Thread: New guy

Hello everyone!
I am absolutely new to salt water fishing and I have been considering planning a pier fishing trip down to the Mobile area.
I guess I am just looking for a little info as to what tackle I need to start purchasing and where a good place to go would be. Any advice would be appreciated!
Thank you!

that question has been answered hundreds of times in this forum. do a search for the info you need. go to J&M's for your tackle needs. the locals are very helpful and friendly if you are willing to listen. great bunch on the pier.

Welcome! STRIPERLOVER

Be careful, gulf pier fishing is possibly the most addicting land based fishing activities i've tried. It is a load of fun for the entire family. You won't just make one trip, so take my advice, don't buy the cheapest rods you can find, invest in decent quality gear, so you will be prepared trip after trip. J&M tackle has the tackle, but they also have the knowledge to assist you.

My 1st trip to a salt pier ever was at biloxi, i took a walmart catfish spinning combo and some zebco 808's rigged with squid and mullet, i was ready! - the 1st big drum that i managed to fight ended in a broken reel handle, then the rod snapped and stuck in my neck, so i hand lined him, then he wrapped the line around a piling and swam off laughing at the googan that wasn't prepared. luckily i kept my receipt and got a new replacement rod that also broke shortly after.
Ever since that i've been a Penn, Shimano, Abu, Daiwa and Okuma fan.

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...t-timer-11846/

I read through the 1st timer thread and got a lot of good info. I read that J&M will rent rods out for $1.50 an hour, I am thinking for the first time we might just do this instead of investing money in something I am not 100% sure is what I need. This way I can get a little experience with what kind of set up I need before going to buy things.

I am going to be down there sometime around the middle of may. I am excited about getting started with this. I have mostly fished tailwaters and dams for stripers, so it will be a nice new area of fishing to get into.

If you have a setup that will handle 30lb stripers then you would be in great shape for king mackerel and bull redfish in the 10-30lb range, as long as you have 250 yds or more 15-20lb mono. J&M has pre made king leaders with hooks or they will get you a small spool of wire leader material, #4 4x treble hooks and #10 swivels to make your own. 95% of the edible fish caught on the pier are less than 5lbs. A medium 7' spinning outfit with 100yds of 10-12lb mono will handle pompano, speckled trout, slot redfish, bluefish, flounder, Spanish Mackerel, sheepshead and spadefish. All of the aforementioned will eat live shrimp. J&M has live shrimp and a 5 gallon bait bucket with aerator to keep them alive for around $25. Most of the smaller species have very keen eyesight and small mouths. A size #2 or smaller kahle or bait holder hook is plenty.

I fish a browning six rivers rod and reel combo. I have pulled in several 30lb+ plus stripers and a few 50lb+ cats. I usually use a 20lb cajun mono and it holds about 220 yards of it. So I am guessing this is going to be acceptable, at least I can give it a go to see how it works out.

I have a garage full of spinning outfits that should do that job as well. Thanks for the advice!

You are pretty well set Striperlover You won't have any problem Come on down and enjoy We'll help you I use to live on Lake Murray in Columbia SC one of the best stripper lakes in the country and also fished the famous Santee Cooper Reservoirs in SC for strippers and have fish competitively for largemouth bass and I can honestly say nothing compares to saltwater fishing So come on down and enjoy It will be some of the most exciting fishing you have ever done

Striperlover, if you are set up for stripers you will be OK for your first trip with what you've got, what you need to pay attention to is your terminal tackle. For kings you need some 4x #4 to #2 treble hooks (most folks use #4) and some wire leader (most use 27 to 60 lb single strand stainless, mostly 27 to 40 lb, for a first timer go with 40#).

If you have braid on your rigs we would all appreciate a top shot of a couple hundred feet of high vis mono to help keep us all separated and tangled less (16 to 25 lb with 20 lb being a good compromise). I put about 8 feet of 20 lb fluoro leader on my high vis, some folks say it's not necessary.

For Spanish use 10 - 16 lb line and a rod comfortable for repeated casting. A straw rig on a casting bubble or a 3/8 to 1/2 jig or "gotcha" (that's a kind of lure you will find everywhere) on 40 to 60 lb mono leader will get you started the first day. You probably don't know those lures, but J&M will get you set up.

A package of Malin (brand) single strand wire leader will have the directions for tying on the back.

Buy a couple of Sabiki rigs for bait catching. When you are confused just tell folks you are new at it and ask questions. Most will be glad to help you.

EDIT: For the strippers you can usually do better in Florida, they try to keep a family atmosphere in Alabama. ;-)