First trip to pier is history

My first, and hopefully not last, pier trip is history. I had fun and learned lots of new stuff.

We got into town the afternoon of the 7th, a bit too early to check in, so we walked out onto the pier to look. Saw several folks fishing and several blues being caught. Came back later that evening after dinner to fish myself. I had two jigs bit off a 20 lbs fluoro leader the first 3 cast I made. OK, time for a change. I tied on a steel leader and ended up catching 5 or 6 blues and 1 spanish. We had them for dinner the next evening. If you clean them well, blues are fine table fare, IMHO.

The 8th, I fished with Mr. Thornton. Every single good thing you read about Pier#r was mirrored in the time I spent with him. Anyone that wants to learn about the whole process of fishing the pier on a given day would do well to spend a day with Mr. Thornton. We caught 6 species of fish, by different methods, and he showed me how to try others at different times of the year. Thanks again David!

Fished the pier again the next day and caught more spanish and was given a couple blues. Again, dinner was great. I sprinkled the fish with blackened seasoning the brushed them with mayo, or rubbed them with olive oil and seasoned. Broil just unil done and enjoy.

Had an offshore trip Sunday. As a group we caught 4 amberjack, 1 bonito, several white and vermillion snapper and 4 scamp grouper. It was fun but expensive.

In hindsight, I would have been better off preparing smaller jigs. Most of the fish I caught were on 10lbs test. Crappie jigs would have been better than the bigger ones I had tied. Fish still hit the bigger jigs but I bet only 1 in 10 got hooked. It amazed me how fast a spanish can shred a rubber jig.

Made one quick trip through J&M. It is a neat place that I would like to visit again. I did pick up a Pier#r-ish looking fishing hat to keep the sun at bay. Found a few other had-to-haves as well.

Thanks to everyone for advice given here. I look forward to fishing the pier again. You guys that live there have a gem in your backyard.

Glad you had a good trip.

But I gotta ask, who in the world is Mr. Thornton???? :D

CarlF,

He is the one and only PIERPOUNDER!

pier#er on this forum.

I know, just jokin' around with David!

It won't hurt any of the youngsters that read this forum to see the word in print. Maybe they will use it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CarlF

Glad you had a good trip.

But I gotta ask, who in the world is Mr. Thornton???? :D

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LOL
Isn't he one of the (11) folks running for Joe Bonner's seat in Congress?
Daily Kos: AL-01: Two Democratic Candidates Running to Replace Former Rep. Jo Bonner#

Or is he the actor guy married to Cindi Lauper???
j/k (whew!)

Thanks for the accalades Kevin.
It was a large pleasure getting to meet you and your family and fish together.
So glad you had such a good time on the pier!

Attachment 850
Kevin with a 'keeper' barjack (banded rudderfish)

He was a quick study on different pier methods and tactics and soon drew a crowd watching him put a hurt on some whiting & ground mullet!
Attachment 851

I'm still waiting for the right day to put those jig heads to the test,
probably in about a month ;-)

Thanks again!
Mr. Thornton

I am really proud of how my old stomping grounds have not changed as far as the politeness and the willingness to assist others into having a productive day fishing. I gave away all the Spanish I caught one morning as I ahd plenty in the freezer. It was to a grandpa and his granddaughters from St. Louis...I am currently still a legal resident f SW Mo. but now that I have a granddaughter in Fairhope, I am probably going to rejoin the super folks in the LA area soon after trip to Nv. to see my first grandchild(boy) and they are expecting another in Dec...glad to be able to be there for these 2 births! thank you guys/gals for making this a place I still would not mind calling home!