Bigwave916 Loc: NC

Hello fellow pier fishers. I've got a couple of questions on things I've thought of (tried some) and I'm just wondering what your thoughts might be if you were fishing beside me and saw what was going on. To start off I'll tell you that I've fished NC piers at Oak Island (Yaupon) and also Johnnie Mercers at Wrightsville.

Folks around here fish mostly Carolina Rigs (2 hook bottom w/ 4 oz. sinker) baited with fresh shrimp. I tried frozen that they sell at the pier and that didn't really work for me. Never tried fresh, but they say that's what works.

I've always thought that live bait was the way to go so I bought one of those fish traps and put some shrimp flavored bait (Cabelas) in it and got nothing after an hour or so. Not much use to me because I can't waste 2 -3 hours trying to catch bait.

I picked up some Fish Bites, bloodworm flavor, and had some success. Puffers and Spots seem to like them, but I still couldn't put enough fish in the cooler to get fish dinner for two together.

I found Sabiki rigs at the local bait shop and I thought now that's the ticket, I'll just fish for bait with a six hook rig with flies tied on every little hook. I caught an undersized trout and a few spots, but I wasn't pulling up bait fish six on every cast like some of the YouTube videos show.

I found some chum bags on the internet and I was going to try one. I had a spool of old mono 8 lb test, so I thought that would hold the bag right under me at the pier. I secured the line to the bag and while getting set up for the day of fishing, I had my daughter drop it in and tie it to the lower railing of the pier. She managed to drop spool and all into the water and I wondered most of the day about the lucky bastard that snagged that mess. A little later in the day I got the answer to that question when one of the crazy acting hot shot teenagers on the pier snagged it. I felt bad about it, but not as bad if one of the nicer, more hospitable folks on the pier got tangled in my mess. Fish were biting near us that day, can't say it was my chum bag, or not.

I've still got a couple of options. Buy live bait from the bait shop on my way to the pier, or have someone catch a bunch of sand fleas for me.

So what do you think of:

* Sabiki rigs for bait fishing?

* Fish traps for bait fishing?

* Chumming off the pier?

* Live bait vs. cut bait?

alfrmtn Loc: East TN

Never had much luck myself. Last trip to Myrtle Beech, only get to go once a year as I live in East TN, I tried the Sabiki rig at Indian something pier and actually did pretty good with it. Used I call em saltwater bluegill, pilcher maybe, and hooked into couple dang stingray... was fun for bout 1 min or so at least. Did throw a spoon with a swim jig on it and caught bunch of ribbon fish. Bear in mind, this is probably the best trip I have had in the 10 year I have been goin but I learn a little more every time I go. Plus been watching a lot of YouTube. Gonna try the sand flea thing and my Sabiki again this year and see what I can turn up. Tip your Sabiki with some shrimp or the fish bites may work little better. Good luck and I will be following this for some good info...

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Welcome to the Forum, Bigwave. In answer to your questions (MHO). Sabiki rigs work well for baitfish but the baitfish have to be there for you to catch them. They are usually on the shallow end of the pier and you can usually see them if they are there. I have never used fish traps to catch bait, I usually use live shrimp which I buy. I have never chummed. I prefer live bait over cut bait but I will throw a rod out with cut bait on it. I hope this helps but it is only my opinion.

Bigwave916 Loc: NC

Thanks for your input. I have a couple of different sized Sabiki rigs to try. I was using a #14, but I'm dropping down to a size 4. The smaller hooks may help me catch a few of the bait stealers. I'm using the Fish Bites and I'm starting to believe in those. Nice thing is they cant yank it off the hook since it is form around a mesh material. With those little hooks I should be able to pinch it on there so the little guys have to bit the hook not just chew around the edges. The bait eventually dissolves but lasts a long time if you can keep them from chewing it off.

People here also fish for mackerel and blue fish using Gotcha Plugs. I tried it but got no hits on mine. I noticed a crowd down the pier, must have been 30 fools, looked like they were elbow-to-elbow. One guy just couldn't toss his out without reeling in a Spanish mackeral and a blue. Most all were using the gold with red or the chrome with red. That many people can't be wrong. Plugging gets old real quick when they aren't biting though.

troyfrd1 Loc: Hampstead,NC

Where in nc

troyfrd1 Loc: Hampstead,NC

I was and have been to surf city and sea view piers lately In Hampstead about 10 minutes from the new bridge

audigger53 Loc: Severn, MD

People here also fish for mackerel and blue fish using Gotcha Plugs.

Bought my first one back in 1973. Still have it and it still works on Blues and Sea Trout. Need to try them on Stripers. When a school comes through it doesn't matter what you are using, They bite.

Bigwave916 Loc: NC

NC piers at Oak Island (Yaupon) and also Johnnie Mercers at Wrightsville.

troyfrd1 Loc: Hampstead,NC

I am pretty close to all of those all within driving range

Bigwave916 Loc: NC

Made it out to Yaupon pier on Oak Island on Thursday with my buddy John. John got his first saltwater catch. The thing was gut hooked so deep that I found the hook behind his gills when I cut him up for bait. That's a story for another time.

This trip I made second attempt at using a chum bag. We were all catching fish so maybe it was the bag i deployed when we first got there, or they were just there and the chum bag was unnecessary. I don't know for sure. Unless I get a string of bad days, I doubt I will use one again.

Sabiki rigs are nice. I can imagine casting one of those into a ball of bait fish and dragging out a mess of fish. Pros, 6 hooks in the water at a time, a lot of action, great way to catch live bait. Cons, 6 hooks to snag on everything, clothing, tackle, and pier rails. Even with six hooks the bottom hooks are hit first and the little devils swim all over tangling the rig. Using the John method of allowing the fish to eat it's way off the hook, removes hooks from sabiki rig. On one cast, I lost half my sabiki rig when a predator fish chomped half of it off eating one of my little fish.

My goal for the day was to catch enough spots to make dinner. I caught 2, John caught 1 in addition to the whiting he choked to death. I also caught what I think was a menhaden and two spade fish. What John couldn't kill, we threw back. We had some big bites on Carolina rigs, but snapped the line.

For bait, we used FishBites bloodworm and I'm going to order some more of those. I like the way it stays on the hook and gets action from the fish I'm going after. Also tried some shrimp, which worked almost as good as the FishBites and the spadefish seemed to go after it. It only takes a little square to get action on the sabiki rigs.

I didn't actually try using live bait on this outing. I figured why feed the live ones to the predators when we were getting a lot of hits on the chunk bait from Johns two victims? So the cut bait worked out OK. Trapping bait? I left the fish trap at home. I don't know if or when I will try that thing again. Maybe when the puffers come back.

I'm thinking now to put 30 lb. braid on all my reels regardless of size. I'm going to put beads on everything to keep myself and my fishing buddies from cranking the leaders in past the eyelets and tearing up my stuff. I'm also thinking about tying my own Carolina rigs with 50 lb. mono. Six hooks has it's advantages, but since the bottom two hooks were getting most of the action, might as well just fish with two.

I learn a little more each trip. I'm getting my gear sorted out and my strategy for getting everything to the pier and back. John is a big help, and I hope he continues to fish with me. He's my driver, my assistant, my neighbor, and he's my friend. I hope I can make a fisherman out of him.

Bigwave916 Loc: NC

Here's the short answers:

* Sabiki rigs: Not really worth the hassle from the pier

* Fish trap: Jury is still out. I might try it again when I can leave it in the water for several hours and still use the bait. I do wanna see if the puffers will go into it.

* Chumming: Probably not worth the expense or the extra work to carry it and to secure it to the railing.

* Live bait vs. Cut bait: Still waiting to try live bait. I think I'm gonna like it. Cut bait is OK, especially with all the bait fish that seem to always be around the pier.