Anyone have any advice for saltwater fishing on a pier?

Question

I go al the time and i never catch anything. This is what i use: 7ft. surf rod with a variety of rigs but mostly i use the two hook set ups with 5/0 circle hooks. i mostly use minnows and mackerel. everyone is catching Bluefish, fluke, and sandsharks but me. ive only got maybe one little sandshark the whole year. ive gone every weekend. Please help. much obliged.

Answer 1

Down size your hook, maybe a 3/0 or 2/0 heavy wire Aberdeen hook, such as  the mustad 3261 BLN. Also try a single hook rig with a whole fresh squid, previously frozen can also work, Berkley gulp saltwater is worth a go if you cant get squid, the crab version is good from what i hear. Also are you casting far enough, it could be you need to get more distance, or it could be the opposite and your casting too far, fluorocarbon hook lengths help to avoid spooking the fish, also fish the tide on the flood(when its coming in before high water) its often when fish feed best, also ask the others fishing there I'm sure they would help you out and give you some tips unique to that area, such as baits, lures and depths, failing all of this have a change of venue. You might want to give this a go

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templa...

Answer 2

Take one of your small bluefish and hook him up with a large treble hook through the back around mid-line. Do not hook him to lightly or too deeply. Too lightly you may hit the spine and kill him, too deeply and you will puncture the air bladder and death will occur soon. Keep him nice and lively. Throw him out and give him some line so that he will swim out and around.

Something big( King Mackerel ) will be on him soon. Be sure to use some # 40 wire with an haywire twist or just buy a pre-made wire and treble rig. When the strike happens be ready and have your drag set very lightly. They call the big kings Smoker Kings because they will make your reel smoke. After the first long run you can start the fight.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Try using fresh squid shrimp or nuggets of ocean perch

Answer 4

Use fish that you catch with a cast net and shrimp or if you whant a shark use pieces of stingray

Answer 5

Try using swivels and colored plastic beads on all your leaders, and the lightest possible line you can manage.

Answer 6

AIRFLO is on the right track.

Downsizing your hook OR casting issues may be your problem. (Thumbs up to AIRFLO! Good answer Bro.)

Just a side note- (In my opinion), Pier fishing can be some of the "dull-est", non-productive fishing you can do!

WHY?

Fish get acclimated or "wise" to seeing every kind of Rig, every kind of bait, every kind of line, ETC. Therefore the best fish (gamefish), just won't hit your line........UNLESS-

If you MUST fish this pier, try to think "out of the box". Use flurocarbon leaders, smaller hooks, live bait, lighter line, ETC.

Fishing a pre-made, 2 hook "X-mas Tree" rig is a sure-fire way to NOT catch a limit of good fish. The "gamefish" see those and RUN!

Try to think "stealth".

Good luck!

Answer 7

I hope this can help u,from my fishing experience.First of all,u must have lots of confidence and dont be upset when other caught fish.Maybe its yur approach to fishing in some technical area could be not so precise.The next time u go fishing makesure u go an hour before tides whether its in or out.then u makesure its new moon or fullmoon approaching oneday before and after.wash all yur gears even tools and hands free from any traces of u.If u want trophy size then pay attension,yur snood should be atleast 3feet or 1metre.In between the snood should have shot spreaded equally with deadknots so as to restrict movement for better presentation but the shots should be as light as to keep it at the bottom and not entangled.Yur sinker should have some degree of always steady at the bottom,so what size to use depend by yur judgement.Now yur size in hooksize selection could be very wrong,bighooks are only to be used mainly of two reasons,to let smaller fish stay away from biting n what bait size yur using.Then u should  know where to cast,only some area at yur pier holds fish bcos of the geography on the seabed.watch the waves,got surf then sandbar out there-cast over and reel in slowly.cast before just wait there.sandbar has movements better search in gullies or basin.feel that when u reeling in,also if got rocks downthere always cast near it.dont wait for the strike,always search for it by moving yur line,shaking when reeling in slowly at a steady pace.start making markings of any significant catch at any place at yur pier even direction,jot it down then next time cast there.so much to tell u but to long the story,anyway try this first,goodluck.

Answer 8

Dude! I wrote the article on how to find halibut on the pier. three weeks later a guy in Santa Monica used my method and in one day caught two one 33 pounder and one 28 pounder.......

dont use a surf rod, and don't use no weak tipped slack jawed crappie get-up either. If you want butt you use a level wind baitcaster and a heavy action pitching stick. You use 12 pound green trilene big game on your reel and flourocarbon leaders

Secrets# 106-112.

1 use a carolina rig one once of wieght for every four feet of wave height

2 use a 1ought bait holder hooks cut frozen chovie in half (at an angle)

3 cast under the pier not away from it (between the pilings)

4 start fishing where the sea ducks are feeding on the pilings

5 dont let the sun cast your shadow on the water

lastly

6 never set your rod down

expect every cast to be chomped. the halibut will pick it up and you will learn to feel it in your fingertips when they do that's when you reel in a little raising the weight off the bottom and if he's got it, the tip will move with each chomp he makes. till he works his way eating to the hook. when he gets there he will jerk his head violently and that very fraction of a second you set the hook. try and rip his face off with the hookset. by cutting your bait at an angle you put more scent into the water and give a pointed tail to the head and a kind of head to the tail half. the leader is about 20 inches long and the surge will move the bait back and forth 40 plus inches as you slowly work it back out to the edge where you reel it up and start all over again.