Tourist freshwater fisherman new to pier fishing

Hello fellow fisherman and thank you for putting together this site. We are from the Branson, Missouri area and if you ever get up this way and want to do some fishing, take a look at ozarkanglers.com as it has several folks that will help with questions you may have in our area just like I do for you in your area.

Please direct me to older posts if these questions are already answered somewhere. I know there are all kinds of opinions and I value differing ones, but mostly I welcome your experience and thank you in advance for your help.

Info on us: We are very experienced fisherman, but very novice when it comes to pier fishing. We will be in Gulf Shores May 31 to June 8. We plan on fishing several days, mostly from the pier and maybe inshore and off shore one day each (suggestions here are also welcome) We have rods and reels and a small amount of gear for pier fishing. We are willing to buy a few things, but keep in mind we are just fishing for five or six days, so we have to be reasonable with what we may purchase to use. We want to catch whatever will bite. We are planning on giving the majority of our catch to those who want it or release them when that makes sense.

Non fishing questions: First and foremost, we want to be good pier fisherman to other fisherman and pier visitors. What are the top 3 things we need to know either not to do or to absolutely do as far as pier etiquitte?

What non fishing items do we need to bring, if any?

Fishing questions: What are the top three lures you would have in our situation for that time of year?

What are the top three items, if applicable, for live bait and what live bait do we buy or catch?

What are the top three fishing accessories that we need for the pier and do we have to buy them, rent them or can we borrow from a fellow fisherman (I am thinking specifically of a long net or something like that...we have no need for something like that back in Missouri!)

Where do you suggest we make our fishing purchases?

What are the top three times of day for us to be fishing, we are willing to fish any of the 24 hours in a day.

Anything else you think we need to know, please tell us.

That is a lot of questions, but when you are a novice at this and you want to do it right...well, you have a lot of questions. Thank you so much for your help and we look forward to getting out to fish the pier.

Ping

Welcome to the board.

1st question: http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...rteous-newbie/

Next: Go to General Fishing Discussion Board (where mod should consider moving this thread) and scroll through the topics. Many of your questions are answered there.

Non fishing items: Biggest ice chest you have, good knives for fileting and baggies to put your filets in, sunscreen and good hat, polarized shades, more sunscreen, good pair of needle nose pliers, other stuff others will mention.

Lures - mostly "Gotcha" lures for Spanish Mackerel. Available at Wally World or J&M. Small wire or 50 or 60 lb mono leader. They chew stuff up pretty quickly. Not sure what the current hot color is but I've had most consistent luck all spring on bright gold with yellow or red head.

Live shrimp if you are speck or flounder fishing. You'll need a bucket and aerator - basically same rig you'd use for shiners. Live LYs caught at the pier if you are going to fish for King Mackerel. Sabiki rig is used to catch the LYs. Again, Wally World or J&M

Ordinarily there are plenty of nets/gaffs around if you catch something big - and by then, no end of youngsters ready, willing and able to stick it for you.

As far as time of day, it depends on what you're after. Best bet is to read the daily reports and get a feel for what and when the bite is then check with the pier when you get here.

By and large your bass gear will do for most of the species you are going to encounter with the exception of the Kings, bull reds, and jacks - there you are talking about critters that range from 15 to 30+ lbs and can destroy light gear pretty quickly.
Make sure you rinse your gear THOROUGHLY every day as the salt environment will eat your stuff pretty quickly otherwise. 6-8 lb test line is plenty for most - again excepting the big critters.
Keep in mind that much of what you'll catch has lots of sharp teeth - even if you don't really notice them. Really bad idea to "lip" anything you catch. Also beware very sharp/poisonous fins and/or spines that protrude from various parts of the body.

Before you wet a line I'd suggest you do two things - go out to the pier for a couple hours and look around. Watch what others are doing and ask questions. Most folks will be glad to help. Generally speaking, if a person's terminal tackle involves brightly colored plastic coated leaders with lots of red beads, huge shiny chrome swivels, and multiple hooks, they are not who you want to ask. Listen for guys who are called by nicknames.
Then go to J&M Tackle on Canal Rd in Orange Beach and tell them you want to pier fish. Tell them what you have and they will pretty much fix you up with what you need.

Lastly, common sense and courtesy will go a long way. Things get wild on occasion and those two things will avoid lots of problems. Mostly, just plan on having fun.

Welcome to the board, ping. I discovered pier fishing a few years ago by walking out on the pier, watching what the guys were doing who were catching fish, and rigging up accordingly. A $20 spinning combo from Wally world, a few gotcha's and spoons and wire leaders, and I was in business for some great and enjoyable fishing. Spanish and skipjack played as long as I wanted to cast to them. Ended up catching several kings and reds, too. If you don't want them, there will probably be folks around you who are keeping both.

It took many trips for me to get the courage to go out on the end. It's intimidating out there at first. I watched for a long time before I ever ventured to put a line in the water. It does take some learning to fish live bait/snobble dead bait in the wind and waves and crowds out there. A word to the wise -- if you are new don't throw gotcha's and spoons off the end of the pier....stay between the toilets and the end. Anyone who catches fish is an observer. Watch what other people are doing and how they work their bait, especially the ones who are catching fish when you aren't.

J&M is far, far better than Walley World. It took me several trips to find them. I thought I had hit the mother lode when I found Top Gun....but J&M is one of the best, if not the best, tackle stores for salt water; and like Bass Pro and Cabella's it is worth the trip even if you don't go fishing.

Welcome aboard. You've done the best first step, thats asking questions!

I like Bubble Rigs for spanish macs. J&M has them, buy a couple, make your own after that. You'll need 50# mono, black swivels, some treble hooks and Micky-D's straws. I like to put a snap at the end so I can change out the straws easier. They will also catch ladyfish too. Your bass-size spinning tackle will work for spanish, if you use baitcasterrs, make sure they can hold at least 150 yards of line. Even a big spanish can take some drag and you can cast a bubble 100 yards if the wind is right!

For kings, I like single strand Malin wire in 25-40# test, #4 4xx strong treble hooks and black swivels. I normally use a float, which some guys dont like, but I do. You'll need a little stouter rod, ~7-8', with a spinning reel that can hold 250yards+ of 15-20# line. You can get cheap ones at Wally-world or buy great ones at J&M that will cost a little more but hold up a lot better over the long run.
Get some sabiki rigs and a ribbon rig to catch baitfish.

Once again, when you go out there, observe and ask questions before jumping in. Heck, if the bite is hot, some guys will even hand off a rod to let you learn how to fight a fish..
This is the friendliest pier on the Gulf, almost everyone is willing to help you out, especially if you ask first and cast second!

Oh, when to fish: the 2 hours before sunup until mid-morning and then evening are usually best. But this time of year, you never know when a school of kings or redish may show up.
Normally, the best time is 10 minutes after I left!

[size=12pt]Welcome to our forum! Don’t be timid about asking questions and observing on the pier. I go to J & M when I need info or tackle. The staff is very knowledgeable and pier savvy; many of them fish the pier on a regular basis and are also forum members.

There is all kind of info in the General category as well as in Reports. Hope to see ya at the rail!

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com/general-discussion/it-pays-to-ask-before-you-cast!/

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-members-only/

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Thank you for the replies everyone, I really appreciate the help. I will defintely make a trip to J&M. Hope to see you at the pier.

Ping