A crying shame

The tackle rental at the pier is a disgrace to the image of the pier. Several times recently, I have been approached by tourist type people asking me how to catch fish at the pier. I always try to ask a few questions, such as what they want to catch and what kind of tackle they have, and the answers are usually, "Anything that will bite." and "This is what I rented." I really hate it when kids are involved and are not having a good experience.

Today, I saw a couple of kids leave the pier office with rental rigs more suitable for (gasp) great white sharks than whiting. The terminal rig is where it was painful looking. Weights looked to have been chosen at random from the 'too heavy' and 'too light' compartments. Leaders were, of course, those heavy, pre-made plastic coated wire things suitable for orcas, with a #2 or 1/0 treble hook snapped onto the end. Give me a rig like that and I'd have a hard time catching a hardhead catfish, much less a desirable fish. (Hey, no snide remarks from the peanut gallery---I do catch good fish from time to time.)

I have given away lots of improved rigs, smaller hooks, etc., to the folks who have asked for help, and I hope y'all will join me in my crusade to help visiting folks actually catch a fish or two. It doesn't take much---telling them to throw away the dam frozen squid is a good start. Maybe on one of the slow days we've been having, I could go by the office and make up some rigs that might actually catch fish. I don't propose to donate any VanStals to their tackle rental program, but I can fix some of their own stuff into reasonable rigs. Anybody want to help?

It's just a real shame that they charge people for tackle that is useless. It's a real ripoff.

Well Mr Wire that is another reason why we all like you and that pier​ mouse of yours. I've witnessed quite a few smiles from small children as well as the parents. Keep up the good work.

I will help make anyone's day better, especially if it involves fishing.

Hay, check pm and Thanks.

And this is why i and many other visitors keep coming back, i remember my first trip, using extra heavy tackle and squid, wondering why i couldnt catch a fish and a couple locals helping me out, teaching me what to use and pointing me to this forum, i try and pay it forward any way i can now, both here and on the pier, i'm willing to help anyway i can

It's a ripoff, in that the set-up is arranged for the convenience of those renting out the equipment. Just think about how little work goes into setting up an outfit that never gets bit! You never have to replace the terminal tackle and you don't have to worry about a big game fish hitting a stinky squid glob! You check it out to the user, sell 'em a cup of stinky squid and a few hours later, you express your condolences, check the outfit back in, rinse it off and it's ready to go again, none the worse for wear. The ripoff comes in the lack of value from that experience.

I'd do it differently. I'd rig the rods for whiting (for instance) and sell a few extra prepared leaders. I'd sell shrimp and fish bites and never sell stinky squid. I'd sell the heck out of needle-nosed pliers, which I'd recommend for every person who might hook a hardhead catfish.

Haywire, I've done the same as you. I've given I don't know how many rigged leaders to newbie fishermen not catching anything because they were set up just like you described. I'd help with the effort, but I'm all bogged down with as much work as I want - to the point that I can't get away to fish!

Sure wish I could help .....and Thank You Mr. Wire and all others for helping the less knowledgeable about pier fishing.....it is a learning process by all.....we are all in different stages of it....... like life in general

similar story. About 4 years ago a friend of mine came with us and wanted to fish the pier with me. He went to a little bait shop in OB that's closed now and told them he wanted to catch red fish. When he came back to the condo I couldn't help but laugh. They pretty much sold him a broom stick with about 20 eyes for $110.00. Shame when people take advantage of the unknowing.

My advice is for someone to send a nicely worded and detailed email to the GSP Park Chief explaining why the current rental setups are not very appropriate and suggest changes to make them more usable.

Mr wire I think they where trying to catch sharks. I've overheard plenty of conversations of kids asking if they can catch a shark.

Also, Are the rod rentals any good??

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Originally Posted by eym_sirius

It's a ripoff, in that the set-up is arranged for the convenience of those renting out the equipment. Just think about how little work goes into setting up an outfit that never gets bit! You never have to replace the terminal tackle and you don't have to worry about a big game fish hitting a stinky squid glob! You check it out to the user, sell 'em a cup of stinky squid and a few hours later, you express your condolences, check the outfit back in, rinse it off and it's ready to go again, none the worse for wear. The ripoff comes in the lack of value from that experience.

I'd do it differently. I'd rig the rods for whiting (for instance) and sell a few extra prepared leaders. I'd sell shrimp and fish bites and never sell stinky squid. I'd sell the heck out of needle-nosed pliers, which I'd recommend for every person who might hook a hardhead catfish.

Haywire, I've done the same as you. I've given I don't know how many rigged leaders to newbie fishermen not catching anything because they were set up just like you described. I'd help with the effort, but I'm all bogged down with as much work as I want - to the point that I can't get away to fish!

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We need to put a beginner tackle box together and sell it and it has everything you need and nothing that you dont for GSP.

I'm pretty rudimentary with my rig tying Simple but they work Say the word Haywire I'll help you with anything you want to do

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Originally Posted by Bassmaster179

We need to put a beginner tackle box together and sell it and it has everything you need and nothing that you dont for GSP.

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It's been done...
https://www.ontherailtackle.com/Prod...r-start-up-kit
https://www.ontherailtackle.com/Desk...a96755cfb2.jpg

So I've got to say I've fallen victim to this "customer service" in the past at another pier farther to the east..past Navarre yet not quite Destin. Not to name any names or anything! I walked in with some of my own gear and my brother in law. Asked them what was biting and if they could point me in the right direction. We walked out of there with the heaviest rod imaginable and a carton of squid. The guy at the counter was emphatic that squid was the cats meow for catching fish out there. I told him we wanted to try and catch pompano. Being a fisherman (freshwater) it didn't take me long to look around and realize that I'd been had. After a while of trying I washed the sucker stamp off my forehead and headed home. The fact the locals are the ones bringing this up on this forum is a true testament to the type of people that frequent this pier. Thanks to all who try to help us visitors out a little bit!

When I was 1st introduced to pier fishing I fell victim to a rental rod, it was a berkley fusion with 50lb mono, aftermarket grips(electrical tape) and 3 eyes on the entire rod. Terminal tackle was about like Mr. Wire described. After that horrible night at a pier on the right before DI, I learned from my mistakes. I used the google machine and stumbled across this forum and pier. I've been catching fish(most of the time, well... sometimes) ever since.
I actually borrowed tips and tricks from the locals and this forum and added it to my wordpress site to benefit beginners that may not be on the forum.

BTW,

A big thanks to the entire group for generally making the pier a great place for my family to enjoy.

Very nice....Keep up the good work helping others!

I stopped by the tackle store yesterday and attempted to politely discuss the situation and pretty much met a stone wall---"You'll have to take that up with the boss." "No the boss isn't here." "That's what they (they?) gave me to rent."

I found out that the boss is somebody who should know better, but is presently (reportedly) on a cruise. Maybe I will have better luck when he gets back. It isn't a matter of costing him more money---as a matter of fact, he could make more money by renting the basic rig, then adding a couple of basic kits, such as for pomps, Spanish, even kings. The rod and reel outfits appear to be decent quality, it's just the terminal rigging that I have issues with.

Seems like perfect sense, from the view of a small, independent businessman. Better sales and pleased customers (mostly, some are never pleased), equals better profits. Plus, the large rigs cost more. Lower overhead; keep a few heavy's for those die-hards that's just gotta have'em. I appreciate the intentions by you, Mr. Wire. I have had some of my best fishing at Ft. Morgan, tying up floro dropper rigs for a small group of folks who had not ever surfed fished, and seeing the fun they had when they caught a fish. My downfall was, not knowing what all the names were for some of the fish, or if they were dangerous, or if you could eat 'em. Museums and many places have docent's, folks that volunteer, who work a few hours a week, doing something that they are good at. The pier has the distinction of having docents. Unpaid, low key, not organized, but with all the right stuff.

I'm up for helping tie some bottom rigs or whatever if you can get it approved

Don't underestimate the illusions of customers, either. They don't really understand that heavy tackle is not always required in saltwater and might think that light tackle was somehow a sign of being treated as a fool. Of course we know the opposite is true.

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Originally Posted by midwestexile

Don't underestimate the illusions of customers, either. They don't really understand that heavy tackle is not always required in saltwater and might think that light tackle was somehow a sign of being treated as a fool. Of course we know the opposite is true.

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You have an excellent point. I just feel sorry for the novices who already have two strikes against them and are then handed a blindfold. It may be that I'm messing in somebody's business where I shouldn't, but I just think the tackle renters are due better service.

The more I think about it, the rod and reel could be rented, and the customer asked what he/she would like to fish for. The typical answer is "anything", and they could then be sold a small packet with the appropriate terminal tackle for the shallows. Or a packet with a Gotcha and a jig for Spanish, or a couple of king leaders for that. Can even sell more than one packet of tackle. Everybody wins.

Maybe instead of saying "This ain't rocket-surgery" we should be saying "This ain't DEEP-SEA-FISHING" ;-)

It's as if the folks renting the equipment don't know anything about sales! While it's true that a person renting the current set-up needs nothing else, to "fish" -- are they really fishing if they have almost no chance of catching? Besides that, how ethical is it to rent -- anything -- and have no expertise in the field to help the customer?
If you were to ask the "sales" person "What does this outfit (as rigged) catch?" I'm betting that the answer is "anything", which we know to not be the truth. The REAL truthful answer would be "almost nothing will be caught using this contraption with the bait that we recommend."

If the clerk were to continue with the truth, he'd admit that the rental is designed for limited wear on the rod, reel, line, and terminal tackle. He'd have to admit that when he checks rentals back in and asks about their success, he's NEVER had anybody catch anything but hardhead catfish and sting rays.

Since I'm in the rental (not fishing equipment) business, if it was me, I'd design a win/win solution. I'd rig for whiting and sell frozen shrimp, fresh-dead shrimp (from the bait tank), and fish bites. I would sell a basic terminal tackle kit with extra pre-tied leaders and hooks, including, of course, egg sinkers. Included in the tackle kit would be a basic bait knife and pliers. Of course if the customer preferred, he could opt to walk back to the store to purchase terminal tackle as needed instead of buying a tackle kit for the day.

Similarly, if the visitor wanted to try for Spanish mackerel or bluefish, he could buy a pre-rigged Gotcha or Hopkins/Clark styled spoon.

You have to see how the current paradigm has no/little success, but few complaints except for no fish, which can always be attributed to a lack of skill or the fish just not biting. To drill-down to the actual issue for "no fish", you have to know something about fishing and care about the satisfaction of the customer. It would also help if someone who rents fishing gear knew something about selling!

As far as what can actually be done to help the present situation - Maybe information to help the newbie fisherman made available at the bait/tackle shop? It could be read while not catching anything using the pier-rental setup!

I dealt with this my first time down. First time to ever see the ocean much less fish it. Rented a shark pole basically with probably 50 pound mono and the heavy wire leader and was told the squid will catch anything that bites. Caught a few catfish and a Ramora, if that's how you spell it, and my brother got lucky and caught a nice Pompano which we knew no better and threw back instead of eating. Found this forum and J&M before my next trip down and just downsizing everything and using live and fresh shrimp resulted in a much better experience. I've gained knowledge each trip down but some people, exspecially kids probably don't come back to the pier to try again they can save an 8 hour drive to catch catfish. Hiring a knowledgeable person that actually fishes the pier to work there would make a world of difference. You go with high expectations and curiosity of not knowing what all you could catch in the salt and leave pissed off and dissapointed as a first timer watching all these other people pulling in beautiful fish and you just smell like squid.

As a landlocked "out of towner"I want to say thank you to Haywire and others for your concern for those of us "newbies" that come to the pier and or area surf- had it not been for the people of this forum I wound not have caught anything but catfish last May and I certainly would NOT be leaving SE Arkansas this Saturday morning to come back to your area to fish for a week!!!- thanks for your thoughtfulness and patience- see ya soon!

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Originally Posted by Arkie Preacher

As a landlocked "out of towner"I want to say thank you to Haywire and others for your concern for those of us "newbies" that come to the pier and or area surf- had it not been for the people of this forum I wound not have caught anything but catfish last May and I certainly would NOT be leaving SE Arkansas this Saturday morning to come back to your area to fish for a week!!!- thanks for your thoughtfulness and patience- see ya soon!

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++1, Well said, if all members from other forums and fishermen from other locations had the heart giving attitude of this group, both the world and fishing would be better.

Today, I talked to the boss man at the tackle shop and he is all on board with helping folks do better. He said he was already in the process of putting together some packages to help people target fish correctly and he's very knowledgeable about fishing at the pier, having done a lot of it. He said something I didn't quite understand about having to use terminal tackle provided by his tackle reps, or something like that, but I think folks can look forward to an improved situation. The rods and reels are good quality Penn products---maybe a little light for reds and kings, but certainly appropriate for most pier fishing.

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction. Thanks for your efforts Mr. Haywire.

Maybe we need to start a "pier volunteer" program, volunteers could get an armband or something that would tell newbies that we are the people to look for who are willing to offer advices & help.
Just a thought.

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Originally Posted by CarlF

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction. Thanks for your efforts Mr. Haywire.

Maybe we need to start a "pier volunteer" program, volunteers could get an armband or something that would tell newbies that we are the people to look for who are willing to offer advices & help.
Just a thought.

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FREE BEER would certainly increase the number of volunteers ;-)
Of course they may end up with matching bracelets instead of armbands though LOL

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Originally Posted by Pier#r

FREE BEER would certainly increase the number of volunteers ;-)
Of course they may end up with matching bracelets instead of armbands though LOL

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I am coming down in September and again in October, and I will gladly provide free beer to anyone that wants to show a newbie the ropes!

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Originally Posted by ericrownd

I am coming down in September and again in October, and I will gladly provide free beer to anyone that wants to show a newbie the ropes!

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Your chances of getting help are good, but I don't know how many have a long enough of an attention span to plan ahead that far. I sure don't.

Do we get to sit in the shade and drink beer while you walk back and forth to ask for advice?

Just askin'. They don't allow beer out ON the pier.:barbershop_quartet_

I'll be making the trip back down in July. I know I can't bring beer but I've read where donuts are always welcomed! Looking forward to the trip back down. Hope to meet a few of you and catch a few fish! I'll try not to bring a week of rainfall like I did last year in August!

Donut, chili, cold cokes, oreo cookies. heck, we aint picky......

Haywire's idea of having smaller rigs for fishing is a great idea. People who catch more fish , will in turn equal more rentals. Surely a businessman should be aware of this. I'm not gonna go back to a car rental place that rents cars without tires. Yeah , sure , you can drive on rims but you'll soon stop. Just like the kids who are outfitted with rental equipment that could pull that car with no tires. They're gonna quit fishing. As a business owner , I would think that they would want happy customers. Or are they just after the out of towner?? Sad if that the case. Glad to hear that you got somewhat of a promising answer from the head guy. I'm from Ky , and I'll tell you , when I first started out fishing from the surf/pier , it was intimidating. This forum continues to be a must read for newbies and novices. We can learn a lot from each other and this forum is proof! Tight lines everybody , especially those kids renting equipment.

Yep. My mom and dad joined us on the pier during spring break this year and while my brother and I were fully outfitted, they had to rent gear. Mom hooked up quickly and after a brief fight, she asked me to take over. After a few turns of the handle, it completely snapped from the reel. She took it back to the bait shop to get replaced and she came back with something that I wouldn't even fish from the shore. BTW, we did land the fish by pulling the line in by hand!!

Haywire you're alright. I've enjoyed your fishing reports and the consideration you give to tourist. I'll be down that way next week and I hope to bump into you.