would alleviate the issue if it is from increased regs and/or the geographical location of the pier.

I just know it really sucks when we plan trips there with the family, take vacation time, spend $1000's of dollars locally, just to have anything we target sharked at the pilings. All 3 kings we've ever hooked had this happen, tons of spanish, pomps, a few reds, and quite a few mangroves. Being disabled and not as skilled with a gaff/net definitely doesn't help, but it never hindered us at other piers. When we fish perdido pass or even surf fishing, the issue isn't there, just gssp.

There's a few piers that have rubble close by without the same issue. For example Skyway bridge/pier in Tampa. They have a decent presence of sharks and dolphin, but it's nowhere near the degree of gssp.