Hello everyone!

Hi everyone, just got signed up and wanted to say hello! My name is Miles and I live in Mansfield Texas. My family and I are making our second trip to Gulf Shores and will be doing some fishing (a lot of fishing:D). We visited back in 2010 and have been itching to get back ever since. Last time we fished from the pier and caught lots of whiting. This time we plan on fishing the pier as well as doing some surf fishing in front of the beach house in hopes of catching some bigger fish. I'm starting to figure out which rods to bring now (cause the wife says I can't bring them all). Love the forum and can't wait to fish with you all and meet some new friends.

When will you be down, Codfather?

Coincidentally, last night I was just looking at my own collection of rods and reels. I'm going to have to put together a yard sale or something 'cause I'm like the Imelda Marcos of fishing tackle.

I'll be there June 27th - July 5th. Hopefully we can make this a yearly trip. After doing some searching on the forum, I'm surprised at how light the tackle is that everyone uses. I've done a good bit of surf, pier and jetty fishing in California and Florida so I thought I hade a good idea of what to bring but it looks like I might need to downsize a little. I do a lot of bank fishing for big blue catfish here in Texas so I've got lots of 10-12' Penn Prevail surf rods with 20-25lb mono and 50-65lb braid on Abu Garcia 6500 C3's. I plan on using those on the beach for reds and black drum, maybe even a smaller shark. I'll have to sort through my bass fishing gear for some lighter rods for the pier. Does a medium action 7' spinning rod with 10-15lb mono sound about right?

I use a little higher # test line than most of the other guys. I use 12 - 14 for spanish and 20# test for kings -- so you're right there with what most of the guys use. The big rods ought to be just right for surf fishing for bruisers. You'll have fun!

My sweet and lovely wife allows me room for four outfits in the car. So, I have two pc. rods, 6'6" to 7'6", test line is mono, 6, 8, & 10, with floro leaders and no barrel swivels. We have successfully landed and released drums and small sharks, rays, and redfish over 20 lbs. The 6 lb. is for whiting or flounder, specks, and Spanish. We are surf fishers, and try not to target the big stuff. Welcome to the Forum, and hope you have the best of luck.

Thanks guys! My sweet and lovely wife didn't specify how many rods I can bring, she just said "you can't bring all of them". I'll probably have 8-10 rods with me. I want to be ready for everything :-). Can't wait!

When I travel to the gulf, it's for one thing......FISHING! Tackle takes priority spot #1. Never know what your going to get into.

As the years pass I find myself drifting more and more to the light side when it comes to tackle. I got a 34 inch Cobia last year on my flounder rod with 8 lb test line. When I lose a big fish due to being under gunned on the tackle I tell myself that I have another good story about one that got away. I can no longer walk the sand so my surf days are over but rod length is in my opinion the most critical factor.

Used to love ultralight fishing for Spanish, but the sharks put that out of business. The way things sound, you really have to haul them in to get anything. Wouldn't go past 9 feet on the pier for kings, etc, if it was me. Some good 7 or 7'6" medium action with backbone should do well. Might go with 10 lb test on smaller stuff and 15# on bigger rods. Good luck on your trip. South winds and clear water.....

You are going to have to haul all your gear out and back. If you don't already have a cart or something you might look on here for ideas. That may limit your gear.

I've got two sons, 15 and 13 years old. They are big strappin' football players. They can be my pack mules for the week:D. I do have a large cart, about 3'X4' that I use to haul all my catfishing gear to the bank. It holds two large coolers, one of which is a livewell for bait, and probably fifty pounds of gear and rods. If I can find a way to bring it with us I will.