Hey all,
New to the forum and will be in Gulf Shores starting the 12th for a week as the kid is playing ball down there. I appreciate all of the great info that is shared here, and look forward to spending some time fishing from the pier that week.
A popular rig that we use from piers in the Great Lakes has a pyramid (usually 2-4oz.) sinker on the bottom, to which a short section of braid (i.e. 18" or so) is tied to a quality barrel swivel. The weight is cast out and the line tightened with the rod in the holder. Another short section of leader (usually 15# fluoro) is then tied with a small SPRO snap (no swivel) on one end, and a circle hook on the other. The snap is placed on the mainline, and then let go. It slides down the mainline to the barrel swivel just above the weight. We do this to avoid having to deal with gobies, an invasive that makes bottom fishing almost impossible at certain times of the year. The rig keeps the bait suspended slightly off the bottom when done correctly. We use small pieces of shrimp, live alewives, nightcrawlers, etc. etc. and catch steelhead, brown trout, sheepshead, catfish, etc. etc. with these rigs. At times we target depths 4-10' off the bottom, and that is easily done by lengthening the leader between the weight and the barrel swivel. We use long rods, but I've noticed that it doesn't appear necessary down there, so we are packing our 7' MH spinning outfits to save a little space on the trip.
Is this over-thinking things a bit? I've got all the stuff to fish Carolina rigs on the bottom, but have a bunch of what I described above tied up. Will having braid mainline to the sinker, and then the snap and swivel cause issues with spooky (line-shy) fish? I understand a little in regard to tidal periods, but what depths are we talking about fishing around the pier (obviously variable given the length of it)?
We'll likely try casting plugs, but it seems that fresh dead bait is a better way to get some action. The boys are pumped...and I hope I can get them on some fish.
Thanks in advance for any responses, and once again thanks for all of the information on this forum.

