Thread: Fishing near the pier out of a boat.....

Got a buddy that wants to fish NEAR the pier for sharks out of my boat. Now obviously when I consider this it’s with knowing I wouldnt even chance being close enough to interfere with my pier fishing buddies.. all I’m wondering is do boats every use the vicinity of the pier for an advantage to get sharks on the line??? Help so I can give this guy an answer!

Boats do park "near" the pier, not sure if they catch that many sharks or not. Parking too close is not advised.
If he really wants to do this, I would not anchor any closer than 300-400 yards, up-current.
Drop bloody chunks of little tunny straight down on 4/ to 6/0 gear, loosen the drag and put the rods in the holder.
I don't know if he will have any better luck than fishing the nearshore reefs in the same manner.

As mentioned, no need to bother trying around the pier.
Mostly they are attracted TO the pier.
You'd probably do better in the vicinity of the sea buoy off Perdido Pass where charter boats dump their carcasses.
Ritchie Russell makes a living out of taking folkses shark fishing out there ;-)

Just troll and catch some spanish, then fillet them up and put out big chunks or small fillets...

There is structure around the pier just out of casting range. Sit upstream and chum into it. Don't get within casting distance of course.

There are lot's of sharks on any structure this time of year. You might pull some out of the area around the pier and into your boat with a solid chum line.

i'm not judging or even know what i'm talking about, but i have a question. would fishing and chumming within the legal distance from the pier possibly increase the shark population or encourage it? I know some can be extracted so it can be a good thing. it just seems whatever we all do has to be on the same page and make it work.

Would think so if you chummed south of the octi and led the current carry it in...

Originally Posted by j. gravy

i'm not judging or even know what i'm talking about, but i have a question. would fishing and chumming within the legal distance from the pier possibly increase the shark population or encourage it? I know some can be extracted so it can be a good thing. it just seems whatever we all do has to be on the same page and make it work.

The pier is already a huge shark attractant due to all the bait, mullet and spanish macs plus the "bonus" carcasses from the cleaning tables. IMO, a boat or two parking up current and chumming will not make much if any differences.

Thanks guys..good info. I talked him into a day of trolling for kings and Spanish rather than dealing with the men in the grey suits!

Originally Posted by CarlF

The pier is already a huge shark attractant due to all the bait, mullet and spanish macs plus the "bonus" carcasses from the cleaning tables. IMO, a boat or two parking up current and chumming will not make much if any differences.

CarlF is correct. They'll come to chum but once it stops, they wander off pretty quickly. The pier is already a massive attraction for the reasons stated. I've chummed them up in clear water and pea soup and everything in between. They're either there already for some reason (you should fish them in Apalachee Bay in the summer where/when the really big girls come to pup - lol - you never see them until they're right on top of you - sometimes they decide to take the chum bucket and it's a fight between them and the anchor rope for a while) and you can't run them off except by catching a few or you can chum them up but they go away when the food stops.

If you can catch local bait and use a chum-churn or chum buddy type device, it makes the chum last a lot longer. If no bait, just get a box of cigar minnows or spanish sardines. The sardines seem to work a little better.