Pensacola Fishing Forum / Piers and Bridges / Piers and Bridges - General Q & A

What a good shark pier?

cole tarnok — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:10:32 GMT

Hello to all,

I live in mississippi but my folks just moved to gulf breeze. Anyway my father and i both love to fish and are looking for some good shark spots that are accessable without a boat. Also what size/species sharks are caught off the piers and bridges around the area. Any help would be highly appreciated.

thanks,

cole

Using Pinfish off the Bob Sikes

johnnyaloha — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 03:07:57 GMT

I've been reading over this site for a while now, but I've never actually posted. There's tons of great info on here. I'm trying to get back into fishing, since I haven't really fished since I was a kid.

I was wondering if anyone uses live pinfish off the bob sikes bridge, and if so, what can I expect? Everytime I go to the bob sikes I always use live shrimp and I catch mostly smallish grunts, baby reds, and junk fish. I'm ready to hook up with something bigger. I ran into some pinfish off the bank right before you get on three mile bridge, and I filled up a bucket pretty quick. Now I just need to know what to do with this bait fish. I tried putting them on a hook and casting them back in with no luck. What am I doing wrong?

beginner

mazement1 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:39:07 GMT

Im a freswater fisherman thats really starting to like saltwater fishing, Ive been mainly doing this fishing off the shore on the NAS Naval base. Im still very new at it and Im trying to learn about the species, what there biting, how to catch them and what seasons to catch them?? Whats the best way to start? Is there any good reference material for someone like myself? Could anyone out there give me some simple advice?? Thanks!!!

any menhaden schools

Blake Nall — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:56:41 GMT

near bob sikes

or would cigars be a better bait over there

when are the kings moving in the bays

Blake Nall — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:53:23 GMT

not sure if its late september or earlier

Free Fishing Trip to Pensacola Bay Bridge - This Friday Morning - 5:30 am

BananaTom — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:52:11 GMT

I would like to invite 10 people to fish the Pensacola Bay Bridge aboard my 37' Gibson Houseboat, Playin' House, at absolutely no cost to you. Fishermen, fisherwomen, or fisherchildren are all welcome.

We will leave Bahia Mar Marina at 6:00 am sharp, Friday, 08/08/2008, by reservation only. We will return by noon. Bring your fishing gear, bait, your ice chest, sunscreen, and your provisions. I will provide the vessel and the fuel. We will fish on the East side of the bridge.

A full and complete release will be required of all participants. My desire is to provide houseboat fishing to those people who wish to catch fish at the bridge.

To reserve your spot, please call 850-455-4223, Pensacola Houseboat Vacations, Inc. or E-mail your reply to Tom@Pensacolahouseboat.com

Pensacola Houseboat Vacations, Inc. is a Bare Boat Charter Business. Customers rent and then operate the 37’ Gibson, dual helm, dual engine, sleeps 6, fully contained vessel for the period of days they choose. They travel the beautiful waters of the Panhandle of Florida from Panama City to Gulf Shores, Alabama. They are the Captain on board. Port of Call is their discretion.

Pensacola Houseboat Vacations, Inc. is less than one year old.

I have been to the Pensacola Bay Bridge a few times fishing and have had a great response from doing so. Customers have stated:

“I saw this boat at the bridge and it looked like so much fun”

When the boat is out and about it is visible to potential customers; it is advertising. When it is in the marina it is not visible.

This “Free Fishing Trip” is actually promotional activity for the houseboat rental business, advertising to the passing vehicles. People fishing for free on our boat are live actors.

This “Free Fishing Trip” will be a live advertising event visible to the people passing on the bridge on their way to work, wishing they were on board having fun.

The Playin’ House will be filled with people fishing on a “Work Weekday”, anchored on the East side of the Pensacola Bay Bridge, with many poles in the water and people having fun.

That is why we are here.

FOR FUN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weights

bullmaster — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:20:58 GMT

What kind of weights do you guys use to keep your bait in one spot while sharkfishing?The reason I ask is that I fished in NC and those guys didnt even use weights.I live in TX and we use what we call spider weights.They are a huge chunk of lead with either stainless or copper legs on them ,you pull on your line and the legs dig in the sand holding your bait in one place.We use these weights for all surfishing.I'll post a pic when the wife gets home.

LY

Fishforlife2 — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:38:05 GMT

Any body know a good spot in Gulf Breeze or Pensacola for LY?

cigar minnows and menhaden

Blake Nall — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:49:01 GMT

anyone know where to get live ones without having a boat

bobsikes

capehorn — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:42:37 GMT

not to long ago i saw a couple of guys with golf cars on the bridge i ask them was it legal to drive them on the bridge and they told me as long as it was not a gas car it was ok has any body know anything about this if so is this true if so i have one and would like to use it if i can

Bay fishing

MillerLicous — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:44:22 GMT

Anyone know a good way to catch a mess of black snapper in the bay.....looking for good areas to try out.... Any help?>?>

Why all the rods

ironman172 — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:29:02 GMT

Everytime I'm at the pier, there are rods leaning along the rail....That really doesn't bother me till I decide to fish there, then someone(pier regular) comes and tells me thats there spot....of coarse that doesn't work (how can it be your spot when I'm standing there?)

What really pisses me off the most.....in the heat of battle with a nice fish(cobe,king)these rods don't move by there owners, sometimes the one in battle has to try and step over them when fighting the fish,or are moved by other good people,helping in the task of landing a fish.

I will lean my rod along the rail, but I will be standing by it, I have watched for a few minutes before I go and fish a spot with a rod leaning... just incase someone went to there cooler for something to drink or bait(what ever)

It seems the whole end is this way.I keep my rods in the holder of the pier cart when not in use....When a fish is seen those spots fill up quick and your rod doesn't save a thing!!!

Don't ask me to move!!! stay in your spot if you want it....or just move down alittle

if you would not like to deal with any of this fighting a fish, then don't do it yourself, and if rods along the rail save a spot..... I will bring all of mine and have to whole end to myself.....atleast the east side around the corner( I would look like the guy on the tv commercial fishing for everything)

I'm not trying to start a big thread here, or pissing match.....just have some common courtesy with your fellow angler(googan too!!!!ME) ...I will be the one with the zebco 33, or snoopy rod...:doh

how to make cobia lures

bay slayer — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:17:15 GMT

I would like to learn how to make cobia and pompano lures, does anyone know where to get the kits. Thanks

Bonito setup?

troutslayer31 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:56:06 GMT

What size rod, reel, line, and lure do you prefer for bonito? I'm kinda new to pier fishin'.

oip?

Matt09 — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:06:04 GMT

going tomorow and have only been to destin once. i need directions. can anyone help.

floating your bait?

perculator — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:54:29 GMT

coming on vacation this weekend and bringing my fishing gear.......mostly bass gear but it'll have to do (i have upgraded line, hooks, steal leaders, etc).

anyway, in addition to fishing the surf, i'll probably do a little off the pier. reading on the pier's website it says that a popular method is floating your bait.........can somebody give me an example of a rig for this?

many thanks.

Coming down in August

bassmoe12 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:13:05 GMT

Coming down for a two week job in August, and, wondering the best place to get a couple evenings in fishing.
Been reading some of the reports, and, see that a gaf is helpfull, but, how long should it be?

Moe

Gulf Shores Pier is making progress BIG TIME.

Garbo — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:36:10 GMT

I walk on the beach in the morning quite frequently and I noticed the progress of the Gulf Shores Pier this morning. Dang. They are bringing it. I can't get over how fast they are adding length. Tomorrow I will count the sections (I should have this morning) but they are moving very quick.

Anyone else seen it?

pensacola beach pier price

jaceboat — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:13:58 GMT

the yearly passes to calender year or are the still one year from when u buy it?

whats the price?

Matt09 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:05:22 GMT

to get on okalosa pier?

Pier hours tomorrow??

troutslayer31 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:01:54 GMT

Does anybody know the pier hours tomorrow? The pier was closed for a little bit today cause of the blue angels.

Recommend a gaff for me

monsterflat — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 16:27:31 GMT

I need a recommendation for gaffing fish from the pier please. I guess the flying gaff is a better choice than one of those big cumbersome nets right? Let me know what you think!!

Need Rig Advice

SemperFi-sh — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:13:33 GMT

I've got a Shimano 4500B Baitrunner reel. I'm looking to "freeline/liveline" a hardtail or other bait fish in hopes of hooking up with a spanish or king mackerel. My problem is that I'm not familiar with rigging this setup. I want the baitfish to be able to swim freely. I know there is a way to rig this as I have seen, somewhere, how to do it. Anyways, all help will be greatly appreciated. Also, what's the SOP (standard operating procedure) for getting a big fish up to the pier. Just reel it up? Or are there like extendable gaffs or something?

Dave

pier tomorrow? I wanna meet some ppl

bama-peach — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:29:15 GMT

goin tomorrow early.. hopin to get some kings...

landed a big spanish today and missed about 20 kings

flipper is a pain in my *%#&

i'l be in a shimano visor.. introduece yourself

Middle of July

joelarbear — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:21:36 GMT

How do the tides look for the middle of July? I will be in Orange Beach July 12 - 19. What does it look like for inshore and pier fishing that week? I'm hoping, if the tides cooperate, to come fish the Pensacola pier some time(s) that week.

okaloosa - what to expect???

monsterflat — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:09:00 GMT

I will be down at the okaloosa pier in mid-August. What fish will be in at that time? I know the spanish are out but I think kings are in that time of year. Is shark fishing at night a good idea? Let me know if you have some suggestions. Also, can you recommend any other good piers within about 5 miles? Thanks for the help y'all.

Free fishing trip to Pensacola Bay Bridge - This Friday Morning - 5:30 am

BananaTom — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:10:16 GMT

I would like to invite 10 people to fish the Pensacola Bay Bridge aboard my 37' Gibson Houseboat, Playin' House.

We will leave Bahia Mar Marina at 6:00 am sharp, Friday, 06/27/2008, by reservation only. We will return by noon. Bring your fishing gear, your ice chest, and your provisions. I will provide the vessel and the fuel. We will fish the East side of the bridge.

A full and complete release will be required of all participants. My desire is to provide boat fishing to those who do not have a boat, and who wish to catch fish at the bridge.

To reserve your spot, please call 850-455-4223, Pensacola Houseboat Vacations, Inc.

what the hell

stevierayv67 — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:27:10 GMT

was fishing on the pier last night finally got in to some bluefish after about an hour of casting. standing in the same spot for about an hour took my second blue put it in the cooler.10 feet away at the most. here comes some woman who cant speak any english casting all over the top of me and the guy next to me then she brings her kid over and she starts casting over us. i asked her to move down because she was crossing everybody up. duh just a stupid look and keeps casting had no clue about where the wind would blow the line or anything. i simply sat down and had a beer because she was really pissing me off. being that i just moved here three weeks ago dont want to piss any locals off. i try to be courteous to others but damn she pissed me off. what is protocol in these situations.:banghead:shedevil

stevieray

Anybody know if there is a record for Blue Crab?

jaster — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 22:14:07 GMT

My boy was in the lead this afternoon in the fishing rodeo, for blue crab. Man is it a fat one medium body with HEAVY claws, Tommy's scale says .85, my fruit scale says 13 oz. Any info would be appreciated, biggest he has caught, especialy with a rod and reel!

Hey Konz

bullmaster — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:11:57 GMT

I am finally going to be in paradise tommorrow about noon and was wondering if you might be able to hook me up some some of the local sharkmen.I will be fishing day and night and will probably need to take a vacation after I finish this one.If you can up a white boy I would really appreciate it.My truck is so loaded down with stuff I look like the Beverely Hillbillies when they moved from the mountains to California.If you can hook me up please call me at 409 651 9140 or 409 651 5933.Alan

King Fishing???

polebenda — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:48:16 GMT

Could you guys tell me what kind of set up I will need to start king fishing? What type of rod and what type of reel? Mono or braided? Please let me know. I would like to hear some opinions I seriously want to try catching some kings. Thanks

Who is Flipper?

bullmaster — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:07:28 GMT

I have been on several forums and this guys name keeps popping up.It sounds to me like he is an ass because of the remarks people have made about him.Is he one of those that thinks he owns whatever pier he is on?

Navarre Beach Pier Faces Environmental Delays

johnsonbeachbum — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:08:24 GMT

News: Navarre Beach Pier Faces Environmental Delays

by Duwayne Escobedo

June 5th, 2008

Santa Rosa County applied for environmental permits to rebuild the Navarre Beach pier in October 2007 and hoped to complete the project by the end of 2009.

However, it appears U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Marine Fisheries Service regulators plan to delay the project by requiring more unexpected environmental studies.The federal agencies are demanding a Formal Consultation and a Biological Assessment relating to the construction and operation of the Navarre Beach pier.

The current fishing pier was severely damaged by hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 and since that time Santa Rosa County has been working with FEMA to obtain about $8.4 million to remove the old pier and build a more disaster resistant structure.

Santa Rosa County Commissioner Gordon Goodin says the "dubious" request by the federal agencies will likely delay the pier from being rebuilt by six to 12 months.

"This delay was completely unexpected," he says in an e-mail. "This is a prime example of an arbitrary and capricious decision by a couple of federal agencies. It will increase costs, and since it is a project funded by FEMA, one federal agency (the Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville) is creating another unnecessary expense for another federal agency (FEMA) -- all funded through taxpayer dollars. Lost in all of this debate is the fact that the pier was in existence for 40 years prior to the hurricane that damaged it, something that can't find relevance with the bureaucrats."

Goodin and Santa Rosa County officials say they are working with Florida Congressmen in Washington, D.C., to try and resolve the permitting dispute with federal regulators. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's office says the delay will not take more than 135 days to be resolved and could be less, Goodin reports.

The new Navarre Beach pier will be about 20-feet wide and constructed using concrete piles, concrete pile caps, and concrete beams. Depending on how construction bids compare with the available funding, the pier will be 1,200 to 1,500 feet long.

Until the recent delays with obtaining the federal permit, Santa Rosa County had planned to advertise for bids in early June. Based on a 12-16 month construction schedule, this would allow for the pier to be completed by the end of 2009.

Santa Rosa County officials point out that the Navarre Beach fishing pier is very similar to two fishing piers currently being built in Panama City Beach and existing nearby fishing piers in Pensacola Beach and Okaloosa County. The proposed Panama City Beach piers and the other existing piers are also very similar in length, width, type of construction, and expected environmental impacts.

According to the county: The proposed Navarre Beach pier will be built adjacent to the remains of a current pier that was originally built in the 1960s. The project site is also the location of a large scale beach nourishment project that was completed in late 2005 using state and local funds. For this beach nourishment project, the beach width was increased by about 200 feet by pumping sand from an offshore site.

http://www.inweekly.net/article.asp?artID=7912

Okaloosa Pier

landlocked — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:17:01 GMT

Can someone tell me where the Okaloosa pier is?? I'm going to be down that way next week and will be targeting kings.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

Does anybody Shark Fish here?

cudaman — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:38:57 GMT

It's time to leave the boat at the dock!

The sharktourney.com site is still taking team entries for the 4th Annual Shorebound Shark Tourney. The tournament is open to all of Florida. If interested, check out the sites. Thanks.

[url]http://www.boatlessfishing.com[/url]
[url]http://www.shoreboundsharktourney.com/docs/Team_Entry_Package.pdf[/url]

[url=http://www.shoreboundsharktourney.com/docs/Team_Entry_Package.pdf][IMG]http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l128/cudaman100/sharktourneyposter_smaller.jpg[/IMG][/url]

Tight lines and lots of fish.

sharktourney.com

New to Pier

JoshMc — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:36:22 GMT

Hello, I just signed up for this forum today after spending about 3 straight hours just reading posts on here! I'm coming down at the end of July, early August, and planning on fishing from a few different piers while I'm there. What kind of fish can I expect to be there at that time, and also what is the best time of day where its not real crowded and fishing is still good. Thanks in advance!!!

Bob sykes?

Fish on! — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:42:01 GMT

hey guys i was thinkin about going out there this afternoon. anyone catching anything at all?

Where to fish

huntdan — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 18:25:09 GMT

i need to know a really good place to pier fish:doh:banghead please help

blue crabs

scspecv22 — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:00:34 GMT

i have the inlaws coming down in a few weeks and they are from maryland. Needless to say i'm in the hunt for some blue crabs. Does anyone know a good spot to catch a few dozen or so? i've tryed the spot where i used to catch them in destin but seems like there are none around this year or they just haven't made there way yet. Any advice is appreciated

Bob Sikes fishing

Lynchmob — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:51:52 GMT

Is anyone catching anything out at Sikes lately? Should be about time for the spanish to be showing up. I went a couple of weeks ago and saw a few but not enough to really fool with. I didn't see any bait in the water either. So is anyone catching alot of spanish out there now and is the bait showed up?