Thread: Surf to Pier

Hello everyone,
I live in Daphne (about an hour from the pier). I try to visit the beaches every weekend but I have not been to the pier yet. I have accumulated a few rods and reels over the years for the surf and I am wondering if any of these will be useful for the pier or should I pay a visit to J&M as suggested by many of you to the new comers. Here is what i have:

8' penn powerstick12-20#, 12' penn powerstick20-40#, 9'finn norr15-30#, 7' quantum 6-12#, 7' penn squadron 10-30#
Penn fierce 4000, penn slammer 560, penn spinfisher 750

Thanks for your valuable opinions in advance. - MAB

IMHO the 7, 8 and probably 9 foot rods are probably fine for pier use.
The 12 footer is just too long to work practically for most applications pier fishing (king fishing).
It would probaly work OK for heaving a bait out for redfish though.

My advice is try it, see what works for you and adjust where needed. :fishing:

Thanks Pier#r,
I appreciate your guidance. It looks like I have a few setup options to get me going. I guess the next thing is to work on the tackle. Is there a common rig that one must have?

Your welcome! Others may have additional or other opinions too...

For king fishing, a roll of 27# leader wire and a pack of #2 treble hooks ;-)
Buy a box of cigar minnows or catch live bait on a sabiki or ribbon rig if you have any.

Question: do you have any other lighter tackle besides the 7' Quantum?
It can pull 'double duty' as a bait catcher or spanish rod for you though.
Another question: What @ line do you have on these rigs?

Is the 27# wire a single-strand wire? Do i need a tool to twist it?
I have a couple packs of sabiki rigs but I do not have a ribbon rig. I would love to start the day by catching my own bait.
I can look up in detail later but i do have a few ugly sticks (6'6, 6' and a 5') with small reels. Did i understand your question about the light tackle?
I recently put 20# power pro over the 10# mono on the fierce4000 that goes with the two 7' rods. I have a 20# mono on the slammer560, which goes with the 8' and 9' rods and i believe there is a 30#mono on the 750, which stays on the 12' rod (it has been a while since I took it out). Any of these lines can be changed to what may suit the best for pier conditions. 20# and 30# monos are due for change if I take them to the pier, anyway.

Yeah, the single strand wire. You can trim the tag end with nail clippers.
You could use the 6'6" or 6 foot rig as a dedicated 'bait rod' with a sabiki.
That will free up you 7' for spanish/small kings and you can use the Slammer combo for kings.

Starting with 3 rods is a good idea, then as you gain experience you will know how you want to expand your quiver.

Thanks a bunch Pier#r,
That sounds like a good plan. I am really excited about this.

I would reccomend sticking with Mono for the kings. If that braid gets wrapped up with other people while drifting baits/fighting a good fish, it is a pain to get that braid untangled. The mono seems to be easier on everyone.

Thanks for the heads up, TyJ.
The last thing that I need is to cause annoyance with the folks. That would take all the fun out of the whole thing.

[font=comic sans ms][size=12pt]If you are going to re-spool your King reels, most of us use 12 to 16# mono; casts better than 20# and gives you more line capacity.