Non Locals/Tourists

OK.....so what do the regulars really think of out of state/tourists when it comes to fishing the Pier? I've been met with nothing but mostly positive feedback from this forum as far as help.....but that being said! I know as far as where I live there is some resentment to non local/out of state people, although the mass majority of people up here appreciate the extra income tourists provide to the community and go out of their way to offer help, even offering up their best fishing advice. Just curious.....

I can't answer for the locals but I have never felt anything but welcome from the folks I have met.

No tourist would mean no pier.

Nobody likes it when the pier gets so crowded that it's like casting through a chain link fence, but I've sure made a lot of good friends from out of town.

I say that I'd like to have the pier to myself except for somebody to gaff fish for me, but the camaraderie and B.S. that goes on among the fisherpeople is one of the attractions of the place. We help each other---tourists and locals, all.

HAHA the stuff i read on here :crap

I havent been on the forumn for very long, but I can say that I am impressed with the help and info I have recieved. I have been to other forumns where members almost eat you alive for asking a question.

Well, all I can say is I liked the people and the place so much... I live here now. And without tourist types, John is right. There would be no pier.

I sure hope my self esteem don't take a hit....:p

southern hospitality at it's finest!!!! that I always heard about and then witnessed and enjoy, I believe if you treat people well(as you would like to be treated) that will come back your way....not by all, but most....just never forget, this is there home and we are visitors....even though we pay to play, so do they and make the pier and surroundings what it is for us to enjoy for a brief moment in time....

I for the most part have enjoyed all the piers I have fished over the years,some more then others, but that was the people there....always try to be helpful and respectful ....look, listen, and take advice.... most are trying to help, it makes the rail & catching better for all....from a googan,yankee, touron .....can't wait for my next trip and a move in the future

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Originally Posted by salt_water_guy

HAHA the stuff i read on here :crap

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:crap im with you lol

If you've never had road rage, take a drive through GS/OB/Foley during the winter months!

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Originally Posted by salt_water_guy

HAHA the stuff i read on here :crap

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Alright so what do you mean by that comment.....lol.

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Originally Posted by BDL1969

Alright so what do you mean by that comment.....lol.

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If Wilson had his way, no one that lived more than 10 miles from the pier would be allowed.
:deadhorse

Most of the locals are not native. They were people that visited the area,liked it and moved down. When I was growing up there were no schools on the island,we went to Foley. If I had to bet,there are more kids in kindergarden in the two schools than there were total island students in the early '80s. The first large transplant of people came after hurricane Fredrick during the condo boom. How did my family end up here? My grandparents were from Italy,ended up in NY city had two sons and when my dad was of age joined the navy and was stationed at Barron Field in Foley. He told my mom how great it was down here so she moved. So I guess you could have called my parents out of towners in 1956.

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Originally Posted by BDL1969

Alright so what do you mean by that comment.....lol.

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Just funny its a 50/50 answer that will never end...as long as i got no one messing up my fishing or tangled up im good lol if i had to Bit$h about anything its the traffic on canal rd going to the pier lol

only way to tell for sure there local is a high school class ring lol :D got mine from Robertsdale class of 2001 lol Hell im ready for tourist that means FISH ARE HERE!!! And Women :p

Oh yea,speeking of traffic, road construction is taking place from The Warf eastward to Hwy 161. They are doing it during the day time for now and will switch to nights on March 1st. Things will be bad enough with spring break going on, this will just add to the cluster.

Fort the most part the locals I have met are great people willing to help net or gaff a fish, give you fishing tips, or just have a friendly conversation. The only exception is the anti social inbreed that cursed and had a fit when I was fishing the end of the octi and not moving around the rail fast enough to suit him. He could have just as easily asked to go over my line rather than act a fool. The other one is a loudmouth blowhard who barks out orders like he owns the pier. I don't see him there anymore. Everyone else is good as gold and seem to put up with my googanish ways.

one thing I will add....if you make a mess.... clean it up....put your cut off line in the trash and if any other laying around pick it up too....I see many regulars on the way out stop and clean up the mess the night crew left behind,trash,paper,line if you use the cleaning tables, leave it better then you found it, don't leave it for the next guy.....
we all could use a little bend over practice, for our over sized mid section(bellies)

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Originally Posted by PurpleNGold

If you've never had road rage, take a drive through GS/OB/Foley during the winter months!

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When I get rich I'm gonna move to Ohio and drive around all day 35mph in the left lane with my right turn signal on while looking out my left window and talking on my cell phone.

i heard it was a bike path john

Well, my great great great grandfather was born in Alabama in 1830, so I guess that gives me pretty deep roots here

I don't mind the tourists, I'm not a local, the only ones I don't care for are the ones that tangle me up and when I try to give them pointers, they seem to be mad at me...go figure haha.

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Originally Posted by salt_water_guy

only way to tell for sure there local is a high school class ring lol :D got mine from Robertsdale class of 2001 lol Hell im ready for tourist that means FISH ARE HERE!!! And Women :p

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I have a cousin who lives in Loxley, her kids go to school at Robertsdale. She works at Bass Pro in Spanish Fort.....that almost makes me a local! LOL!

Im with you on keeping the pier clean Ironman.I talked to Randy when we had the meeting a couple weeks ago and gave him an idea that he said sounded good to him.I don't want to be a cleanup man for anybody else but sometimes it just looks like thats better than getting everybody mad at you for caring.My idea was to at a couple times a day say 10 and 4 for everyone to just take a few minutes and cleanup.we could keep the pier clean and everyone could look around and see the people that really care.Just a thought what does everbody think?

I like your idea, so don't take this the wrong way Robert. I think it would be easier however to just make sure people know what's expected of them and enforce it. From my point of view (being a tourist) I would never go into someone else's home and trash it. Expecting the "regulars" to stop fishing at certain times of the day to clean up after the tourists doesn't seem right. Like I "TRY" to tell my kids, clean up after yourself!

I do it as the day goes on, hard to walk by something on the deck and ignore it for me....but not all feel that way and that is fine(well not really) Heck I have quit fishing and hose the blood off the deck before when the bite was on and kings coming over the rail....I got a few looks, maybe because they got slashed a little, but better then bust your butt on the slippery blood.....
I will say in my observations the older guys are the clean up crew and the younger....well they don't care as much(most anyway) on the end ....with all the trash cans around you don't have to walk very far to use them.
Norm is one I have watched and help clean up on the way out in the mornings
some people might think, it is the employees job to clean up, they paid there money let someone else do it....it is a never ending thing and most likely, always will be....
the rules aren't followed, let alone enforced....especially at night

I was glad to see the employees (2 older guys) going around digging up the hooks and stuff in between the wood plank...I can't believe anyone would knowingly drop and not recover any kind of hook on the deck....for some child to imbed it in there foot...and that has happened to many times the few times I am there....common sense goes a long way

Please don't take this as complaining
I love the pier and people, not all of us feel the same way about certain things on it

Well said Bill

I like your idea of enforcing the rules but I sure don't want any fights on the pier from somebody being told they were a slob and to clean up there mess.Hell we love Gulf Shores and the pier so much I bought a house there and James moved there .I plan on trying to be there alot more in the future.Right now Im enjoying babysitting my granddaughter and got a grandson coming in 3 weeks.Hope to see all of you soon Ill be wearing my Thompson Tractor hat come by and say hello.

I really wasn't referring us to enforce rules..... unless you know someone well enough to mention it....just walking over for me and making sure they see me pick up their trash, maybe next time they might consider doing it them selves no big deal for me, just the way I was raised like opening up doors for women and the elderly (older then me 57) it has become a dog eat dog world unfortunately anymore and no reason a few kind acts might start the trend, back to when I was being raised many years ago.....I can't say I am innocent by any means over the years..... but never to late to start a trend (to treat others as you would want to be treated) or even better
sorry for the rant

I grew up in Mobile and lived on the island in the 80's so even though I now live in WV, I still consider myself a local when I'm down there. After fishing the old pier untold hours and the new pier a few, I think behavior dictates how you're treated. If you're respectful of others and the pier in general you will usually find everyone very friendly regardless of where you live. Of course, there are always exceptions!

Many hands make for light work.

This is my 3rd trip to Gulf Shores, 3rd time fishing off this pier this week. I have to say, I've met nothing but nice friendly folk here. I read some of the posts about ppl leaving trash or a fishy mess, I agree that it would be a pain to have to deal with that, and I guess the regulars would be the ones to see a mess left by some ppl. I'm 60 yrs old and I DO think it's important for ppl to clean up their mess, and I've cleaned up my share of other's mess. What I'm getting at here is, I've seen a lot of good folks doing more than their share, and while they should only have to clean up their own mess, it really shows some good character taking it upon themselves to make this pier like it's their own, and that's something to be proud of. I had the opportunity to speak with a couple friendly locals here and it made my experience that much nicer. I plan on going out on the pier once more, tomorrow I head back to Hamilton, Ohio. Also, thanks to the pier office for refunding money back to me as I only had a $10 Bill to pay in the honor system the other day. Thanks for a nice place to go fishing !

Welcome aboard the board Scudderd!

Thanks for the kind comments, and I wish I'd been one of the nice locals to meet you, but I haven't been on the pier to fish for several days. Glad to hear you've had as good an experience as I usually have on the pier. There are a whole bunch of real nice people who are regulars. As a matter of fact, I met a man today who was telling me how much Elaina helped him with fishing techniques. "That lady really knows what she's doing," he said. "I though I knew a lot, but she showed me some new things that helped me catch fish." Yep, I've seen Elaina doing that for a lot of people---she pays it forward and sets a good example, and she's by no means the only one. Keep coming back, scudderd, and become one of the pier family.

Me, I try to leave the pier better than I found it, even if it only means getting rid of Haywire at the end of the day. There are lots of other folks who do the same---some take trash, some leave knowledge.

When I finally get to come back,,I am gonna reel my old 302 backwards on top of the rod! If anybody offers help or suggestions gonna act like I have done it this way all my life,,,,Till a bull hits then the bs must end,,,kidding aside,my only visit so far several people were very helpful,,right down to how and where to sidehook an LY. nice buncha folks,,

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Originally Posted by mandmalabama

Well, all I can say is I liked the people and the place so much... I live here now. And without tourist types, John is right. There would be no pier.

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Not only would there be not a pier ,but there would be few condos ,restaurants,bait and tackle shops ,charters ,libraries,souvenir shops , construction , roadwork and repair and the list goes on ,because the fact is that there are not enough just locals in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for a tax base to support the businesses its economy it now enjoys . The two towns are literally build from the wallets of tourist . No offense meant . Just saying .

the locals sure do have a lot of patients with all the visitors, very much appreciated by me and most of the other tourist that frequent the pier....sharing your paradise with strangers in the beginning, is a blessing for me....I just love it....sure would get crowded if we all lived down that way, so for now stuck in central Ohio

As my wife and I come down throughout the year, and for a longer stay during the summer, I have never felt unwelcome at the pier. I fish mostly near the mid bathrooms for drum, some reds and flounder, and I always meet helpful people and have a great time. The forum has been a great place for me to learn new stuff as well. Thanks to all the locals at the pier for being willing to let us invade your turf.

My wife and I have been to the pier several times over the last couple of years and have never felt unwelcome. I can't remember names but I've had several of the local folks help me out with info on gear, rigging and baits that allowed may wife an I to land some of the biggest fish we've ever caught. Some of the best times I've ever had fishing. Even had a couple of guys give me some hooks and swivels after my bass fishing gear failed. I really appreciated that. Hope I can pay it back someday.