Gulf Shores Trip - August - Gear Setup Question

Hello Everyone and thank you in advance for all of the posts and reports. I have been researching the proper setup for Pier VS Surf. Big Fish vs Small Fish. I have learned alot from past posts and the gulf shores saltwater podcast. However, my trip is in a few weeks and I wanted to show the forum my suggested gear. I want to target the following fish from Surf and Pier : Red fish, Trout, Pompano, Blue Fish, Flounder, Spanish Macks and King Macks. I also think it would be really cool to catch a shark from the surf.

1) 7' Med Action Rod/ Abu Garcia Ambassdor 5000.

• 30lb Braid
• Leader?
• Bottom Fish or Lure

2) 8' Heavy Rod/ Ambassdor 6500

• 20lb high vis Mono
• Bottom Fish or Lure (bubble rig on OCTI)
• Leader?

3) 6.6' St Croix Light/1000 Spinner

• 10lb mono
• Leader?
• Ideally my bait, flounder and redfish setup.

4) 7 FT Med/Heavy Rod/ Ambassdor 6500

• 20lb high vis mono
• Leader?

5) 10FT Surf Rod/Amassdor 6500

• 30lb high vis mono
• Leader?

My uncle lived in galveston, TX is whole life and he passed a few years ago. Leaving me all of his ocean fishing gear. He was a surf and pier fishers in TX. I want to make him proud. I plan on using bubble rigs, popping quirks, huge shad raps lures, and also pompano rigs. I have already invested heavily in tackle for this trip. I am in gulf shores for 6 days, but can only realistically fish 3 mornings and few evenings. (Family Commitments). I want to make the most of it. Like I said, I am planning on hitting up the pier and also surf fishing little lagoon pass. We are staying off of the little lagoon off of stanton creek and I plan to throw net bait and purchase live shrimp. Hopefully I can score a few croakers on my light setup in the shallows of the pier and cut those to target larger fish. Id love to get a spanish or a nice king.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all so much for helping this Missouri boy out!

Jeff

Welcome to the forum.

You may want to pick up a ribbon rig. 'Small mesh' for the smaller size LY's.
And of course a sabiki rig.

Good Luck!

From surf, that medium action rod with a 40# leader and a spoon will catch you Spanish, blues, ladyfish, and Jack species. I always enjoy wading out to the bar on calm days and casting a simple spoon.

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Originally Posted by Mattb

From surf, that medium action rod with a 40# leader and a spoon will catch you Spanish, blues, ladyfish, and Jack species. I always enjoy wading out to the bar on calm days and casting a simple spoon.

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I agree. That’s my setup as well.

Thanks for the tip. I am not getting alot feedback, so I assume it looks okay. Why such a heavy leader? I have steel, but everything I ready says not to use it. I just bought some 40lb fluro leader. Should i put this on all of my setups, but my light setup?

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Originally Posted by JeffPolys

Thanks for the tip. I am not getting alot feedback, so I assume it looks okay. Why such a heavy leader? I have steel, but everything I ready says not to use it. I just bought some 40lb fluro leader. Should i put this on all of my setups, but my light setup?

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40 pound leader works for those line cutters/fray-specialists like blues and ladyfish, while providing a little extra protection against jacks and reds. Yeah, the 40 pound fluorocarbon is what I use if blues are around. If I know it's going to be just redfish, I go down to 30 pound leader. For my "light setups", I go with 12 pound fluorocarbon leader. Except in the clearest water, trout, whiting, and pompano don't have a problem with it.

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Originally Posted by JeffPolys

Thanks for the tip. I am not getting alot feedback, so I assume it looks okay. Why such a heavy leader? I have steel, but everything I ready says not to use it. I just bought some 40lb fluro leader. Should i put this on all of my setups, but my light setup?

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I am simply too lazy to target sharks so I can't help you there. Most anything you catch from the beach or pier(north of the mid section) is going to be less than 5lbs with the exception of an occasional big redfish or black drum and maybe a big stingray. Most everything that I want to catch, keep and eat has very good eyesight and is line-leader shy, especially when the water is pretty and clear (think Eastern Wild Turkey and pronghorn). 10-12 clear or fluorocarbon line/leader is sufficient. Bluefish and Spanish will cut it easily but I seldom catch Spanish from the beach. If I keep getting cut off in the surf I move. Be sure to rinse your reels with tap water at the end of the day. The #2 setup you listed is what I would use for kings with a steel 30# single strand camo uncoated wire leader. Size #10 black ss swivel and VMC #2 4x strong bronze treble hook with haywire twist connections. Not sure how the hi-vis mono will work out. Looks like it would make a big king nervous as a stray dog crapping a pork chop bone. I use braid and a top shot of 15lb Seaguar fluorocarbon. You will need at least 200 yards of line-250 for a bigger fish. Your #3 setup will be fine for flounder, slot reds, pompano and specks. I don't see a setup on your list that I would want to use for Spanish. You will be making hundreds of casts in rapid succession throwing got-cha plugs, looney jigs and bubble rigs. I prefer a 7' medium heavy-light weight graphite rod with a 2000-3000 size spinning reel with 10-12lb clear mono with 50lb cheap Walmart clear mono leader.

I will be with my father who has a few 2000-3000 size spinning reels. Thank you for the tips. I really could care less about trophy fish, I just want dinner for a few nights and meat in the cooler. Bigger fish, usually mean more filets. I will likely use Pompano rigs on my MED/Light and Light setups. Knowing if I get a big fish on my 1000 reel that I could very well get spooled. I am thinking of putting my 30lb braid on my #4 setup too, backing it with 25lb mono. This would be a little closer to your ideal spanish setup. I mostly just want to target anything I can catch and put in the trager. Thanks again for all of the tips and I will continue my research.

Just remember Jeff, any fish you hook in the salt water is going to fight longer and harder than anything you have ever caught in freshwater. Even the small 2-3# bluefish will rip drag. I thought my 7' M w/ 20# Suffix braid and 20# fluro leader was going to "enough" from the beach when I was down there a couple years ago. Well....one morning I was casting a 3/4oz Hopkins out into the abyss and won't ya' know, a big 'ole "thump!" and in about 15 seconds I was spooled with my 2500 Series Pflueger President. I needed more line capacity and a heavier/longer rod. Picked up a Penn combo later that day at J & M. Of course, I never hooked into anything like that the rest of the week, but had it happened I was ready.

Lord knows what it was that stole my Hopkins spoon from me that day, but it ended up with about 150 yards of braid and a big guy with a bad farmer tan and not enough sunscreen screaming at it from the beach....

Lol- i can add a story to that one. Before the new pier was built and after the original was pretty much destroyed by the hurricane- i took my younger brother on a gulf surf trip. Knowing him the way that I do, i didnt want to risk any of my good tackle so i picked up two or three of the largedt plastic shakespear spinning reels that i could find and spooled 2 with the the heaviest mono that i had laying around (50 lb) and the other with 20 lb. Our first day there i set him up casting at bait schools while standing knee deep in the surf. After 15 minutes of casting i hear the drag running like crazy his cheap plastic reel and i look over so see him reeling furiously against the drag, rod bent over. I laughed and told him not to reel until he coukd actually reel in the line, and to crank the drag tighter. He says "ive got something huge, and its just going out!" He hands me the rod and i tightened the drag all the way. Sure enough, whatever took his jig is easily stripping line with the drag locked down all the way. We chased whatever it was down the beach about a half mile but never did manage to slow it or even turn it. My knife was in my tackle bag a long ways away and i ended up wrapping the 50 lb mono around my sandal to stop the fish or break the line. The line cut half way through my sandal before it finally broke from the tension that whatever fish was putting on it. Never even got a look atthe fish, but it just goes to show you that anything is possible while surf fishing.
It helps to make sure that your line weight and drag are appropriate for whatever you might be targeting that day... Lol

Thanks for the tip. I will be using my 6500 with 300 yards of line on a 8ft rod. I cannot imagine how hard my heart will beat once I start hearing that ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I bought a 40# Flurocarbon leader. I'll likely use live bait and use my 5000 to throw spoons and bubble rigs. My poor 1000 reel will be reserved for the lagoon. 10# mono might catch bait, flounder or slot reds. That all being said, I am bringing extra line and tackle. :) Thanks for the tips!

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Originally Posted by JeffPolys

Thanks for the tip. I will be using my 6500 with 300 yards of line on a 8ft rod. I cannot imagine how hard my heart will beat once I start hearing that ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I bought a 40# Flurocarbon leader. I'll likely use live bait and use my 5000 to throw spoons and bubble rigs. My poor 1000 reel will be reserved for the lagoon. 10# mono might catch bait, flounder or slot reds. That all being said, I am bringing extra line and tackle. :) Thanks for the tips!

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if you use a 40 lbs fluro leader and a king hits it , your line will be cut through most likely

So steel leaders only for King? I've read alot of people doing it both ways. I really think focusing on fish other than King, might be my goal. The king seems to be a off and on fish. I'd like to target something with more certainty. Like Spanish, Red Fish, Pompano, Whiting, and blue fish. Don't get me wrong, a king off the OCT would be life changing, but I am fishing the pier only for 1 day and I only have 4-5 hours to fish it. Other than that, I will be surf fishing and kayak fishing little lagoon almost every morning. Fish bites, live/dead fresh shrimp, and bull minnows can all be purchased. I'll try to catch my own bait from our dock on little lagoon. Prehaps catch a lady fish and put it on a steel leader for a shark. My nephews (12 & 10) cannot stop talking about that. We will have fun. Thanks for all of the tips!

If I were you (and if i had the time) i'd go surf fishing early casting lures. As the sun came up I'd look for cuts in the bar and beach. I'd probably put out a bait rod with shrimp or fishbites too. Stay mobile and you'll probably find the fish. I'd try the surf at least once. I like the pier but it limits you to its area, and becomes more limiting as it gets crowded. All well and good if you happen to be where the fish are, but when there's a crowd around the fish and you're somewhere else... Lol. Well it happens.

Any update? Would love to hear a report

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Originally Posted by willfish

Any update? Would love to hear a report

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If you have joined the pier forum (upper right corner) you will find daily reports in the section designated for them. There are some real good folks who let us know what they did every time they are out there. Sometimes they are busy fishing and don't post a report until the end of the day. When you come down, we'd love to hear a report of how you did.

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Originally Posted by willfish

Any update? Would love to hear a report

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Are you asking specifically about the status of JeffPolys' August trip? Or about the status of fishing on the pier in general?