Thread: Training.

Fished the pier a few times and fishing off a dock on Fort Morgan. It is pretty obvious that I need an education. Is there someone that offers instruction and guide for fishing.

Pier#r here on the forum is one of the best if you can book him

Macman, your in the same spot many others find themselves. Most regulars were self taught after several years and $ spent through trial and error to figure what rigs and bait etc to use and how to fish them. I think your getting some good advice from Coach on help from Pier#'r. He's patient and knowledgable and will get you headed in the right direction.
i wish I had gone that route when I first started as I know Coach does too. We've got it down now, but it would have been a lot shorter learning curve with Pier#'rs help!

Good fishing...

So am I reading this correctly? Pier#'r and possibly others are available for hire as guides for pier fishing. If so, count me in, I'll be back down next weekend if the weather permits it.

Unfortunately, Pier#r is pretty much retired from the guide business. You can PM him and see if he might be available. He is the only shore guide I know of. There is a huge amount of "book learning" available here on the forum if you research the search feature, but it can be hard sometimes to know what questions to ask. Best of luck.

Originally Posted by Haywire

Unfortunately, Pier#r is pretty much retired from the guide business. You can PM him and see if he might be available. He is the only shore guide I know of. There is a huge amount of "book learning" available here on the forum if you research the search feature, but it can be hard sometimes to know what questions to ask. Best of luck.

That's unfortunate, as they say "a picture is worth a thousand words". Thanks

The Search feature on each page is an amazing asset, with more information than an Encyclopedia. Currently using it for our October fishing trip.

bodebum... I am doing exactly the same thing. I have read every October fishing report going back several years multiple times. I haven't been on the pier since it was rebuilt, but plan on hitting it hard October 18-22! Thanks to all of you for the awesome info that you have put on this site!

Macman & sd, you've gotten the best advise already (to use the search feature and historical record of these forums).
And Mr.Wire is correct, I am currently unable to do any guiding (nor any fishing recently for that matter ;-(
But all I ever did for folks was offer them a 'crash course' in pier fishing for whatever level of fishing experience and tackle they have based on the observations I gleaned out there during the past 5 decades to speed up their learning curve.
Lord only knows who all I learned it from over the years, but the parade of past (and present) souls who fish from those rails are typically a patient and knowledgable lot who are willing to share if properly proded.

The best advise I can give now is to persevere in your own voyage of discovery, never missing any opportunity to learn something new on every trip to the pier. Seek out and observe and in time befriend those who are successful fisher men and women (NOTE: they are usually NOT the most vocal ones ;-)
Read what ever you can on pier fishing (check out my Pier & Shore Fishing Forecast in Great Days Outdoors magazine (or in Beach Bits) and study these forums (especially the reports and Q&A.

Every day fishing on the pier is as unique as the collection of individuals who fish out there.
Try to focus on all the positive aspects of the experience and learn from the 'negative' mistakes as well, even those of other fishermen and always be aware of what (and who) is going on around you.

Hope this helps!

I have used the search feature quite a bit and found it to be very useful, however there’s nothing like hands on experience from a pro, being new to the Pier I could use some help.
Here a question I haven’t found an answer for on the forum. I know a small flat black swivel is preferred rather than brass swivel to connect the leader to the line. My question is would a flat black snap swivel used to connect the leader to a Gotcha or Xrap spook fish or do I need to tie the leader directly to the lure?