Thread: Fishing April 2-9

Family and I will be in Gulf Shores for the first week of April. Plan to do a bit of fishing and looking for advice.
Wife hates fish so it will be more catch-and-release (or give to someone keeping them). We just want to catch.

Bringing a couple poles and have bought new 15lb Trilene, treble hooks (size 4 and 6), 1/2 and 1oz egg weights, #3 and #5 swivels and a handful of 20lb wire leaders (maybe unnecessary).

Any tips before I rig the poles for the trip? Different hooks, how to rig for specific fish, bait recommendations, time recommendations?
May try to find some ghost shrimp near the condo beach (kids would enjoy finding them). Are they any good used from the pier? I don't plan to surf fish (unless highly recommended).

I've been through many posts on this site. Lots of good info. Thanks for anything additional specific to next week.

Will

I carolina rig 1oz egg to mailine and 50lb mono leader to a swivel and hook a sardine or pinfish to it, then drown him wherever i see fit for redfish.

kings i use small swivel to wire to #2 treble with no weight. sardine or hardtail for bait.

a carolina rig in the shallows with live shrimp works well for multiple species.

If you are going to fish for Sheepshead with the ghost shrimp you need about a 10 lb mono leader (15-20" below a lead) and a #10 treble. If you are going to fish for mackeral the #4 and #6 trebles are good and you need the wire leader, but no lead.

BTW, if your wire leader is one of those pre-made store-bought deals with a non-coastlock snap it is not the best.

You are over-gunned for what mainly biting, sheepshead, whiting, Spanish & pompano. Bring some 8-10# class medium spinning gear.
Kings MIGHT show up any day now, so still bring the 15# gear & wire.

I'm wondering about "a handful of 20 lb wire leaders". Are these single strand leaders that you've made yourself? Or are they the pre-made leaders with a swivel on one end and a snap on the other?

I'm not a fan of pre-made, store-bought leaders. The snap will likely fail if you ever get a big fish on. You only need wire leader with toothy fish like mackerel and bluefish. Wire will scare away some species that are wire leader/terminal tackle shy.

Rigging, baiting, techniques -- they're mostly species-specific, so when you review previous discussions, include the species in your search. In other words, if you want to know how to rig and what to use for sheepshead, include the key words in your search.

Hmmm. Maybe we should focus it down to the "What tastes the best" or "What offers the best fight" during April and then I'll rig accordingly.
Given the wife's aversion to fish, maybe the "What offers the best fight" is the better question.

Looking at the "What's Biting, When" chart, I should be set for flounder, pompano and sheepshead, specs, whiting, king and spanish.
I'd say out of all those, flounder, king and spanish.

So, my lighter gear for the flounders and the slightly heaver gear for the king/spanish if they arrive by then?

I was going to spool the 15lb test on all the reels - it's been a while and I am sure my lines all need replacing by now. Should I go lighter on the smaller spinning reels?
The leaders are indeed the store bought ones - I have limited time to invest in custom making anything.
Are the "good" leaders easy to make - something I can bring material and just make onsite?

Bait - ghost shrimp if we can find them (for fun) - and if they are useful for pier fishing anything aside form sheepshead.
Otherwise, whatever I can buy from the store near the pier (or from someone catching bait on the pier, if that's even legal) that will work for flounder (or the macks).

Not planning to bring anything artificial - just hooks, sinkers, swivels, etc.


For rods/reels, I have two spinning reels on 7' medium poles that I use to fish in the Ohio river (or back on the Atchafalaya in Louisiana) looking for 10-20+lb catfish and striped bass.
Also, two relatively inexpensive spinning reels with 2-part rods that I use for smaller species like perch/trout.

Plan to bring all 4 and just use what is necessary.

Thanks,
Will

Not planning to bring anything artificial - just hooks, sinkers, swivels, etc.
Will[/QUOTE]

As for artificials, let me suggest the Gotcha Plug. Great for Spanish, blue fish, and maybe small kings. You can get them for a few bucks when you get here.