2018 Recap

My year of fishing didn't start until the last week of August, but I have to say that it was characterized by diversity. From August to October, there were slot reds hanging around the pier, many times visible and hungry. Most days, during that same period (it tailed off toward the end) there was a pretty good Spanish Mackerel bite. All during that time there was a constant presence of blacktip and spinner sharks. Sometimes, dozens of them would be visible, swarming hooked Spanish and following bubble-rigs and other lures for the purpose of acquiring an easy snack. The key to getting a Spanish Mackerel in was to tighten the drag and race him in before the sharks could ambush him. Big Spanish presented a particular challenge, but I did manage to catch one really big one at 5 pounds, four ounces.

Sharks all but prevented epic King Mackerel days because they'd sense the struggle and slash at a king, either cutting it in half or taking the whole thing. Frustration abounded for most fishermen on most days and most days I went to fish for something else if the sharks were too thick. Pre-dawn speckled trout were fickle in their response to perfectly presented baits. I caught some really big ones, but most of the time they had typical Gulf Shores Pier lockjaw. One day, Harley and Pier#r were just slaying them and I couldn't get a bait in the water for netting their fish for them! It was one of my favorite moments on the pier, this year, witnessing their skill. Harley also showed me a different technique for snagging mullet. He intentionally splashes the weighted hook in the tight schools, dispersing them at first, but then concentrating them above the hook as they move in to investigate the bubbles. It was a special treat to get to fish around Harley this fall and get to know him a little bit.

Many days, big Jack Crevalle and Bull Redfish would come through and many fishermen would hook up at the same time. I usually just got out my pier net and tried to help with the effort. It was good to see most folks putting the Bull Reds and Jacks back to make little reds and jacks. I did keep some baby jacks this year and I'll do more of that in 2019. They were great fried and I'll try them on the grill, too, next year. I caught lots of slot (as well as undersized, which I threw back) reds and most came on cut pinfish. Bluefish were willing, available, and aggressive in the late summer smorgasbord, as well!

I spent most of November and December going after whiting. On average, they seemed to be bigger this year, with fairly frequent 18 inch fish and many in the 14 - 16 inch range. I was happy to see lots of people enjoying that resource. I didn't spend a lot of time trying for flounder. That will be a species that I spend more time on in 2019. When the water would "dirty up", there was usually a decent croaker bite going on at the octi, for SOMETHING to stretch your string.
My goals for next year are to LEARN more about sheepshead catching and keeping them from the pilings, to learn to use a ghost shrimp pump so that I can have that special bait to use on sheepshead and pompano, to try NEW fish (for me) that I've never tried before (squid, octopus, for example) and maybe shoot for a state record.

Truly notable were the valuable conversations at the rail, and real friendships developed at the pier. Thanks to everyone for being my friend. I genuinely appreciate you!

Feel free to share YOUR recollections of 2018. What did you catch and what are your memories from the past year?

Everybody have a safe New Year's Eve, then a HAPPY NEW YEAR and a fulfilling and prosperous 2019!

i sure did think about fishing a lot.

Thanks Tom for a great recap! Happy New year to all of the nice people who fish the pier and especially those I had the privilege to meet this year. My journey began in March when I met Ironman172 (Bill) on The Forum. I put two and two together with his Forum
name and it turned out that we had a lot in common with backgrounds in heavy industrial manufacturing process construction. On my first trip down in April with my wife Sharon, I was surprised (and happy) that Bill’s stay lapped into ours. He helped me with the right choices on gear, tackle, and pier fishing methods. I’ll never forget some of his first words of advice coming from 25 years plus of experience. After looking at my tackle he said....”get rid of that crap!” I laughed, got rid of it and started to watch what he and all the regulars were doing. It was my first day on the pier. On the second day Sharon caught a nice Pompano and with the aid of the second person we met...Chillinfish (Mark) she got the prize grocery fish over the rail. We had a great meal that night with some of the best fish we had ever eaten. The hook was set for us and we would be back to The Pier.

Before we left in April I purchased a Fish-N-Mate cart along with a new rod and reel combo at J&M Tackle. Let the fun begin! For the next four months I had a great time upgrading the cart and adding enough rods, reels and tackle to start a small retail shop!
I couldn’t wait for the scheduled trip we had booked in October. In mid-September on the spur of the moment I headed down to the pier (675 miles or so) to experience some one of the hottest Septembers there ever. No matter. Fished every day, caught a few fish, learned a lot more and the hook of the pier experience was getting deeper. Met some more nice people, even the Pier#r himself who shared a lot of his experience on hook sizes with a stranger from Kentucky.

On the next trip in late October we arrived right after the hurricane. The wind blew from the North the whole week and the water conditions weren’t very good for fishin. We fished anyway and had a great time. The highlight of the trip was a very generous gift from Eym_Sirius of that 5lb 4oz Spanish. Thank you Tom! We have had two great meals of it back here at home and still have half of it in the freezer waiting for that special night. A special thanks to David Lea for saving one of my lures from that “Great White” and schooling me on the flounder technique.

It is truly is “A Wonderful Life” when a couple in their seventies can find and experience
a new adventure of fun and fellowship.

Thanks to all you pier people. Hope to see you in March or April or both!
Again, Happy New Year,
Bobby and Sharon
Prospect, KY

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Prospector46

Thanks Tom for a great recap! Happy New year to all of the nice people who fish the pier and especially those I had the privilege to meet this year. My journey began in March when I met Ironman172 (Bill) on The Forum. I put two and two together with his Forum
name and it turned out that we had a lot in common with backgrounds in heavy industrial manufacturing process construction. On my first trip down in April with my wife Sharon, I was surprised (and happy) that Bill’s stay lapped into ours. He helped me with the right choices on gear, tackle, and pier fishing methods. I’ll never forget some of his first words of advice coming from 25 years plus of experience. After looking at my tackle he said....”get rid of that crap!” I laughed, got rid of it and started to watch what he and all the regulars were doing. It was my first day on the pier. On the second day Sharon caught a nice Pompano and with the aid of the second person we met...Chillinfish (Mark) she got the prize grocery fish over the rail. We had a great meal that night with some of the best fish we had ever eaten. The hook was set for us and we would be back to The Pier.

Before we left in April I purchased a Fish-N-Mate cart along with a new rod and reel combo at J&M Tackle. Let the fun begin! For the next four months I had a great time upgrading the cart and adding enough rods, reels and tackle to start a small retail shop!
I couldn’t wait for the scheduled trip we had booked in October. In mid-September on the spur of the moment I headed down to the pier (675 miles or so) to experience some one of the hottest Septembers there ever. No matter. Fished every day, caught a few fish, learned a lot more and the hook of the pier experience was getting deeper. Met some more nice people, even the Pier#r himself who shared a lot of his experience on hook sizes with a stranger from Kentucky.

On the next trip in late October we arrived right after the hurricane. The wind blew from the North the whole week and the water conditions weren’t very good for fishin. We fished anyway and had a great time. The highlight of the trip was a very generous gift from Eym_Sirius of that 5lb 4oz Spanish. Thank you Tom! We have had two great meals of it back here at home and still have half of it in the freezer waiting for that special night. A special thanks to David Lea for saving one of my lures from that “Great White” and schooling me on the flounder technique.

It is truly is “A Wonderful Life” when a couple in their seventies can find and experience
a new adventure of fun and fellowship.

Thanks to all you pier people. Hope to see you in March or April or both!
Again, Happy New Year,
Bobby and Sharon
Prospect, KY

---

Thanks for the kind words, looking forward to our paths crossing in the future , kind sir

As far as I'm concerned, the people I've met on the pier are far better than the fish I've caught. And I've caught some dang fine fish.

I'd just like to thank all the people I gave fish away to this past year. I hope you enjoyed eating them as much as I did catching them. Hope to see everyone a lot more this coming year we're trying to get Linda retired and I know she won't mind spending more time at the beach.

Mid October to mid November this year at Four Seasons pier. Some species did poorer this year but always caught enough to enjoy. Pompano did especially well this year but flounder were disappointing. Reds in the slot were fun and saved for the freezer. Whiting of a good size did well in November. Assorted other species kept and I have a good variety in the freezer to supply my fish dinners 2 or 3 times a week. Difficulty walking prevented me coming to the state pier but I enjoyed the information on this site and comparing the pier catch here with what I was catching. Thanks to all of you folks for the information you provide as it helps an old man get thru the hard days. Surgery next week may make things a little easier for me this year.

Year 2018: A pierpounder's review
In a nutshell, like many others I sure didn't get to fish the pier nearly as often as I wanted to this year. But thanks to our many contributors, we all were able to participate vicariously through your reports and photos. Thank YOU all for making this the greatest fishing pier and forum!

Following is a chronicle of the year 2018, gleaned from reports archived in our GSPFForum...

JANUARY began in the grip of an arctic cold snap, with air temps dipping into the mid 20s on the morning of the 2nd. The pier was CLOSED most of that first week due to frozen pipes, and did not reopen until Friday Jan. 5th... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-closed-15014/
http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-0800-cold.jpg

Even then, the damage was so extensive it took park crews several weeks to fully restore the bathrooms and water service out on the pier.
Alabamaslama reported: "I fished all day Sunday and saw a several whiting caught and myself and others broke some sheepshead off the east side of the octi. I actually snapped a rod trying to horse one out of the pilings. I only saw one sheepshead actually landed with only 2 or 3 others targeting them."

I went down on Friday the 12th just to meet up with 'Bama Beach Bum' so we could shoot a video. It was less than ideal conditions (NO fishing). But FWIW we did get the video, and had a great time shooting it... https://www.facebook.com/bamabeachbu...3197395605508/
https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...3f&oe=5CC712D8
But with more subfreezing temps forecast, the pier was closed over that following weekend and into the next week!
Another arctic cold outbreak occurred on the 17th when air temperatures again dipped into the lower 20s that morning, exacerbating the situation and slowing repairs. The water temperature plummeted to near 50! But as usual, things warmed up a few days later and some fish got the memo.
Many whiting (up to 2#) were landed in great numbers on Saurday the 20th. But the action was 'streaky' over the following week, with "hundreds" caught one day (20th & 22nd) but not for a day or two following.
00706 said it best "Yesterday was the most whiting I've ever seen-- today was nary a nibble! Classic GS pier! Anyway, on a more positive note I'm digging this cold winter It usually leads to a productive spring-- oh Schlitz I just jinxed us again!"
He added "It's not often that you see whiting being caught (2 at the times) on touron rigs! I felt compelled to say something guys! I heard the porpons moved in late Saturday evening and along with the pelicans, loons and ospreys devoured the remaining nibblers! Thursday and Friday could see the bite turn back on before a massive wave event on Saturday and Sunday Heard from the wade fishers and surfers that the water is frigido at around 49-50 degrees!"

I was finally able to get in on the whiting action Friday Jan 26th, which was a chilly but near epic day with a few hundred 12' to 15" whiting landed... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...y-1-3-a-15061/
http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...3-dscf0558.jpg

After a few rough days, another whiting catching flurry occurred on Wednesday the 31st, which included several fish over 18" and one about 20". These were bonafide 2 1/2 pound whiting as reported by fshntime... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...whiting-15080/ "Got to the pier at daybreak. Water was fairly mild, but with only about 1 foot visibility and little to no current. Stopped at the shallows to try for some whiting for supper with only two other fisherman. Icy cold ENE wind. Hands just about froze. Not much happening.
Then around 7am, everything changed and my hands forgot about the cold. Almost as soon as my fresh dead shrimp hit the water, I hauled in a nice whiting. This continued until 12:30 when I finally left. Helped some friends out and taught them how to rig and fish for whiting during the last two hours as I already had my cleaning limit of about 50.
By this time the rail had filled from the shore almost out to the "T". And most jackets were coming off in the glorious sunshine.About every 5th fish was 16-18". It's been a long time since I've seen that size and abundance of whiting and not a ground mullet mixed in!
Not only did I have supper tonight, I also had supper for the next several days. I've tried recently to hit it right the last few weeks, but could never hit it when they were biting. Finally today was the exception. What a blast. Tater told me it'd be a good day and Haywire was still off hunting somewhere, so the fish were there!
Everyone there got what they wanted today. Even saw a fellow land a pomp and another with a black drum. An awesome day.
Good fishing everyone and thank you Tater for the forecast."

This is what pier fishing camaraderie is all about folks!

FEBRUARY
After one of the coldest months in recent history, this month turned out to be one of the mildest we ever experienced at the GSPPier. And the fish, along with the fisherfolks responded well!

On Saturday the 3rd 'will46r' reported in: http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...ng-bull-15092/
"Friend, his 7 year old son and I made a day trip to go after whiting.
We get to the Pier around 10ish. Was windy and mid 50s. Guys were concentrated in the shallows but we didn't see any bent rods. Reports were "those 2 guys have caught all the whiting."
We looked around and decided to go to the Octi and work our way back. Not much going on down there until we had a 1 hour or so run of silver trout and croakers. All small but we didn't get skunked.
Around 1130 we decide to head in to the shallows, guy on the north side of the T said he'd caught a few whiting. We go about a third of the way from the T to the office and sling bait on the western side. Few minutes later we started getting hits on fresh dead shrimp. All 3 of us are decking a whiting every 15-20 minutes. Not super hot but we were happy.
We were dropping our bait within 10 yards of the pier. This seemed to be the sweet spot. Lot of guys on either side of us casting way out weren't getting bites. A few guys started pitching their rigs about the same distance and started hooking up. After 2 hours or so it slowed down.
Buddy wandered closer in as the rail cleared. He walked back 5 minutes later to toss a whiting into the cooler. We moved. Started hooking up again. Little while later he netted a large black drum for a guy fishing on the east side of the pier. "One last cast, dang it. Something stole my bait." Slings fresh dead into the same area. Drag on his ultra-light starts screaming. 15 minutes later he decks a 30+" bull red. So total is like 20ish keeoer whiting including one in the 18" range, bull red, silver trout and croakers.
We caught everything on fresh dead shrimp. At the Octi we caught everything on double drop rigs. In the shallows we caught everything on Carolina rigs with flouro leaders and size 6 treble hooks. Double drop rigs didn't even get their bait stolen.
As we left buddy's son said "best trip ever!" Great day. See y'all again in a few weeks!"

A few days later, new forum member 'Capt'n Ron' reported "Thanks for the replies guys. My friend and I made it to the pier today. We caught 10 whiting. Many whiting were caught by the guys that know how to fish especially in the morning. Had a great time . Hope to go again some day. Nicest pier I have ever been on. What a treasure... Capt'n Ron"
He added: "We caught the Whiting on frozen shrimp. Many nice guys helping us by telling us what to use and how to catch them. Even gave us some smaller hooks and bait to use. I came with too heavy of line and too big of hooks for Whiting."

Frequent forum contributor 'fshntime' had a great report that weekend also: http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...but-fun-15095/
"Got there at daybreak and only one other fisherman. Water was rough, breaking out to "T". Dingy brown with strong east current and Strong West wind. Nothing going on and rain was past us.
Then about 7:30, an occasional nice whiting. Friend Jim showed and I had a few in the cooler for him, along with a couple donated by Massachusetts Randy. Added a few more, then netted a nice 7.5lb. Red Drum for JJfish.
Saw a young Pelican land near us on the rail, with a hook and 20' of line blowing in the wind. Thought I'd save the day, so as I walked past, I was able to grab the line. As luck would have it, he flew and the line broke. More bad luck when he decided to leave by flying down along the rail and tangle all four separate lines at a time. JJfish was able to net him, even with the rough surf and high wind. While Ray, I and Randy held 4 rods. What a tangled mess! After about 20 minutes of cutting, removing hooks and untangling line, we were able to release the gratefull fellow unharmed and free of the lines.
It was a lot of trouble and we all had to retie but, I don't like to see any living thing suffer.
We left about 11am, with a nice cooler of groceries when the sun started to peek through and the rail got busier. As usual it was a great morning.
Until tomorrow, good fishing everyone."

Stewardship of the resource is always important to these folks. Maybe more so than even the camraderie and certainly more than just catching groceries. Gotta love these guys!

I was soon again fortunate to share in the action and reporting ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15107/
"All I saw for 3 hours was an occasional 10"-11" whiting being landed by about 50 anglers.
After about 2 hours I finally caught a 'keeper', but it was a 16" sheepshead on my 2# outfit.
We liked to have never got it in the net on the upwind side of the pier.
After noon the crowd thinned a bit and so did the clouds.
I relocated out to sandbar and caught a 14" whiting.
On the west side I broke off two sheepshead in a row.
So I went to my 4# and landed two more @ 16" and 17" FL..."
http://oi64.tinypic.com/24eq4js.jpg

But we all know not every day is successful in terms of bringing home the groceries...
http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15115/
frednic wrote: "I was first on the Octi after the rain quit a little before 7:00 am. Something acting like a sheepshead killed my first shrimp on the way down. Proceeded to lose five shrimp in about a half hour or a little more (including one hook bit or broken off (4 lb test)). Then the bite shut off.
Sheepshead 5, me 0.
One other fisherman on the octi while the bite was going on also had numerous nibbles in the same time.
Bite was at dead slack low tide and before the wind started from the north.
I dropped a probe in the water and got 64.8 degrees.
Some of you experienced sheepshead fishermen need to try it early and show us how."

Then the very next day 'eym_sirius' reported this... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...13-18-a-15120/
"Tuesday, 2/13/18, was a great day for the whiting bite! Lot's of 'em, big ones, too. Because of the Mardi Gras Parade in Gulf Shores, I couldn't get to the pier until the afternoon. Still, what a glorious day! Mid-70s, sunny and warm, and the fish were biting. I didn't see any other fish but whiting caught and there were probably a thousand caught. While I was using fresh-dead shrimp, most people were using previously frozen shrimp pieces and catching them like crazy. Of the twenty-something I caught, none was undersized and I saw some real whoppers brought over the rail. One more thing that HAD been a concern was the water clarity, but it was absolutely beautiful! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!"

But the next day the skunk showed back up... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...morning-15122/
'eym_sirius' wrote "2/14/18 Morning
I guess all the fish were caught yesterday! I ran into fshntime trying his luck for whiting. He reported only a few fish caught this morning, but the whiting (according to the report) were on the large size. I was on the pier for a couple of hours and saw ONE fish caught. That was a beautiful large pompano, caught on a ghost shrimp. That was it. The water looked good again, though it was just a tad rough from a gusty wind.
Still, it was another great February day!"

Then, the next day... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15123/
Pier#r wrote: "WOW!
The biggest news of the day has got to be about some spanish mackerel being caught at the pier today!
Along with some sheepshead, whiting, pompano and even speckled trout!!
The water temp has jumped up to about 65 and it looks like that is kicking things off for an early spring.
Let's hope this warm weather holds... "
But it didn't (of course), as the next day was foggy. Still Lester Huerd, Sr. reported on FB "small whiting and white trout."

--- to be continued ---

February: part 2

Things sure flopped around again the next day when the venerable 'Haywire' made an appearance... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...17-18-a-15134/
"Made my first trip of the year to the pier this afternoon and though I'd passed through some sort of time portal. The parking lot looked more like June than February and the rails were lined on both sides all the way out to the octi. Knew it was going to be an interesting time when a couple of guys came up behind me and asked if I was going fishing. I wonder what tipped him off, with my cart carrying half a dozen rods, ice chest, pier net, two live bait containers, two tackle boxes and various knives and pliers for various functions.
I didn't get very far down the pier before one of my old pier buddies showed me his ice chest with four nice trout and a toothsome pompano in it and said they'd just started biting. I quickly found an open spot and free-lined a shrimp---immediate hookup and just as immediate hookoff. I rebaited and watched Big Jay hook into a real nice pomp, and as I was admiring the fight, a two pound trout nailed my shrimp and got himself caught. Before the short afternoon was over I caught one more and lost a couple, but a couple of other guys had the secret and caught a dozen, if not more among them. I only saw one whiting caught. No sheepshead. The octi looked dead---I never got further than halfway to the T.
The water looked pretty OK, considering---cloudy green. No current to speak of and a light breeze out of the SW. Supposed to go SE tomorrow."

Certainly he went back... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...18-18-a-15140/
'Haywire' wrote: "When my alarm clock went off at early o'clock, I immediately rationalized that I had not heard of a good early bite, so I rolled over and picked up the weird dream where I'd left it---something about me catching lots of fish.
Anyhow, I made it to the pier at the crack of Ten. Got no good reports from the shallows and went on out to the octi where I had my choice of the top spots. Not long after I started, I had what I firmly believe was a bite from a sheepshead---even had the rod in my hand when it happened---but after that it was pinfish and nothing. No fish bit my fiddlers. I saw one keychain Spanish caught on a sabiki, and a few white trout.
I left, but didn't get all the way gone. I stopped where the specks had been yesterday and drowned a couple of shrimp, whereupon I noticed one of our premier speck fishermen propped up on the rail a little closer to the beach. When I walked over to him, he pointed out some interesting shapes. I threw out my shrimp and danged if I didn't hook up. Max netted it for me, and a few minutes later I got a second one and Max netted it just as the hook pulled. Whew. That was it for me, except for one bite from a hog-size trout that sucked the shrimp all the way in as I watched, then somehow spit it back out without being hooked. Ted caught a fine slot red and one good trout by the time I left at 3:30.
The water was a tiny bit clearer than yesterday, again with no current. There was no breeze until noon, and it got downright toasty in the sunshine---I missed a spot with the sunscreen that will keep me entertained for days. Little SE breeze picked up after lunch."

Speaking of warmth and 'Sunshine', she chined in on the 20th with the stunning news... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...20018-a-15145/
"John Gaines called us yesterday, and told us fish were gonna be caught this week. After doing crappy house chores for a couple of months, it was too easy to set the alarm for 4:30am. We fished... and you have to pause here...cause when you love to fish...and you haven't fished for 2 months...deep sigh...well, you know. I had 1 knocker, bait fell apart, Steve had a taker- took 100 yards of line, he got it turned and was bringing it back, but it musta tail whipped his line. We left- only because we still have more home chores unfinished. My son, Alex got off work this afternoon, and twisted Steve's arm to go back...and VIOLA... he had the pleasure of gaffing it...couldn't weigh it, new scales ordered, but, Steve guesses 22-25. Did I mention we love to king fish? Go Team Langston
P.S. Caught on a cigar minnow from J & M. Before Steve's- another angler hooked a king on an xrap, got it to the pier to be gaffed, but it pulled off."

Then (as expected) fishing went a bit downhill the next day... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...21-18-a-15147/
'Haywire' wrote: "When I got out to the octi this morning, I quickly realized that I didn't have enough weights in my tackle bag to fish for sheepshead, and even if I did, I'd never be able to reel them back up. The current was that bad. If the shrimp got down six feet, it was already twelve feet back under the pier and between the pilings---a guaranteed cutoff even if you did get a bite. Yeah, I got one bite and one cutoff, and that was it for my fishing.
You know I didn't get out there early, and by the time I did, all the early fishermen had told all their lies to each other and were headed toward the beach---fishless. The water was churned up in the shallows, but clearer south of the bathrooms. Had a little bit of a brown tinge to it, but was plenty fishable. The wind was SE at 12 to 14 knots, and, as I said, the current was ripping out of the east. Gotta remember that this is still February, no matter how warm it feels. Still a bit early. All I saw caught were a few junior size croakers and white trout.
The water is going to get warmer and the fish are going to bite. Gainer said he saw a king skyrocket to the east. I did see one shark hooked and lost south of the bathrooms as I was leaving. I hope things picked up after lunch.
Oh, yes, I did find someone's hearing aids lying on the octi deck and turned them in at the office. Hope this helps somebody out---them things ain't cheap."

And it got worse... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...aywater-15154/
'frednic' reported "Bay water today. Nothing happening on the Octi. But it is a beautiful day.
Edit: the water was stained, but not cloudy - few fishermen. I was there from 8 'til 1:00 pm and there was not much happening on the octi. One hookup around noon was thought to be a king, but the fisherman lost it. Nothing else but a few white trout, croakers, and squealers.
I dangled a sabiki for a bit to see if any bait had showed up, but no takers.
I was told a few whiting had been caught in the shallows and tried myself for about a half hour at 10:30, but did not see anyone catch anything."
And 'ChileRelleno' added "My son and I fished from the shallows to the Octi and back to the shallows.
We threw live/peeled shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas and Pinfish, every which you can, freelined, under corks, Carolinas, single/double drops and more. I tossed Gotchas, Yozuris and Bombers too with no takers.
The only bite I had was a 15-20# Southern ray on a double drop Pomp rig with a sand flea and a piece of peeled shrimp, the ray ate the sand flea.
The only keeper fish we saw were a sammich size Spanish and a foot long Croaker.
Heard from a reliable source that a few White Trout were landed on the Octi in the early AM.
I saw lots of hardheads.
I heard from another source that Perdido Pass was just as lifeless."

Then by the end of the month fishing had turned downward again... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...27-18-a-15160/
'snake' reported "I got out there around 7:30. The shallow end was shoulder to shoulder but no fish coming over the rail. Water was pea soup early then cleared with the changing tide. Saw one guy cleaning a couple of small Spanish. Sharks were waiting on the carcasses. I did hook into one of those bronze steam engines and he broke me off pilings next to the bathrooms. Shortly around 9 the wind was howling so I packed up and headed to the pass. Got out around the pass around 930ish and landed one big 20” 5.93# sheepshead."

Still it had been a record breaking winter, with the first ever February king put on the pier along with TONS of whiting and a few sheepshead, and it was still wintertime!

March: first part

By now, word had spread attracting even more unsavory characters... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-sharks-15174/
'Haywire' wrote "I heard there were several limits of Spanish caught early this morning, and they continued to bite sporadically through the day. Mostly on Spoons and Gotchas. There were some sheepshead caught and a couple of pompano. I managed to get a little fish slime in my cooler, but not a lot.
Water looked real good when I got there just after noon---six feet of visibility or better---shallows looked great. The wind went around from north to SE to SW and the shallows got a little cloudy. Several sheepies were caught in the skinny water.
Sharks were a plague. The ditch born bastards were all over nearly every spanish hooked and many bare lures were lost to them. The powers that control the pier laws are ignorant, irresponsible, apathetic and lazy for not taking some action to get rid of them. Tomorrow I'll tell you how I REALLY feel about them."
That drew a LOT of responses as many folkses chimed in with their opinions as well. But it seemed to set a tone for the rest of the year: that fishers were fed up with being fed upon by sharks.
The water temperature and fish around the pier were right about what one would expect for March. A little more cooperation from the weather along with more lights and fewer sharks and it could have been epic instead of just "average" for most of the month.

'Haywire' continued his often hilarious string of forum contrbutions... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-4-18-a-15180/
"I was hoping that Fishintime would post a report today since he experienced far more success than I did---which is a normal course of events. As I passed just south of the bathrooms a little after noon, he flagged me down with the spanish he was lifting over the rail. There was a good bite going on from there most of the way to the octi with the Spanish running decent size, but it's a good thing they weren't bigger since it would have been dam near impossible to keep them from being eaten by the sharks. The sharks easily passed "numerous" the first of the month, and now they are "abundant" to "overpopulated". There won't be anything like landing a king mackerel this year if they stay this way.
I'm told that there was a decent bite of sheepshead this morning for an hour and a half. I only saw one caught while I was on the octi while giving my casting arm a rest. Same guy who told me about sheepies in the shallows said he caught a couple there this morning but they moved off. I did hear of a 21" flounder caught this afternoon about the third light pole out.
The water in the shallows was cloudy green, but was much prettier out toward the end. Very little current, but a stiff and somewhat chilly breeze out of the SE. Lots of jelly in the water. Did I mention that you could just about walk on the sharks? Someday I'll get out in the early morning and give y'all an official report of what I actually saw.
There was no sex on the octi that I know of---at least nothing obvious or interesting."

'Haywire' also wrote... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-5-18-a-15186/ "The Spanish bite was not quite as intense or as long lasted as yesterday. I couldn't get a hit on my Gotcha at 9:00, but Tommy was still stacking them with a Speck Rig. Pier#r said he got his limit early with Looney jigs and speck rigs. I went on out to the octi to harass the sheepshead and could see the occasional Spanish being flipped over the rail until about 10:00. The sharks were not as bad as yesterday. No spanish on the octi that I saw.
There were half a dozen sheepshead caught by noon if you count the little one that I threw back. Pinfish are killing the live shrimp and the sheepies don't seem inclined to hit fiddler crabs. I heard that a few nice pompano were caught in the shallows, and Lou gave me a slot red that somebody gave him, so with my one sheepie, I've got a good supper planned.
Water in the shallows is still cloudy, then clearer toward the end. The breeze was SE when I got there and had gone around South at noon when I had to leave. Not much current.
As usual, I tend to overlook the obvious and was about to forget Chris' 30# king this morning. Sunshine hooked up to one but it escaped.
Gonna rain tomorrow, but I'm still going to try to keep my shrimp alive and maybe I can dodge the showers."

And again ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-7-18-a-15193/
"Pretty good day if you didn't mind cold fingers. There were a couple of king hookups with at least one eaten by a shark. There was a brief Spanish bite just south of the mid, but I do mean it was brief, maybe 30 minutes---of course the sharks were in attendance there,too. Sheepshead were slow to get started, but there were probably fifteen or so total caught. I was hooked up to a couple of sure enough big ones that went wherever they wanted and eventually broke off. It was also a good day for sailcats.
The water looked pretty good, but not really clear. Stiff wind out of the NW. Now it's time for my old man's afternoon nap. See y'all tomorrow."
The water is absolutely beautiful with a current out of the west that started with the increase in the NW wind. It was chilly enough this morning that everyone wanted to catch a fish to use for a handwarmer. The sheepies bit before sunup for a few minutes, then pretty much shut down for the rest of the morning. You could see them swimming everywhere, but not biting. There were a couple caught right after noon when I left.

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-8-18-a-15197/
"There were short, infrequent bites of Spanish. If you were quick, you might get one or two. This was at the octi and in the draw. Pompano and big whiting bit in spurts in the shallows. No kings seen or hooked. Lots of hole breathers back and forth off the octi."
And 'Viking Guy' chimed in... "Started fishing around 7am. We brought in 4 decent sized whiting, and later a kind gentleman handed us a couple more he didn't want to clean. Nope, never going to turn down a whiting. =)
Around 11am, caught 1 spanish and then got a lot of exercise trying to find another one. Zilch.
Took a breather, and then my son hooked one in the draw. Then, it was on. We ended up with a total of 24 spanish and 2 pompano. We caught quite a few pompano--but all but two of them were too small, and our efforts to stretch them or hold them at different angles for that extra 1/2" - 1" of length failed, and they were given a quick release. Around 4pm, it died. Everywhere, except for a nice sized speck reported in the shallows.
Some folks filled their coolers full of whiting and were obviously much better at catching them than we were. I had to "resort" to 1# line to get them to bite--even then I'm sure the ones I caught were an accidental foul hook of some sort.
At the cleaning station, spotted a girthy 6+ footer toothy and chunked a fish head at it with my mighty ice rod for some line action--and boy did he give it. Ended up a half hour later on the Octi--what fun on an 18" monster stick.
All glory and praise to our Heavenly Father for such a bountiful harvest and looking forward to some fresh fish this weekend. Great day with my family and enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces I haven't seen in awhile. Beautiful weather with a touch of cold. Water clear enough to see color variations in the grains of sand. Wind sharp enough to pierce all attempts at shielding it.
Great day fishing."

It was getting to be routine by the end of the week... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-9-18-a-15200/
'Haywire' wrote "I'm tired, so I'll let somebody else report on the Spanish chewdown in the beautiful water where most everybody got a limit and the sheepshead didn't show up."
LOL, later he would add "O.K.---I got my nap out of the way. Pier#r got his limit of pompano in the shallows, and I lost one on the octi. Rick, among many others, got his limit of Spanish and caught a nice slot red that he donated to the best cause possible, and I think I'll eat it tomorrow night. No kings by noon, and Slim left then, so that's probably it for the day on king chances. The Spanish were all decent size and preferred to bite deep---I caught several jigging my Gotcha straight down.
The water was a little cloudy early, but got pretty as the day wore on. Easterly wind. I think there were were two sheepies caught and a couple lost, but from what I'm told, afternoon has been the best time the past two days---you know, the time of day that I haven't been there. What else is new? Oh, yes, very few sharks---I only saw one mackerel eaten and a couple chased, that's new.
---And Carl F, where else can I tell so many lies to so many people? Without running for office?"

And on it went... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...10-18-a-15202/
'Viking Guy' reported "Wind is blowing a steady northwest and current seems moving likewise. Cloudy skies, so sunscreen can likely be reduced to 30 spf. Water is choppy and a little less clear today.
Spanish are hitting intermittently in the draw. My daughter caught the only speck I've seen today near the octi, and the white trout have showed up in force--nice sized ones too.
No kings. Snobbles are coming back as heads and skeletons.
Yellow gotchas seem to be winning spanish for some reason over other colors.
Jellyfish are everywhere. Lots of people fishing for sheepies, but haven't seen the first decked. Maybe while I wasnt looking perhaps."
Then added "Well, soon as I posted, the Sheepshead started hitting the deck."

March: part two

By the middle of the following week 'Haywire' posted again...
http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15222/
"I got there about 12:30 and was told there had been a little flurry of Spanish just before I got there.
Saw 3 quick sheeps decked and then a few Spanish (like 3) but it was slow from thereon. Sheeps were steady, but not hot by any means. Saw one 30" red and a nice pomp off the octi, but not another Spanish.
I was told there was a fair-to-good Spanish bite around 8 am.
Snoggled a cig for a couple of hours - no takers no lookers. All in all a slow day except for the steady Sheepshead bite.
Sharks were absent, probably because mackerel were.
Wind was strong NW to west, no current, water was actually pretty nice. Needs to warm up, I guess."


By the weekend, things had settled down a bit when 'Viking Guy' posted ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...17-18-a-15235/
"Beautiful, sunny day with wind pushing different directions all day. Water was clear for the most part, but less visibility than last week.
It was a sheepshead kind of day. They were eating live shrimp and laughed at every fiddler attempt. They even ate those little red-pink squares on sabikis before they'd touch a fiddler.
No spanish. I heard rumor of two all day but didn't see any proof. I think they brought them from another day if you ask me.
Spadefish showed up for 15 minutes around 4pm.
Cobia rods littered the rails in hopes of what would never come throughout the day.
A single blacktip circled the pier all day being just as disappointed as the fishermen not horsing mackerel away from him.
Wonderful sunrise by the way. "


'chilinfish' wrote ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...18-18-a-15237/
"Got to the pier at the crack of 10am. Cleaned 2 sheepies from yesterday and saw Mr. Ray at the table with a limit of nice pompano. He said the big whiting from the last couple of days were gone. Fished the end the afternoon and saw a few small Spanish come over the rail but it was sort of slow as was the sheepshead bite. Most were caught on live shrimp. The 4" spadefish are filling in for the pinfish eating shrimp bellies. Yesterday a couple of up-northers were catching them on fiddlers but they ran out and they left. No one has had fiddlers the last few days. I have only managed a few sheepshead and caught them on oysters scraped from the seawall. Being overweight, lazy and out of shaped didn't help the cause gathering them. A 2 gallon bucket yielded about 100 ml of oyster pieces that I put in a mesh wrap and used for bait. Got lots of bites but couldn't seem to hook up. I used store bought Louisiana shucked oysters today and they didn't bite them as well. Downsized my gear to my 6lb test crappie jigging setup and still no takers. Several guys snobbled cigs off and on today and yesterday with no takers. Flipper's family and a few pelicans have been bombing some type of bait balls several hundred yards out the last two days but they never came close to the pier. Water was pretty IMO compared to the last several trips with about 6-8' of visibility on the end."


And 'fshntime' added ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...noonish-15236/ "Water was was pretty clear with a very mild current to the east. Tommy didn't expect much cause he said fish don't bite during a neap tide. Almost no wind with seas less than a foot and fog that stuck around from dawn till I left about noon, making a sticky hot morning.
As for the fish, I ended up with a few Spanish that seemed to favor spec rigs. Pier Octi became crowded and I noticed several fishing 2-4 poles using up most of the space on the rails. The Spanish were not abundant but some decent fish were being taken off and on by those wanting to cast.
Sheephead, as usual were a little tougher but, being caught on live shrimp throughout the morning all around the Octi. Not on fire, but some were landed occasionally by those with patience. Should have been more with as many pilings that were occupied. Of the two I caught and several lost, most were large mails, many pushing 7+ lbs. I don't think it will be long with one or two more warm nights and you should be able to get a limit.
Glad I decided to leave when I did, as it started to rain when leaving the parking lot.
Good ode fishing everyone..."


But then it didn't... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...an-slow-15240/ "Got there before daybreak again. Light breeze and light current from the west. Water still look fairly good with maybe 4' visibility. Didn't see shore from the octti all morning due to the fog. Water dripping from everything and was actually a little chilly due to the dampness.
Set up fo Sheepies with live shrimp. Several sheephearders all around i
yet no one catching. Maybe 3 landed all morning that I saw. Several schools of Sheepshead could be seen swimming around but no bites.
Only one Spanish caught and that was midway back to the "T" by Arthur. Slim and Sunshine tried a few hours for Kings but no takers.
The highlight of my day was snacking on smoked Whiting provided by
Mr. Rogers. Delicious.
Rain is taken out of the forecast tomorrow so I'll be back in the morning.
Until then, good fishing everyone."
'chillinfish' added "Things didn't improve much in the afternoon. A couple of dozen sheepshead on the octi. Most on live shrimp. I managed 2 on ghost shrimp and had 4 more come unbuttoned using a short shank single hook. I suspect that they had the hook in between a couple of crusher teeth and pulled loose. Lloyd fished a cig under a balloon all afternoon with no takers. He and I saw a big king come by the Southwest corner of the octi but neither of us had a king lure rigged up to throw at it. I caught a tiny sand trout and a 12" bluefish up shallow on my way out around 6:30 on a pompano jig and teaser. The baby spadefish were still nibbling shrimp legs off on the octi and I caught a 3 incher on a ghost shrimp. No bites on oysters today."


Of course the next day 'Haywire' showed up again and... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...20-18-a-15244/ "The sheepshead bit better today than yesterday. Some people did quite well and got a limit or near limit. I was not among that number and will not tell you how many shrimp it took me to catch two sheepies. The bite was kind of scattered around the octi during the morning, mostly to one side or the other of where I was dropping my line. (Is that enough whining and bitching? I can do more.) The NW rail of the octi got hot late in the morning. It also got a bit crowded, but what the heck, we're all buddies, right?
The water was real pretty before the wind got turbocharged, then the shallows got real muddy and further out it got kind of dingy. The wind really started howling mid-day and a pelican could sit on one of the west light poles and squirt his load fifty feet over the east side of the pier. Several caps went overboard and everybody was adding lead to their drop lines. On guy told me he caught a few spanish on his sabiki early this morning. One bull red was caught just north of the octi and I saw a pompano caught on the way out that may or may not have been legal. Even with 30 knot gusts outof the West, there wasn't much current. There were also sailcats caught, and the regular scattering of white trout and little croakers."


The weather calmed, but it took a while for any fish to read the memo... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15251/
'Viking guy' wrote "It was cooolllddd!
We survived up until about 8am. We got a couple of Spanish, ground mullet and white trout.
I hooked a redfish on a live trout and it swam straight under the pier instead of the open water--no go.
Red sky at morning..."
'Touchstone' added "Caught 1 whiting at day light more moved back in around 2 hooked a good red fish on pompano jig lost him at the net not that good of a day"
'Haywire' entered this "I didn't get there until noon and it was pretty dead until three pompano showed up at the octi, one of which was a stud, prolly over three pounds. One, a nice one, was mine. There may have been as many as fifteen sheepshead caught all day. There was a little rally around four and I managed to get a couple and lose a few, all on fiddlers. There were so many little spadefish on the northwest of the octi, they were wearing out everyone's live shrimp, eating off the legs and tail. It was hard to get hooked up on the crabs---we've caught all the dumb sheepies and they were too smart for me, so I don't stand much chance with these smart survivors. On the crabs, all I'd feel was one tap, and I'd reel in an empty hook. At one point, I got into the zone and felt a disturbance in The Force and hooked a good one that forgot where the barnacles. He's dinner tonight.
There were some really nice whiting being caught in the skinny water as I was leaving. I heard rumors of a few trout, but they may be the ones Harley caught yesterday.
The water was beautiful from the beach to the end, with just a little west current. The wind was still a little brisk out of the west to north."

March: part three
And 'chillinfish' summed up his week "Can't add much but the water was pretty today and the diving birds were coming up with minnows of some sort off and on all day. I am finally back home where I can go back to work and get some rest. I caught a dozen or so sheepshead and a few whiting thus week. I had more than my share of chances at catching fish but only landed about 1 in 5 that I hooked. I went 2 for 2 on the last 2 bites by hooking the shrimp with 2 barbs of the treble hooked in the middle of the body. I saw JJFish, fishintime, TigerShark, Sandflea, USA and Haywire during the week along with some of the breakfast club, including club president Harley who continues to tell me "I can't tell you everything" when I ask him a fishing question. Ted the trout tamer even popped up on the octi this afternoon."
Later 'AC870' added "I spent couple hours on pier Thursday. It was slow as I’ve ever seen it. I saw one nice whiting caught as I was leaving."

The next day wasn't a lot different ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...23-18-a-15256/ "Good bite of super big whiting in the shallows when I walked by about 9:30 this morning. I paused for a bit and tried to fish, but in the interest of not shutting down the bite, I continued on out to the octi where the sheepshead bite was virtually nonexistent. It pretty much stayed that way. I don't think there were more than half a dozen put on the deck by the time I left at 3:00---that's not counting the two undersized ones caught by USA and DanS. Seeing them catch those two junior models made me be not quite as ashamed of the little one I caught early this month.
On a more positive note, there were some Spanish around. I heard there was a pretty good bite at first light, then there were several caught around 11:00, but I'm not sure how many since I was looking down and concentrating intently on forcing the sheepshead to bite with mental projection. Didn't work.
Once again, the water was beautiful, clear and green. Moderate current out of the east with a mild easterly wind going around to the south.
I had the privilege of watching some of our young cobia jigslingers at work at the bathrooms. As I was cleaning my single sheepshead, a school of jack crevalle came cruising down the bar. The first cast they made landed center and across the school and the immediate second cast landed right in the middle of the school, destroying any possibility of a bite. The third cast was behind the school and I was thinking to myself what a disaster it would have been had that been a pod of cobia. Oh, well, they are still pretty good at casting at birds and imaginary brown spots. And sharks.
I keep thinking it's going to get better, and I guess it eventually will, but the water hasn't yet had a chance to warm up from this last cold spell. Here's hoping and wishing, two usually futile and disappointing pastimes."

'fshntime' started the Saturday thread ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...arrival-15261/
"Today was my day for "picking", so I arrived late. About 9am I guess.
HR had an empty cooler in the skinny water so you know there wasn't much around because he can catch fish in the parking lot.
Only made it just past the "T", since the reports from the Octi were only 1 sheepshead among numerous sheephearders.
Several friends reported Spanish being caught so stopped at the "T". Not on fire by any means but was able to capture a half dozen that I donated for jjfish's family fish fry. No much size to the ones I saw though. Mostly key chains and since the Spanish were present so we're a couple sharks roaming, looking for that free meal.
The wind seemed to be brisk from the south but it was still t-shirt weather. Water had turned a little dingy green from yesterday but was still pretty.
i couldn't stay long and left about noon. I hope things got better later in the day for the fisher persons I left behind.
Thanks to Tommy for teaching me how to tie a proper speck rig. After fishing this and the old pier for 45 years, I still learn something new every now and then, but now I just have trouble remembering what!
until tomorrow, good fishing..."
'Chili Relleno' added "What a beautiful day to go fishing.
Nate and I were on the pier from 6am to 4pm, we started in the shallows fishing Pomp rigs and Carolinas.
I landed a nice Whiting, that got everyone's hopes up for a repeat of yesterday's big Whiting bonanza, but it didn't happen.
Nothing before that and after that for a long while, no Pomps, Specks or anything else was seen.
None that is till Randy landed a nice Flounder.
Called it quits and went to get in on the Spanish bite just South of the restrooms.
They were running about a foot on average, not on fire but fairly steady on anything white or chrome.
Nate got a few of them before the bite died off and we proceeded to the Octi.
Word had it that the Sheepies were few and far between, and it was true.
I saw four hit the deck over the next several hours, Nate got one of them.
I kept a live bait on the bottom out for whatever might take it, no takers.
On the way off there wasn't anything going on, talked to Randy again, he and his wife had each taken another keeper Flounder and thrown a dink or two back.
Randy said that another guy had caught one Pomp and a Whiting.
We then decided to try our luck on the wall/bridge at Perdido Pass, it was as dead as the pier, no luck there either.
Even the boats working the bridge weren't having it, I saw one Red landed on a boat.
Not a lot of luck was with us, but it sure was a nice day to be enjoying the great outdoors."

Some days are like ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...ont-get-15268/ 'fshntime' wrote "Today was one of those days I just don't get it! Got to the rock before daybreak so I'd be set up and ready when the sun came up. Wind was probably 8-10 out of the SW, with light east current. No trouble holding for sheepies but very few around. I only saw three landed while I was there. Water was nice looking with light green tint and about 3' visibility.
Convicts were not cooperating for me so I hung around for the morning Spaniard run which never happened. Prolly only three or four of those seen also. It was a beautiful day but the fish just weren't there, or weren't hungry, so I just don't get it.
The highlight of my day was when the "Wisconsin Boys" dropped off a couple dozen doughnuts. You know cops and doughnuts, but my wife has been making me watch my carb intake so I had to sneak some. But, alas, Sunshine caught me and wanted my wife's phone number.
You can't trust women, they tend to stick together.
Left about 11am, still nothing happening, nor in the skinny water.
until tomorrow, good fishing everyone"
'COACH LOWERY' added "Fished hard all day. Like fshntime said it was a bad day. I did finally catch 4 Spanish one of which was huge. I started fishing for those small spade fish because I wanted some tacos . Cleaned 15 it was about like cleaning smallish bream but I have enough for the two of us. I did see one pompano caught about 13 inches . Better days ahead."

Nope, the next week, that old March weather flexxed its muscles... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...d-rough-15273/ 'fshntime' wrote "Today started decent. Water was fairly clear with light South wind at daybreak and mild temps with high humidity. Then, as the sun came up, wind quickly switched to the East and freshened as the day progressed.
Sheephead were present and seemed promising, but most were lost at the net due to the strong wind. They, as Sheephead do, seemed to be gathering on only one side and that was the East side today.
Problem #1,
What made it difficult to land them, was that 20mph wind and 4' swells. Every time one was hooked and net dropped, it would blow under the pier and you'd loose site of it. By the time you could finally get the net pinned against a pilling, the fish was usually off. However the bite was strong all morning and weighed one in at 7#'s, 15 oz's.
I finally got tired of loosing fish to the elements and getting hooked on barnacles with the swirling surf that would break my line, I left early thinking Tuesday might be a little more calm.
Problem #2,
all the bait shops are out of live skrimps and so am I.
Until i I find shrimp, good fishing everyone"
'john g' responded "Problem #2 was due to deer wanting to duel the bait truck Saturday night. All is better now and shrimp will be here late this afternoon. Well not for the deer at least..."

Things did improve by mid week though ... http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...y-makes-15286/
'fshntime' reported "Sorry for the late post but things have been busy round here.
Started early on Wednesday, as usual. Around 8am, Sheepies started biting for me and by 11am, had my limit. Some pretty good sized ones too. Proceeded to help jjfish catch some too, but, when I started cleaning them I quickly realized I don't want to catch that many again. I'd post photos, but y'all know, website won't allow me.
Wind was out of the east with 3-4 swells and fairly clear water.
Saw a a few smallish Spanish come in, but hardly worth keeping. Wore myself out so didn't go today, but I'll be back Friday weather permitting.
good fishing everyone..."

March: part 4

'Tarheel' wrote "Got to the octi about daylight. Fishntime was asleep in his chair until I let him smell the donuts I brought. Once awake, he and his friend Jim began an all out assault on the Sheepies!! I counted numerous fish on the deck. Good going Todd, Jim!!!
I have my 2 grandsons in town till Saturday, so I concentrated on trying to get them hooked up with some whiting. Not much luck. Then my youngest son arrived with my 8 year old granddaughter and she proceeded to out fish us all!!
It was great to see Todd, Jim, Tommy, Lou, Leroy, and Bill again. Be sure to tip your waitress; I’ll be here all week!!
Tight lines everyone!!"
and "Haywire, we headed in about an hour before you got out there, apparently. We will be out early every day this week. Have to get these guys back to their parents Saturday. Hope to see you before then. Thanks for the updated report. I didn't see any Spaniards come over the rail while we were there. Maybe tomorrow???"
'TNmatt' added "There was a decent spanish bite south of the bathrooms from about 5:00-6:30. Nothing to write home about, but enough for me to put 11 in the cooler in addition to the two I had gotten earlier in the day."

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...29-18-a-15281/
'Tarheel' wrote "Mr. Wire, I too have had my coffee and I STILL thought it was Friday!! But, I went on out to the Octi about daylight, today, THURSDAY. Dragged my 2 grandsons out of bed so they could bask in the glow of another early morning. I had to hook some weights to their belt loops as the wind picked up after the sun got up good to keep them held down to the deck.
Like yesterday, the Sheepies were doing good on the East side of the Octi. But, Slim and Sunshine were present snobbling with some cigar minnows. And, I know all will be shocked at this, but it wasn't long before Sunshine was hooked up on a nice King. She fought it valiantly to and fro around the Octi. Unfortunately, just before the gaff could be applied, it broke off around the pilings. While we were there, that was the extent of the excitement.
The water was a little dingy in places. Swells were 3-5 feet and were building as the boys and I headed in about 10 AM or so. But, we shall return tomorrow.
Tight lines everyone; regardless of what day Wire says it is!!!"

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...ch-30-a-15287/
'Tarheel' reported "Once again, I arrived at the Octi just after sun up. The regulars were already lining the rails going for the Sheepshead that had been abundant the last few days. The change in wind direction and other factors had apparently slowed catches from previous days. But, the folks there, Haywire, Fshntime, JJfish, all seemed to have some success. Live shrimp and ghost shrimp seemed to provide the most hookups.The water was a little cloudy and the northeast wind had reduced the swells. Once the sun got up, it was a really nice morning.
I dragged my 2 grandsons out of bed again at about 6 AM and they were able to go through about a half pound of dead shrimp bringing several nice white trout over the rail. They really enjoyed themselves and I had an even better time watching them. We left about 11 AM and i cooked their catch for their lunch just now. I had to fight for a few fillets myself!! These guys are ruthless around food!!
The highlight of the day was the dozen jelly filled donuts that appeared and then DISAPPEARED almost as soon as they arrived!! As always, the stories told around the table were all truthful and educational. Well.....most of them anyway.
I'll be back tomorrow for one last day with my 2 guys Tight lines everyone.
Today's title should read: "Well, Today is Actually Friday, March 30." ( I verified the date with Haywire!!)"
'Haywire' replied "Those jelly donuts were a huge hit. We went through them like Sherman went through Georgia, and I think somebody even licked the box. Thank you, Tarheel. Earlier, Charlie had produced both chocolate and blueberry donuts---they didn't cause any actual fistfights to break out, but it looked like some folks had skipped breakfast. (Me).
I got there early and was able to tell that the water was terribly muddy, but by 9:00 it had cleared considerably and was getting better all the time, as was the sheepshead bite which was dead to begin with. Ghost shrimp became effective as the morning progressed, and I saw half a dozen more decked on live shrimp. Haywire got no bites. Before I left mid-morning, I saw 44 sheepshead rods in use around the octi, not counting the Spanish rods, etc. There were a handful of Spanish caught on Gotchas and spoons.
It was chilly to start this morning, but warmed up nicely and was turning into a real nice day. Water was getting better with a light current out of the east. I hope the bite turned on for everyone."
And 'COACH LOWERY' added "I stayed a little south of the tee most of the day trying to get some Spanish wound up with 7 one of which was a stud that I had to hand line over the rail. "
Along with 'TNmatt' "My son and I spent from about 12 until 3:30 in the shallows and ended up with seven sheepshead. All caught on fiddlers. We saw several more caught and netted a couple for some folks. In addition to sheepshead we saw two very nice pompano caught and a few whiting. We are back in Tennessee now and counting the days until we can get back to one of my favorite places in the world."

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15288/
'Tarheel' reported "what I saw on the Octi this AM. The short answer: not much. Water was good, reasonably clear with a decent chop with light winds out of the East. Then about 9 AM or so, the winds picked up. It felt like 15 to 20 MPH with higher gusts. I took my grandsons and headed for the parking lot. Fshntime and JJfish preceded us. Haywire and his grandson stuck it out as we were leaving. Saw a few Sheepies and HR appeared to land a few whiting in the shallows. Not much else was seen.
I will return in about 3 weeks for another visit. Look forward to seeing everyone then! Tight lines everyone!"
'Haywire' quipped "Sorry to take so long. Had to take an old man nap after my grandson and I got home.
To add to Tarheel's report, the pretty water moved in to the octi about 10:30 and stimulated the sheepshead bite to the point that Wyatt (Gs) and I caught one each and lost a couple each. The pinfish and little spadefish (of which I caught one) got bad and were killing the live shrimp, which were hard to come by as is usual this time of year.
I heard of one little Spanish that was caught on a sabiki. I threw a Gotcha for a while, and at one point it felt like I had a strike, but that could have been the meds wearing off. Saw some sweet trout and white trout caught. We tried in the shallows for a while but nobody was catchin anything, and the water was still churned up north of the octi. The wind diminished around noon, but not a whole lot.
Surprisingly, the pier wasn't all that crowded for an Easter weekend Saturday, but the parking lot was packed with beachgoers. Quite a few little kids were playing in the icy surf and wind---Chile astutely observed, "Those chillun just ain't right" or something like that. I agreed. Chile also caught the smallest fish on the pier today, which was some kind of goby or something about an inch long. He also caught a lettered olive shell on his pompano bait.
The male sheepies are squirting milt, so the breeding must be taking place. Hope the bite improves/lasts a while longer."

March: part five

And 'Chile Relleno' finished up the month with his version "Hit the road at 0330, J&M at 0500 and the pier this morning around 0545.
Got there early to get my four dozen of the 3000+/- shrimp that J&M had, and they were reported all sold out by 0600.
Bypassed the shallows in my quest for grilled sheepshead, saw a few of the usual suspects there, but nothing apparently happening.
For the first time in 6-7 years I was alone on a fishing trip.
No mini-me in tow, he was complaining about a lack of sleep, "See ya kid, sayanara."
I missed him and he missed fishing, he called me around 0900, "Daddy, you caught anything?"
I found many of the usual crowd on the Octi before the sun was up, Haywire, fshntime, JJfish, Jay and more.
It was kind'a cold and fairly breezy, water was OK but not much happening.
For a Saturday, it was dead, was expecting a crowd and was not disappointed when it didn't show up.
A random sheepie here and there, a nice Spanish that got off because I was doing the netting.
Gotcha got hung on hoop, that was that, pop, bye bye.
I put one Sheep in the cooler, the wind started to blow like a banshee and a few of us migrated to the shallows to drown shrimp.
Nothing going on there either, I caught a small croaker and the fore mentioned Lettered Olive Snail.
Back to the Octi for a some what moderate but short lived Sheepie bite, saw a rare Spanish or two come aboard.
Some Cig snobblers and jig slinging Cobe hunters showed up and disappeared fairly quickly.
Water color change came in, the wind died a little and looked promising for mackerel but nobody hardly was trying for them.
Bailed to the shallows again... Nada. Back to Octi to find a finicky Spanish bite in progress off the front rail.
I had one come unbuttoned quickly after hookup and after that couldn't buy a bite.
Sheepies were still coming in slowly, and I manage to put two more in my cooler.
Back to the shallows around 1800, fished a cut bait on a single drop for Reds on the bottom, and shrimp/fishbite baited Pomp rig and free lined some lively shrimp for whatever might take it.
Pomp rig and shrimp saw no takers at all, free lined shrimp survived unmolested until 2000.
Red rig had three hookups but never could keep a fish on long enough to even get a glimpse of it.
Oh yeah,
I netted the biggest Big Ugly I've ever seen come out of the Gulf.
Barely got it in my hoop net after half a dozen tries or more, it was hanging out both sides.
Estimated weight 40-50lbs, took me on the rope, two guys grabbing the hoop and some grunts to get him over the rail.
This senior gentleman was almost as exhausted as the fish, thankfully they both managed to catch their breath and go home.
Pic doesn't do it's length/girth justice.
EDIT
Approx 54" length and 36" girth
Various weight calculators average 80lbs
I don't think it was that much... Anybody?

etc. , etc. ...

Thanks #'r....I enjoyed the recap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pier#r

etc. , etc. ...

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More please....🤓

April: part one


http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2018-a-15296/The next month began with no 'April Fool' on Sunday the first when'eym-sirius' wrote “The morning Spanish bite was pretty much on. I caught 8 or 9 and Haywire caught his limit. Just about everyone was using Gotchas and the Spanish were all pretty good sized with a couple of whoppers! Sheepshead were absent, for the most part. I hooked one and fought him for about fifteen seconds and the hook pulled loose. That happened in really skinny water. I didn't see anybody hook one on the octi. Slim pitched a cig for a little bit, but I don't think that he had any lookers and no takers while I was out there. Sharks were around, but I didn't see anybody lose a Spanish to one this morning.Beautiful weather, stained water, no baitfish to speak of.“

Of course'Haywire' piped in: “No foolin' at all. The Spanish bite was really fine. Most fun I've had with fish in a while, and the relative absence of sharks was a real plus. I only had two "races" with sharks and won both. Idid see several fish eaten---it must have been while Tom was busyputting fish in his cooler.

I do fear that the sheepshead bite, such as it was, is over, and here I am with five dozen live shrimp.

My situation with my grandson, Wyatt, was the same as Chile with Nate.He said he didn't want to get up early and by the time Grandmom dropped him off at the pier, the bite was over. Very familiar story.I think the big bunch of hole breathers that showed up off the octi could claim responsibility for the sudden end of the bite.

The best news I've seen in a while came from the big poster by the pier office announcing that night time shark fishing will be allowed on the pier for the last two weeks in May, but all fishermen will be limited to one shark per night. Now, here comes the bohica---April Fool. “

Later '3boys' added “The Spanish bites was on fire in the afternoon. After celebrating Easter with the family I got to the pier around 430. First cast on and pretty much stayed on until I left around 6. My last cast of the day hooked a king on my jig. The king proved to be too much for the 50 lb mono but not before a 10 minute battle that took me to the knot. Ran off 250 yards of 20 lb braid. Got all the braid back. Had a great time and had a bag full of fillets. Kept 10 gave some to Derek and the crew “

The next day was some more of the same...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-2-18-a-15300/When 'Haywire' wrote “Reader's Digest version: Decent bite early, not quite as good as yesterday,but they did hit bubble rigs quite well. Granddaughter and I got a limit. Good sized fish. No kings. Cigar minnows hard to find. There are sharks. Eym_Sirius caught a stud trout and lost another one.Harley R. caught a flounder that should feed him and his wife for a week.

Water pretty and calm, very little wind or current. No LYs. My morning nap just grabbed me and is pulling me toward the recliner.“
'Robert(Tato)Piteo' added in, as did new member 'Fake Bait' along with 'crazynewts','ChiliRelleno' and 'john g' in a discussion about bubble rigs.

Haywirea gain started the conversation on Tuesday the third...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-3-18-a-15304/“The early morning bite wasn't very good, so I left before it could get worse. There were a very few Spanish caught at the octi and a few more caught in the draw. With the crowd in the draw, it would bead visable to wear hockey pads and a welding helmet for safety. Eym_Sirius did a repeat and caught another big trout early, and I had the privilege of netting it for him under the shallow water lights.

I thought I had a strike at one point, but I sneezed at the same time and it may have simply been a displaced nerve impulse.

The water looked good. There was a good breeze making a chop out of the south and there was a stiff current out of the west. I saw some LYs caught just south of the bathrooms. Slim and Sunshine were trying for kings as I left. “
There were plenty of responses, but no fish were added.
Onetime poster 'zseiler' wrote though...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...tuesday-15310/“I was on vacation this past week and fished for spanish for the first time on monday. I was a little late to the party but managed to still get my first mackerel. I talked to a few people who were very helpful. It's worth talking to the people down there before you go out. Lots of helpful tips on rig retrieve etc. Ended up going early Tuesday morning and caught 2 more but apparently was slower than the day before. I was happy to catch anything being new to gulf fishing.Thanks for all the help from the regulars at the pier. Lots of good people down there. “

Attention shifted the next day when 'Haywire' wrote …http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...-4-18-a-15309/“When I went down to J&M Tackle to pay my regular tribute, I was told that two big kings were caught today in the 30# range and that there were some pompano.

I had to take the grandkids to the beach and watch them dig holes in the sand, right after a visit to the dentist, so I didn't make it out on the pier for a first hand report.

Down here in Orange Beach, the water looked clear about as far out as the octi would be and was kind of cloudy in closer. I watched several groups of kids dig deeply into the Earth's mantle (no other time in this world would they work that hard), saw people of all sexes who should not wear bathing suits but do, spotted a couple of baby manta rays and listened while the beach-goers alternately ooed and aahed over the dolphins and panicked as they identified them as sharks. Overall, not much change from previous days, but, as on previous days, there were some bright spots and inspirations walking along the shore. See y'all tomorrow. “
'Slim'added... “We arrived about noonish (after the rains - and after we had lunch) to try it for a couple hours. Water looked real good - light westbound current. Bait (LYs) were scattered but available. Strong North wind made it pretty chilly. Good thing about a north wind - you can sling a cig a mile.... We had heard that there were a few hookups earlier in the day, but none decked. After about 30 mins - Steph hooked up on a smoker who took a lot of drag but eventually spit the hook. Same thing happened at least one other time, and then I finally hooked up. Nice king - classic run, got it half way back, the it took another short run - Garrett had the gaff ready, about to poke a hole in it when a nasty ol shark decided he wanted it worse than I did. I tried to free spool but just couldn't get the line off the roller fast enough. All in all there were probably 6-8 hookups between noon and 3 - but only one decked. Tyler had to free spool his king at least twice because of the sharks - but managed to get it on the deck (Garrett on the gaff)....There were the customary Cobe hunters standing around staring east - but no brown fish popped up that I heard about. Except for a cownose and a few remora, nothing else was caught while we were there. We're not there yet, but getting closer.....

Tyler's king - Garrett on the gaff.... “http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/...sbwjo7d47.jpeg

April: part two
But the overnite cold front passage shut the bite down when 'Haywire'reported...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...13/index2.html “Good news and bad news. Lys readily available just north of the octi, but nothing to eat them-----just yet.”

Granddaughter and I got there plenty early and spent some time in the parking lot rummaging through the back seat of the truck in search of extra warm clothing left over from winter. We shivered our way out to the octi where there were no fish being caught. Steve and Stephanie were already drifting LYs in the light current out of the east, and I added my expertly rigged bait and joined them. Obviously, there are no kings since none of us got a bite. None of the Gotcha slingers and bubble blasters were getting any hits either. Brenna and I decided to come back later.

Water was pretty, light wind out of the ENE.Saw no action in the shallows. Cold. “
'doesitgobang' added “I made my one day per trip to the pier on Thursday. Sheepheads were in the shallows. One came over the east rail and I help net one on the west side. Unfortunately no hits on my line.

I saved the skunk by going farther south near the octi. Found two pinfish and two whiting. Not nearly what I was hoping for but better than a skunk.

Better luck next time. Better fishing time ahead. “

No report from Friday, but Bill 'ironman172' reported on Saturday the 7^th...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...y-4-7-a-15330/ “Late start for me....pretty water,moderate current from west to east, few small spanish on the octagon 1 undersize cobia, bait (ly) around plenty of people fishing....for me ly's & 1 bird :D
Maybe tomorrow
I still feel like a zombie from the drive“
He started the Sunday post too...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...y-4-8-a-15334/ “Late start for me, catching up on rest, went to J&M to visit, pick up my pride rod that Mr. John fixed (THANK YOU) did a walk on at the pier not many people there, 2 key chain spanish at the cleaning table, one guy hooked up on the end but never saw what it was broke off....rods tied to the rail ?? Not sheep fishing out away from the pier on the bottom....maybe later for me“
And later added“Afternoon....dead on the end, saw 1 keychain caught, I was drowning ly's....leaving.... saw a nice spec someone had to show off :D.....looked like it came from somewhere else....you know there is no fish in the shallows
Maybe a better day tomorrow....now that I got some rest“

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...ril-9th-15340/ Robert(Tato)Piteo “WellI had the coffee and donuts out this morning but not hardly anybodyshowed up and getting to old to cart that much weight out to the Octiso probably won't do it again till maybe the picnic. The nice sizebut not giant Spanish bit pretty good this morning starting atdaylight I managed 10-12. Lost 1 rig to sharks and another 1 bit offbehind the head. Over all not to bad a morning.“
And later added“Wentback out around 4 but nothing happening.“


Tuesday'Robert(Tato)Piteo' started with...http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...10-18-a-15345/“Wellgot there early again this morning. Spanish were there in pretty good number but seemed to be hitting Gotcha's better than on top. Think I did manage 10 -12 made donation to Sunshine she cleaned mess for Kim who we haven't seen in awhile been working too much. Decided it was time to eat lunch so went to Cricos's so guess I'll have to take anap now. “
'Haywire' added “Tato pretty well covered it. As I was leaving, I was shown a flounder that covered the bottom of a 48 qt. cooler with its tail curled up the side. And thick.
You could find a shark any time you wanted one.
No kings hooked by noon.
Pretty water. “

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...11-18-a-15349/'Haywire' wrote “The Spanish bite was intense but short this morning. It was pretty much over by the time the sun first broke the horizon. The hole breathers moved in about that time, too. Saw a blue heron walking on the backs of sharks. (That might not have really happened---I missed my coffee.) I managed a half a dozen before it shut down and went directly to the cleaning tables. Heard that Harley R. caught a pompano and a sheepshead. I left early.

Water is not as pretty as yesterday. No current. North breeze.

Two firsts for me: saw a small remora bitten in two by a shark and caught a leather jacket on a Gotcha.

Pier#r was out there, so he should have a more complete report later on.Good fishing everybody. “
ironman172reported “Missed the morning bite and is was over way before I got there, so can't be my fault for shutting down the bite....chilly morning to start and end this later afternoon....got my first King maybe 18 lb on ly under a float east side, then shortly after a guy caught a barely legal ling....fun day for me with no fish to clean....had a good time visiting with fellow pier friends“ http://i64.tinypic.com/25yvkvd.jpg

salt_water-guy added “there is also cigs under the pier “

And yes, even I got in on the action... “It must've been my fault to shut down the bite this am.
Got out on the pier at the crack of 6:30 am and out to the end about 10 minutes later. Went 3 for 3 on spanish before a shark ate my 4th.
That was when the switch was turned off!

It was too pretty a day not to just enjoy being on the pier, along with plenty of good company.
Saw'bluefish John' catch a nice flounder (about 18"), and netted an 18" whiting for HR (2.12#)
I fished the shallows the rest of the morning, and @ about 2 in the afternoon caught a 20" trout.

Tried out on the end after 4 pm, but not nothing for me. Saw a few stray spanish caught.
About 6pm the spanish bite turned back on in the draw for me, Pug, Ted and a handful of others who stuck around.
I filled out my limit in about an hour, including two fish that got sharked and several cutoffs.
Fun way to end a VERY long day ;-)
Thank You Lord, for putting it all there!“

P.S. "Ironman jigs strike again, and again, and again ;-)
http://i64.tinypic.com/2zhlgrb.jpg

Getting close..I think. Before he left, I picked up a few pounds of cig's from Ironman before he left. The wife and I put them to good use as we both decked our first kings. Thanks to Sunshine for helping me get mine on the gaff - and as usual, Tam's was much bigger than mine. Bull Red runs every day. The last one decked did me in. I actually popped a hernia when I leaned over the rail to keep from breaking off under the pier. A few quick pics and back to the water for the fish, Surgery and 4weeks out of work for me.

http://i68.tinypic.com/10ro4s3.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2rw6k41.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Robert(Tato)Piteo

I'd just like to thank all the people I gave fish away to this past year. I hope you enjoyed eating them as much as I did catching them. Hope to see everyone a lot more this coming year we're trying to get Linda retired and I know she won't mind spending more time at the beach.

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I need to thank you . I am sure I took a few of your donations , enjoying them today before the cold sets back in up here
Thanks to the others for they're donations too,this past spring and fall