Thread: Firtst trip fishing the pier

I was trying to catch some LY's with my sibinki and I kept catching some other fish someone called a crazy fish. he said they weren't good for bait. I'm new at this and could really use some help. I have always fished the gulf in a boat but I'm trying to adjust to pier fishing. I would really like to catch some spanish. What would be my best bait/lure?

Best bait for spanish is small (3&quot LYs.
Use the smalles sabiki or gold hooks you can find or a 3/8" mesh LY ribbon rig.
2nd best is frozen cigar minnows (snobbled) with a 'cheater rig'

Lures: best bet is a bubble rig, or a single white 'Looney jig'.
They will also hit Gotcha plug and silver spoon, etc.

Hope this helps!

What pounder said. As far as the Cigar minnows, try to find a box with smaller ones, they go crazy over those. Also, with the white looney jig, put a mackerel belly strip on it and you will double your bites. I have fished slow days with that method and killed more Spanish than anyone else would.

Thanks for the help. how big of a strip of the mackerel should I use on the looney jig? Also, do you know if J & M has the looney jig?

About a 2 or 3 inch piece or so. And I think J&M is the only place in the area that carries them.

I did a lot of good this year on a 3 inch white fluke. I was using the single tail, but I'm sure the split tail would work, too. They were killing them by themselves, but with a bubble rig even more so. There were a couple of days when a piece of sardine was working better than a belly strip.

Watch whoever is catching the most and use what they are using. Especially if he's wearing a wide brimmed floppy Columbia hat.

I'm not familiar with the white fluke. What does it look like? We were catching some sort of fish on our sabiki rig - it wasn't LY's or hardtails. Somebody said it was a crazy fish and not good for bait. Crazy fish????

[img width=720 height=479]http://www.inflatablepontoon.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/fluke.jpg[/img]

thanks for the pictures. i know exactly what to look for now. This web-site is awesome and everyone is so helpfull. :yay: :yay:

Crazy fish are good tarpon bait... And I had a ling eat one last yr