Fishing techniques for the Ft. Morgan pier

I had some security work at the Plaza West Grocery yesterday so I took some equipment with me to try the Ft. Morgan pier out for my 1st time. I caught a small redfish and a couple small flounder on a gulp shrimp on a jighead. I did notice some people catching some flounder and mangrove snapper with bull minnows straight down next to the pier. I would like to take my girlfriend somewhere where we can catch something other than these pesky catfish that we always catch. Would it be worth trying to bring some bull minnows out there to try to catch some flounder and or the mangrove snapper? Also are there other fish that we could target there as well such as redfish, jack crevale, specks, etc?

Thanks,

David

Absolutely Dave! :yippee:
A live pogie, mullet or pinfish on a trolly rig straight out front would be hard for a jack crevelle to resist.
Flounder is the most likely 'good' catch from there this time of year though.
Like you saw the Gulp shrimp is a good lure and bull minnows are standard live bait.
You can also catch them on finger mullet and those 3" spot croakers that are easily caught with a castnet.
Mangrove snappers and rat reds will eat them too.
For the specks you can try drifting the smaller live pogies or finger mullet,
but I've better luck with them walking the beach casting lures.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info on this. What is a pogie and can I catch those or a finger mullet on a sabiki rig or just a small baited hook, Also what is a trolly rig, just drifting a live bait? Is there a certain size hook I should use for the flounder and what type of rig for the flounder, should I fish on bottom or just off the bottom for the flounder?

Thanks again,

David

Pogie is another name for menhaden. Here's a picture of one.
[img width=475 height=265]http://www.vims.edu/research/units/projects/menhaden/_photosets/menhaden/menhaden.jpg[/img]
I have caught very few pogies on a sabiki and have seen larger mullet caught on a hook using bread as bait. A cast net is at least a 1000 times more productive at catching either of these two baits.

Trolly rigs are two line or two rod live bait set ups. One rod is the anchor and the other is the one you actually fish with and it has the bait attached to it. On the Atlantic coast the second rod is referred to as the fighting rod. The anchor is cast out without any concern of slinging off the bait. Then the bait is attached to the anchor line, with a device that allows it to slide or trolly down the anchor line and allows for the bait line to release from the anchor line when a fish strikes. Trolly rigs let you deploy delicate or light baits a good distance. They also keep the bait at a desired depth which is usually at the surface and it keeps most or all of the terminal tackle out of the water, so the fish can't detect it.

As far as flounder are concerned, I'm assuming you are asking about live bait. I'd suggest a Carolina rig with a #6 treble or #2 J hook.

Thanks for the pic of the pogie, I'm lost on the two rod trolly rig though. When you say fish a Carolina rig for the flounder, do I fish it the sane way as for bass where I would cast it out in front of the pier and work it back by dragging along the bottom? I thought flounder were more prone to be around structure like the pier post.

Drag it close and parallel to the pier. They do hang close to structures, waiting on easy meals to fall their way.