Thread: Preferred pier gear

Originally Posted by ShallowWaterAngler

I am really enjoying and learning from these answers. I was going to start another thread on the aspects of fishing, but I will go ahead and ask them here.

Since the last post was about nets, I'll start with them as well as gaffs. Which do you prefer and why? If you are by yourself how do you get large fish up the pier? Gaffs are for bigger fish (Cobia/Kings/Jacks/Big reds) generally. You're going to have a hard time gaffing a 5lb sheepshead or a 3lb spanish mackeral. Nets are for the smaller stuff AND the bigger stuff. As for doing it solo, get creative And ask for help. There's almost always someone there that can hold a rope.

On fishing, do you fish with live bait or plugs/jigs/spoons? Please elaborate. Simple asnwer, yes. This is one where you need to read in the Q&A section, LOTS of info on rig setups for different types of fish. Free-lining baitfish (LY's mostly) is common for the bigger stuff, but jigs are used as well. Lots of stuff caught with artificials in the smaller range.

Do you try to cast far away from the pier or drop straight down? Or both depending on what factors? Depends entirely on what you're fishing for. Sheepshead are straight down at the pilings that the pier stands on...Most everything else is out and about, but they come under the pier all the time as that's where the bait hangs out a lot.

How do you determine which part of the pier to fish? What do you want to fish for? Where are the fish being caught? These are what determines where you fish.

How, where, and when do you use a sabiki rig? Depends what it's being used for. For bait, put a big weight on the bottom, drop it down, jig it up and down a bit at different depths until something hits it. For Spanish, you cast it out a bit. I've never used one for spanish though, i don't like the idea if casting 5-8 hooks and accidentally catching a person lol.

When using live bait, do you prefer live, fresh dead, or frozen? Pretty much never frozen. live is usually best IME, but fresh dead works if that's all you have. Unless you're fishing for catfish, the fish you're catching aren't looking to eat dead fish. They want sashimi (that is, raw and not rotting). They're also generally smarter than most freshwater fish.

Do you chum to attract fish to your specific spot? Is it allowed? I don't know if it's allowed or not, but I kind of doubt it. Plus, like I mentioned in the last question, most fish are looking for stuff that's alive.

Can you fish the water around the pier from the surf? Not within 100 yards according to mr. haywire.

Hope it's not too many questions, but these are questions a lot of new pier fishermen (including myself) would like/need to know.

I'll answer what I can since I'm bored. I'm no regular though. I italicized them.

Correction on the last question: No, you are not allowed to surf fish withing 100 yards of either side of the pier, nor is swimming or any other water activity allowed.

Regarding the question about vertical jigging versus casting...

Most folks attempt to fish for bigger species away from the pilings of the pier. Not because they don't swim close to the pier, but because your risk of being cut off/wrapped up goes up tremendously if the hook-up occurs right next to the piling.

The classic big fish (kings/jacks/reds) approach is to use a sabiki or ribbon rig to catch a live baitfish. The baitfish is hooked onto a suitable rod waiting at your pier cart pre-rigged with a 3-x strong treble hook and wire leader with flat-black (no shine) swivel. Typically, baits are hooked on the top of their back behind the dorsal fin area - as the weight of the line creates some drag in the water, it *generally* points the nose of the swimming baitfish away from the pier, such that they don't run up to/underneath the pier as often. This improves the odds of a hook-up happening a bit away from the pier, so that most of the battle with the fish can take place away from the pier and all its entanglements. Things can get interesting as the fish are pulled in close, however