Thread: Father Needs Advice

My family just moved to Mobile. I have been taking my 15 year old son fishing on the pier but we do not really know which fish would be good eating and which fish are bait fish. Could someone give me some advice or information on what we can expect to catch on the pier and take home to eat. Also, we are saving our money to go out on a deep sea day fishing trip. Any advice on a boat and captain would be worth going with. We cannot afford a private charter so we are looking for a boat that takes several people out at one time. One last question, is there any good places to fish in the Mobile area. Thanks from a dad trying to give his son some good memories.

First of all what you are doing for your son is just great. You are building life long memories that will be fond the rest of his life. There is a long list of fish that you catch at the pier that are edible. The edible list is long: spanish mackerel, king mackerel, cobia, redfish, whiting, ground mullet, white trout, flounder, pompano, sheepshead, and specks. What are not good to eat are skipjacks/lady fish, hardhead cats, jacks, remoras. There are a few not listed but these are the most common. Others will add to this. Many sharks are edible, but can't be landed at GSP and the regs can be hard to understand on them. One thing you will find is there will be plenty of people at the piers that will help you identify fish, and give advice on catching them. Do not be timid, just ask. Go print off the Alabama saltwater requirements, some fish have length requirements and most have daily limits. I would start with a couple of good quality spinning outfits...... 7' rods with a 5000 or 4000 reels and load them with 12 lb test mono. Don't get cheap stuff, get good new or good used and they will last many years. These won't handle kings or cobia, but will handle 75% of what you can catch. Take one of these for you and one for your son to the pier and then go see what is happening and replicate what you see. You can also go to J&M (link at right) there and they also will get you going with equipment and terminal gear. BPS can help too. If you get stuck, ask, and you will get some help. Also Pier #r on this forum I understand does some pier guiding, that may well be worth it for you until you get your feet wet. Just understand it is getting hot now, and this is not the very best time to fish the piers (nor is the dead of winter). It will pick up as it cools and stay pretty decent through much of Nov. Once your skills are good, you can be severely addicted. Zekes is a good place to go start looking for charters. Best of luck to you both.

Big party boats are usually productive and fun way to fish. But with alot of the fish they target not in season right now its not worth it. Imho. In shore and near shore private boats are usually cheaper than off shore private boats. There is a lot of good fishing with inshore trips. I dont think pier# is available anymore as he has found another job, I would definitly ask him if he is for hire that would be money well spent. The pier has a lot to offer for the price, to spend a 120$ to140$ on a six hour charter to catch spanish and king mackrel is a lot when you can do the same thing on the pier for 8$.

We really like the spanish, I hear the whiting,flounder are very good too....and welcome

Welcome Aboard!
Here are a couple links that may be helpful:

What is the best tasting fish caught from the pier

Which are DO NOT EAT fish?

Thank you very much for your prompt and informative advice. I appreciate your comments and will follow through on them. I had not idea that there were so many edible fish you could catch from the pier. Thanks. Dale

Thanks for advice on just staying on the pier. Looking forward to getting back on the pier. Dale

Doodle Dad, I see you are in Mobile, if you want to try the boat fishing, Captain Mike's at Dauphin Island runs a walk on trip several days each week. I think the cost is about $130.00 each and the Escape is in the program that allows anglers to keep one red snapper per trip. I have been fishing with these folks at least once per year since 1978, they catch fish. If you need any info I can give it to you, jk

Welcome aboard. We come down on a yearly basis and fishing is my main objective. I did the charter fishing last year, caught many fish and had a blast. But like written earlier, for the money the pier is by far the best place to fish and fill a freezer once you know how to fish the pier and what to fish for. The are numerous topics on this forum that will help you get prepared. And just spend a day on the pier watching and listening, most everyone you will come across, especially the regulars will be more than happy to explain what tackle and how to fish the pier. Good luck and post pics of your catches. You can learn a lot by spending a little time and money at J & M. Great group of guys and very helpful.

bfreeland Good to meet you, I also fish inshore, just every once in a while I want to see fish fly and grown men cry...I do like catching kings,but prefer wahoo...also prefer Yellowfins over little tunny, I agree if you have the equipment the pier is the place to go, it was just a suggestion as he mentioned the walkon thing,