End of April/Early May trip?

After postponing our trip to Gulf Shores several times, it finally looks like the last weekend in April is going to work out. I've fished from the beach a few times before but only managed ladyfish (I think) and a few hardhead cats. The supposed ladyfish were fun on light tackle, they were in the air more than they were in the water.

I'm hoping to be better prepared this time and fish from the pier as well as the surf. What Spinning gear/lures/should I plan on bringing? Hoping catch spanish, blues and maybe a king from the pier; not sure what to expect in the surf besides whiting. I've got a medium 7' rod and a med heavy 9' rod, reels with 10, 12, and 17lb mono. Hoping these two rods will suffice, limited budget and limited space in the car. I realize this is a very broad question and I've done some reading on the forum. I guess I'm just hoping for some last minute advice. Thank you in advance!

My best advice is for you to get several lures, swivels and leader material for spanish from J & M Tackle* when you get to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach. Fish for whiting in the surf, but you may catch pompano and black drum, too, with a Carolina rig and a small hook, baited with an extremely fresh shrimp piece, peeled. I use live shrimp and the ones that show signs of lethargy go on the hook first (usually about half a shrimp) for skinny water fish. For spanish, I like a silver Gotcha with a red head. Many times, though, white or gold work, too. Get several of them because you'll lose some to cut-offs and likely some to sharks.

Make sure that you check the REPORTS page here in the days right before your trip. You may get a better idea of what's biting.

*If you haven't been to J & M before, just get the directions from mapquest/google maps using the address from the advertisement at the top right of this page. It's about 12 minutes or so from the pier, depending on traffic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by eym_sirius

My best advice is for you to get several lures, swivels and leader material for spanish from J & M Tackle* when you get to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach. Fish for whiting in the surf, but you may catch pompano and black drum, too, with a Carolina rig and a small hook, baited with an extremely fresh shrimp piece, peeled. I use live shrimp and the ones that show signs of lethargy go on the hook first (usually about half a shrimp) for skinny water fish. For spanish, I like a silver Gotcha with a red head. Many times, though, white or gold work, too. Get several of them because you'll lose some to cut-offs and likely some to sharks.

Make sure that you check the REPORTS page here in the days right before your trip. You may get a better idea of what's biting.

*If you haven't been to J & M before, just get the directions from mapquest/google maps using the address from the advertisement at the top right of this page. It's about 12 minutes or so from the pier, depending on traffic.

---

what size gotchas work the best for you?

The ones I've used are 3 inch I think. Get a few different colors. I was there last year using a gold one and got maybe 1 hit every 45 minutes or so...while people around me using silver would be pulling in fish every 5 minutes. Some people put clear nail polish on them as well because the teeth tend to chip the paint. Or you can just go back over them with paint sometime later.

Miky ds straw slipped over some 50#mono no.1 bubble cork and treble hook work wonders and alot cheaper on poket book........i just like to b different...been on pier since i was 8 heck i still even like the dying art of trolley fishing...lol but gotchas work very well......

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by fordguy

what size gotchas work the best for you?

---

The one that I use is about 3 inches and it's the skinnier one. I'm not sure, when they're biting well, if it makes much difference. When big spanish are in and schoolie kings are around, too, I'll opt for a bigger one, maybe 3 1/2 or 4 inches long, in white.