Pier fishing? help a newbie?

[fishermanx14]

Hi fellow fnn'ers this is my first thread in the saltwater section. I was wondering what are the basics of pier fishing...i have two 8 ft poles with 25 lb test on them. i have squid ,anchovies, cut mackerel, whole mackerel, and baby dead shad. are any of these worth thawing out? i was planing on going to san cemelte pier but would you recomend any where else, and most important what kind of rig should i use?

[ushone]

Never been to that pier, but if its like any of the piers ive fished id be surprised if all those baits didnt work at some point just depends what they want that day when its bait. Ive fished San Pedro and Redondo, not sure if you can fish Pedro at night, but Redondo is whatever; usually pretty packed. Nothing i would recommend wasting extra gas over. Rig wise I personally do a lot of fly lining, but theirs also the c-rig and dropper, not sure what your poles are rated at weight wise so it may be hard to toss a little chunk of chovie or squid on the fly line, so you may want to look the last 2. Pier fishing is great long as you dont have to stand shoulder to shoulder, lots of different species to be had usually.

[Armofisher818]

Fresh is always best but frozen is second in line. I like the weight on the bottom with a size 2/0 or 1/0 hook on the top sometimes a circle hook. My favorite bait is fresh sardines and squid I just hate mackerel though. Thaw out your anchovies and squid then head out their tomorrow. Surf fish don't go on the pier it's too crowded and IMHO the surf is way better. Use your 8 foot rods and throw your rigs out one with anchovies and one with squid ( stop and buy sardines if you can) and wait. The most common surf fish are shovel nose guitarfish, leopard sharks, bat rays, and round rays. These are the most common that are caught on bait you will catch others at time but these are common. And it can be hard moving around with bait and wait rods so try to find a good spot, away from people and with a good bottom with sand and rocks with kelp near by. And most importantly don't cast far, the fish are right there! Their pretty close maybe a 100- 150 feet off unlike some people who cast 300 yards and don't catch anything. Others will give some more info but this is what worked for me.

[fishermanx14]

Never been to that pier, but if its like any of the piers ive fished id be surprised if all those baits didnt work at some point just depends what they want that day when its bait. Ive fished San Pedro and Redondo, not sure if you can fish Pedro at night, but Redondo is whatever; usually pretty packed. Nothing i would recommend wasting extra gas over. Rig wise I personally do a lot of fly lining, but theirs also the c-rig and dropper, not sure what your poles are rated at weight wise so it may be hard to toss a little chunk of chovie or squid on the fly line, so you may want to look the last 2. Pier fishing is great long as you dont have to stand shoulder to shoulder, lots of different species to be had usually.

how much weight for the dropper?

[fishermanx14]

if i were t catch a leopard shark or stingray how would i de hook/handle/release it?
and if i were to keep a fish where would i out it? just on he pier and what fish can and cant i keep?

[Armofisher818]

I like to use 4 ounce pyramid sinkers or 6 ounce torpedo sinkers

[DockRat]

Is it just me or did others have problems getting through that conversation ?
DR

[Mr_Dunev]

Is it just me or did others have problems getting through that conversation ?
DR

a little. I wouldn't thaw out the anchovies though, they will just fall to pieces if you try and hook em. Frozen anchovie and squid, has always worked for me. Depending on the currents I would normally use 2oz, unless your bait starts getting dragged around.

If you hook a shark or ray, umm.... Be Careful? Step on the stingrays tail gently to hold it down, but make sure you don't get stung while doing this. If you hook a shark use REALLY long pliers hahaha, while someone holds head. but if the shark has swallowed it, I wouldn't recommend trying to get it out, just try and cut it as close to the mouth as possible. Bring a drop net with a long rope, otherwise you wont be able to bring anything up you catch.
Also it helps to bring a friend.

Good luck

[Slick Rick]

Your going to need to pick up one of those $25 Crab Nets to use at the pier if you intend to land any decent size fish.

Also, Like others said, keep the bait frozen. I like double dropper loops with about 2oz weight, one with cut bait fish and other with strips of squid. If you get a bait net (the umbrella type), you can learn to make your own live bait.

Hope that helps.

-Rick

[fishermanx14]

a little. I wouldn't thaw out the anchovies though, they will just fall to pieces if you try and hook em. Frozen anchovie and squid, has always worked for me. Depending on the currents I would normally use 2oz, unless your bait starts getting dragged around.

If you hook a shark or ray, umm.... Be Careful? Step on the stingrays tail gently to hold it down, but make sure you don't get stung while doing this. If you hook a shark use REALLY long pliers hahaha, while someone holds head. but if the shark has swallowed it, I wouldn't recommend trying to get it out, just try and cut it as close to the mouth as possible. Bring a drop net with a long rope, otherwise you wont be able to bring anything up you catch.
Also it helps to bring a friend.

Good luck

Thanks for that info realy helped...what would i do with the fish after i caught it? if i wanted to keep it, and one more thing...if i were to shore fish where could i do this and can i ido it when people are swimming/surfing??

[iLLest]

Your going to need to pick up one of those $25 Crab Nets to use at the pier if you intend to land any decent size fish.

Also, Like others said, keep the bait frozen. I like double dropper loops with about 2oz weight, one with cut bait fish and other with strips of squid. If you get a bait net (the umbrella type), you can learn to make your own live bait.

Hope that helps.


-Rick

an alternative route would be to buy a size #12 sabiki, costs around 3 bux and you can catch live bait all day.