04-05-2007, 08:08 PM
With the spring comming along and the weather warming up, there is alot of talk about fishing the piers along the Grand Strand. The piers offer excellent angling opportunities for fishermen of all ages and skill levels. There are many favored species that can be caught, among those are Flounder, Sheepshead, Spanish and King Mackerel, and various other bottom fish. I'm going to high light some of the tactics that will increase your chances of success while targeting these species of fish from a pier. Anyone with something to add, please jump in. This is a great opportunity for our coastal anglers to share thier 2 cents with everyone else.
Flounder: Flounder are one of the favored species to catch, and for good reason. They make for excellent table fare regardless of how they are prepared. Flounder fishing can be alot of work if you are serious about targeting them. The prefered bait is of course live mud minnows since they are cheap to buy and readily availible at almost any bait and tackle store along the coast. When the mullet begin thier spring run, they are a cheap alternative for those who are skilled with a cast net; as they are quite spooky in the spring of the year. A carolina rig is the most widely and effective rig to use. I prefer the lightest egg sinker I can get away with, something along the lines of a 1 oz or 3/4 oz. If the wind is blowing pretty hard, you may find yourself with a 2 oz lead. I prefer the use of a Kahle or wide bend hook because of the size of a flounders mouth. A small 2 pound flounder has a mouth big enough to stick your fist in. Alot of anglers are going to circle hooks, which are also effective. I like to hook my mud minnows through the lips, from bottom to top. This keeps the barb facing up and prevents alot of snags. In turn, I prefer to hook my mullet minnows through the eyes, and sometimes through the lipps depending on what mood i'm in. [
] An Abu Garcia 6500 makes a perfect flounder reel spooled with 15-20 pound line. In a boat you can get away with 10 lb, but we're not talking about a boat at the moment. I like to use a fluorocarbon leader for alot of reasons. For one, it's alot more abrasion resistant than mono. It has less stretch for better hook sets and it's nearly invisible in the water.
Now that we've got the equipment set up and the hook baited, where do you find them? I've caught my biggest flounder (my largest from MBSP pier 6 lb's 5oz) right below the bait cleaning tables. I'll usually toss my bait under the pier and gently move it in closer from time to time, as to cover more ground. The big mistake alot of people make flounder fishing is setting the hook too soon. You need to give the flounder time to eat your bait. Sometimes they'll just take it and run, but most of the time they'll be very gentle with it, and you have to be patient or you'll pull it right out of thier mouth. Once I hit the bait tables, i'll cast long ways accross the pilons and slowly bump my line back to me. Once i've covered a good bit of area, i'll drop it down in it's final resting place back beside a bait table. Give it some time and move on to another spot. You're sure to get a couple fishing them this way. In comming tide seems to be the best time to expect flounder to be hanging around.
Spanish Mackerel: Like the Flounder, Spanish are a welcome game fish on the dinner table. Fried, grilled, or baked, they are quite tastey and don't share the stronger flavored meat of it's big brother the King. Spanish are frequently caught on float rigs for kings, however, only require light tackle to land. The same reel that you're using for flounder is more than enough to land a large spanish. Many anglers over estimate this fish on a float rig and thier irratic behavior can reep havok on neiboring anchor lines. It's best to lock down the drag and bring them in. Always be courtious to the other anglers beside you. They'll forgive you if thier rig gets messed up over a king, but no so much a spanish. [] A very popular method of catching spanish is jigging gold hooks. It's a simple rig, but very affective. You simply tie 8 to 12 large, shiney gold hooks about 6 inches appart down your leader. Drop it in the water deep enough for you to be able to jig the line up and down while keeping all the hooks in the water. Blues and spanish alike will find this tactic very appealing. It's also an affective way of catching green backs for live bait when they are in town. Other anglers prefer to cast a small spoon or a gotcha plug blindly into the water. This is also a very effective way of catching spanish, but it's also very tiring. [
] When I know the spanish are really thick, I'll set up a float rig away from the front, off to the side. I won't send it out far, infact, just outside the shadow of the pier. Using smaller line, smaller hooks, and smaller bait, i've limited out on more than one occasion.
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Flounder: Flounder are one of the favored species to catch, and for good reason. They make for excellent table fare regardless of how they are prepared. Flounder fishing can be alot of work if you are serious about targeting them. The prefered bait is of course live mud minnows since they are cheap to buy and readily availible at almost any bait and tackle store along the coast. When the mullet begin thier spring run, they are a cheap alternative for those who are skilled with a cast net; as they are quite spooky in the spring of the year. A carolina rig is the most widely and effective rig to use. I prefer the lightest egg sinker I can get away with, something along the lines of a 1 oz or 3/4 oz. If the wind is blowing pretty hard, you may find yourself with a 2 oz lead. I prefer the use of a Kahle or wide bend hook because of the size of a flounders mouth. A small 2 pound flounder has a mouth big enough to stick your fist in. Alot of anglers are going to circle hooks, which are also effective. I like to hook my mud minnows through the lips, from bottom to top. This keeps the barb facing up and prevents alot of snags. In turn, I prefer to hook my mullet minnows through the eyes, and sometimes through the lipps depending on what mood i'm in. [
] An Abu Garcia 6500 makes a perfect flounder reel spooled with 15-20 pound line. In a boat you can get away with 10 lb, but we're not talking about a boat at the moment. I like to use a fluorocarbon leader for alot of reasons. For one, it's alot more abrasion resistant than mono. It has less stretch for better hook sets and it's nearly invisible in the water. Now that we've got the equipment set up and the hook baited, where do you find them? I've caught my biggest flounder (my largest from MBSP pier 6 lb's 5oz) right below the bait cleaning tables. I'll usually toss my bait under the pier and gently move it in closer from time to time, as to cover more ground. The big mistake alot of people make flounder fishing is setting the hook too soon. You need to give the flounder time to eat your bait. Sometimes they'll just take it and run, but most of the time they'll be very gentle with it, and you have to be patient or you'll pull it right out of thier mouth. Once I hit the bait tables, i'll cast long ways accross the pilons and slowly bump my line back to me. Once i've covered a good bit of area, i'll drop it down in it's final resting place back beside a bait table. Give it some time and move on to another spot. You're sure to get a couple fishing them this way. In comming tide seems to be the best time to expect flounder to be hanging around.
Spanish Mackerel: Like the Flounder, Spanish are a welcome game fish on the dinner table. Fried, grilled, or baked, they are quite tastey and don't share the stronger flavored meat of it's big brother the King. Spanish are frequently caught on float rigs for kings, however, only require light tackle to land. The same reel that you're using for flounder is more than enough to land a large spanish. Many anglers over estimate this fish on a float rig and thier irratic behavior can reep havok on neiboring anchor lines. It's best to lock down the drag and bring them in. Always be courtious to the other anglers beside you. They'll forgive you if thier rig gets messed up over a king, but no so much a spanish. [
] A very popular method of catching spanish is jigging gold hooks. It's a simple rig, but very affective. You simply tie 8 to 12 large, shiney gold hooks about 6 inches appart down your leader. Drop it in the water deep enough for you to be able to jig the line up and down while keeping all the hooks in the water. Blues and spanish alike will find this tactic very appealing. It's also an affective way of catching green backs for live bait when they are in town. Other anglers prefer to cast a small spoon or a gotcha plug blindly into the water. This is also a very effective way of catching spanish, but it's also very tiring. [] When I know the spanish are really thick, I'll set up a float rig away from the front, off to the side. I won't send it out far, infact, just outside the shadow of the pier. Using smaller line, smaller hooks, and smaller bait, i've limited out on more than one occasion.[signature]
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