It always amazes me how many people swim next to a fishing pier for this reason. It is a feeding station.
We used to do Clearwater years ago. It changed. We started heading South. You can still get some decent laid back places between Clearwater and St. Pete in places like Indian Rocks Beach but even that has changed. Went fishing out of John's Pass for years. Last 10 years were spent in Sanibel. It is painful what Ian did to that place as it was one of the last non-overly commercialized destinations.
Head to The Keys once a year to do some real fishing. As you know it is far better than anywhere else in FL. Can get to deep water quickly and have caught some amazing fish. When we head back to the dock the mates always feed nurse sharks which causes a crowd.
Most shark attacks are Bull Sharks. They are aggressive and hang out in shallow water, brackish water, and even fresh water. They remind me of dogs in that they will try anything, even if not on the menu.