should i fish straight down or cast out away from pier

im new to this guys thanks for the help

Depends on what you're fishing for.
Some species, e.g. Flounder, you'd be good fishing under the pier and around/in between the pilings.
The same would not be true for Kings.

What do you want to target?

I've caught speckled trout fishing straight down in the shallows, and that's where the flounder are, but most other fish are caught casting out so you cover more water.

Depends what you want flounder can be caught straight under or out a ways same with reds specks and snapper or if you enjoy the sabiki way of life fish straight down. If fishing for kings throw out

One note: even for kings, you don't really need to cast a mile. I've hooked (and choked :( ) more kings within 30 yards of the pier than way out at the end of a long cast.

I saw a guy fishing a large sabiki just off the octi and snagged a couple Spanish. Is this routinely successful and, if so, is this considered bush league?

I have seen some Big Kings hooked straight down and also a few cobia But only with Live Bait If you are snobbling a cig you need to cast