Thread: Need advice!!!

Originally Posted by Flyniron

Pier#r so are the dark spots in this picture the troughs I read about?

Yes.
A change in water depth of just a foot or two makes for dramatic 'structure' on an otherwise monotonous beach.

If I wind up at the pier, where is the best place to target what fish??

Spanish mackerel, ladyfish & blue runners with a Looney jig or Bubble rig about half way past the bathrooms and the end.

Whiting and pompano (maybe) small pieces of fresh dead shrimp on bottom rigs just off the beach where the water starts to get deep (dropoff ;-)

I swear I learn more here than google, how often are the people on this site fishing there?

Originally Posted by Flyniron

If I wind up at the pier, where is the best place to target what fish??

I'd divide the pier into 3 zones. Understand that the fish are unaware of these zones and sometimes cross the line. King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Bull Redfish, Jack Crevalle - these are fish you'll encounter on/around/in the vicinity of the octi (the extreme south end of the pier). Just south of the bathrooms toward the octi, you can catch bluefish, spanish, ladyfish, redfish, sailcats and hardtails. From the surf to the bathrooms, you can catch pompano, slot reds, flounder, speckled trout, whiting, black drum. Again -- that's only a generalization, since (for instance) hardtails or bluefish can be caught anywhere from almost right up on the beach to the octi. I left out sheepshead, since they're mostly caught by sight-fishing almost exclusively while fishing straight down next to the pilings all along the pier.

It's a good question! You should target species and rig specifically for what you want to catch and improve your odds by fishing in the right water for them. If you are after king mackerel, for instance, you'll want to stay pretty near the octi, since they move in from deeper water and rarely make it to the surf. I've seen people fish, unsuccessfully, for kings from the area north of the bathrooms. It's just not a good strategy, from my perspective. A really good strategy is to pay attention to the daily reports and to also visit the archived reports from years past. They contain a treasure-trove of information regarding different species of fish, where on the pier they were (generally) caught and what bait the successful fishermen were using.
I rig three ways this time of year. I have one outfit to fish the surf for whiting/pompano. Another is rigged for spanish mackerel. The other is rigged for king mackerel. If nothing's happening where I am, I'll sometimes go to a different part of the pier to see what's going on there.

Originally Posted by Flyniron

I swear I learn more here than google, how often are the people on this site fishing there?

I think that a better question is - "How long have people been fishing here?" Several people on this site are like me - "Since we were kids" (and we're no longer kids!).

What an excellent synopsis; thanks, even though we aren't pier fishers.

Been pier fishing since 1982, some years more than others.
Others on this site have are much older than I (48-ish) and started soon after getting out diapers.

Originally Posted by bodebum

What an excellent synopsis; thanks, even though we aren't pier fishers.

Yeah, you fish out in the same territory that I do. Apparently, the hardheads down our way haven't gotten the memo that they are supposed to be farther out.

Originally Posted by CarlF

Been pier fishing since 1982, some years more than others.
Others on this site have are much older than I (48-ish) and started soon after getting out diapers.

Yeah, that's me - older. It's obvious that you've put in some pier time with your advanced skill set, CarlF. When I started pier fishing in Gulf Shores there was Youngs-By-The-Sea and Ashwander's (adjacent to Young's on the west side). Young's was great for spanish and occasional kings and we used the early version of the "Gotcha" plug called a "Jerk-Jigger". It was back then that I learned how to catch sand fleas to use for redfish bait and to peel fresh-dead shrimp for pompano. That earliest memory came from the early to mid 60s, I think. What was remarkable about this was that it was a girl about my age (10-12 at the time) who showed me a couple of those techniques/baits that I still use today. Apparently her dad had taught her well.