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anybody ever fish the fairhope pier mainly in the summer cause i live close to it and just never tried to fish it. ive heard rumors that you can catch spanish,jacks,sharks,and reds i could see about the reds and sharks but can you really catch spanish and jacks? thanks, kingkiller
Yes, you can catch both Spanish and Jacks but it all depends on the weather. I wouldn't bet on either until later in the summer.
ok thanks, i figured they wouldnt be in their until later.
I am one of the biggest regulars down there, every week, multiple times a week, and yes, if you get there around 5-6am, throw a mullet net (ONLY A MULLET NET, if not you'll be picking out LYs for hours!) and fish 3-4 rods on the bottom with 3-6oz weights depending on your rods ( I'd only use a 6oz on a stiff casting rod, exp. 6'6'' penn slammer rod, I like my jigmaster on mine), live or dead whole LYs or large chunks of mullet, and a balloon, with a live LY or a live mullet, the balloon shoud be farly close to the pier (10-20yds) unless you see jacks busting the surface further out, then try to get it out to them, also, bring a 2oz surf spoon or a tuna popper on a really heavy rod, if you have a good one, use your ling rod, thats for when a big school comes through, and they do all time. Spanish are VERY few, don't count on them, and reds are more plentiful the fall and winter, but you can still catch them in the summer, but use heavy rods for those jacks, I used my king rod once with 15lb and fought it for 45 mins and killed it, didn't mean to, but I did, ( turned out to be a 38.4lb jack) hope this helps
the spanish don't happened very often I've caught a few with cut bait or dead shrimp while fishing for white trout.. tried with jigs and gotchas never had any luck then :confused: but I've sometimes caught white trout and some undersized specks on jigs. remember one time we tore em up (white trout) there were over a 150 caught that day between about 6 or 7 people but that only happened once so don't expect it.
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Originally Posted by rodbuilderESM
can you catch sharks and jacks this time of year down there rodbuilder
Its alittle early, sharks soon, maby another month, jacks will be few and far between till the LYs come in really thick, probly another month or two, they don't really pick up till late summer, but you can catch a good bit during the early summer, now remember, they don't fight like they do at the GSpier, don't know why, but they don't, they like to go north when they hit, and fight harder than cobia ever dreamed (not including anything 60lb+) and they will pull with everthing they are worth to try to get under the pier and cut you off, I've had them break 40lb mono and 80lb braid, not fraid, but I've seen them break 100lb braid, normally your ok with 20-25 mono (lightest) but don't be to upset if they break it, I wouldn't recomend skimping on your line either, get something that will be farily abraition resistent, use a 1' leader with about a 3-4' shock leader, you might want to go up to a 5' on your balloon rig, those tails will cut you off cker than those pilings will, use either 50-60lb floro or 80-100lb mono for leader and a size 6 or 7 circle hook
I used to fish there once in a while in the fall for a couple hours before school. The jacks would be pretty reliable at times. Usually it was easy to catch gulf menhaden or mullet for bait. I used typical king mackerel type stuff to catch them. Most people used sinkers but corks or freelining could work too. Just a side note, if a jack breaks 80 or 100 pound anything, you have frays or a bad knot. Physics, man.
I'll give you it might have been a bad knot, (I was new to braid at the time) but I always check for frays, and it wasn't
I have to disagree a little with the jacks. I have only had one cut me off on a piling. All the jacks I have caught have been on my king setup with 16# test with no problems(a few 25 lbers whooped in about 15 min or less.) Just my 2 cents.
Probably a bad knot or underwater structure. I was holding on for dear life on my Stella when the line is peeling off at 40# of drag.
The only time I have touble with them on the heavier takle I use is when you get up and down with them, thats why I started using boat rods from the pier, learning how to cast them with a 6oz is farly easy, but it does take some practice, 30lb mono is my favorite
I caught a few black drum there in september and october. its right near home so i go check it out fairly often, havent seen much recently but the sharks and jacks should start moving in in the next month or so
Iv caught both jacks and spanish there in the same day while the only person on the pier on a gotcha.
3 oversized reds caught on the pier friday night and saturday morning.
Jacks will be there soon, the bait is here, and marshal said he saw thousands headed west, getting my popper ready!