Piers can be a great place to fish because they often attract an entire ecosystem. You can catch many different types of fish in saltwater canals or docks. Here are some of our best tips for saltwater pier fishing marathon fishing charters.
DETERMINE YOUR IDEAL CATCH
First, decide what you want to fish for. Of course, you may end up fishing for other things, but you can set your techniques for a specific fish.
For example, spotted bass travel in schools, so if you find one, you'll likely find many more. Flounders take longer to recover and you have to bring the bait closer to the bottom. Groupers are found in the deeper docks and can be huge. Redfish are found on the bottom, like flounder, and move more, so they can be difficult to locate. If you want a fishing challenge, try bass fishing. Snook are feisty and will often swim toward structure once they are hooked.
Once you determine your ideal catch, do some research to find out the best way to find it.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT BAIT
Different types of fish respond to different types of bait. Live shrimp are often considered the most versatile type of bait.
For example, redfish prefer baits such as live shrimp, crabs or mullet, while bass like live pine and white baits. Groupers are not very picky and eat minnows, mullet or other types of small fish. Bass and flounder favor live shrimp or white bait.
EVALUATE THE CURRENTS
Make sure you can evaluate the currents to use them to your advantage. Ambush feeding fish lie with their heads toward the tide, so with this in mind you can head to the downcurrent side of a dock. You can cast against the current and swim the bait parallel to the dock. You can use the current to move the bait closer to the pillars, where there are likely to be plenty of fish.
USE THE CORRECT GEAR
An example of good gear would be 20 pound braided line with a 30 pound leader and a 7-8 foot medium or heavy rod. You'll want to keep the bait close to the bottom, so you'll need plenty of weight for most saltwater catches.
Some of the best lures for redfish, flounder, and snook are shrimp or mullet. If you want to fish for grouper, you will need heavy equipment because some grouper can weigh more than 15 kilos. Deep diving lures are good for grouper. Use a float to fish for bass.
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS
You can learn a lot about where and when to fish just by observing. If there is little or no water under the pier at low tide, it is not a good place to fish. The best piers for fishing will have barnacles and mussels growing around the piers. These creatures usually mean that there will also be fish in the area. Different water depths tend to hold different types of fish, so do a little more research if you want to catch something specific. Be careful when fishing near pilings, as your line could snag on something and break. If there is a lot of debris under the dock, you may have trouble fishing there without your line getting caught on something.