Generic saltwater fishing information sought

[mtnbkr]

Yes, just winch them up.  I prefer baitcasters and conventional reels for this reason.  While spinning reels will do the trick, they always felt awkward to me when reeling in decent catches from 20' up.  I've never had a problem with fish/skates up to nearly 20lbs.  Others have caught larger.  Many piers have nets you can use to bring up larger catches.

Your Ugly Stick and AG reel would be fine for getting started with pier fishing.  The 209 loaded up with some 30lb mono and mounted to a 6' boat rod would be another good choice, but not as agile for fishing with plugs (I use my 6' rod and Penn 209 for bait fishing with larger baits like whole mullet or bunker).  I rebuilt my 209 to have a stronger mechanism and more drag capability and added a longer crank for easier "winching" :) (http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=44923.0).

Chris

[BobR]

I always winched up the smaller ones, but for something big, like a shark, I would use a 10/0 weighted treble hook tied off with paracord. Keeping tension on the line, I would take one turn around the fishing line with the paracord and lower the treble to where I could attempt to snag the fish in the mouth and then haul him up while the wife or whoever I was fishing with reeled in the line. Once I got the hang of it, it usually worked.



bob

[Northwoods]

When you fish from a pier, how do you land the fish? Just winch them up? Doesn't the line break?

I have a 7ft Ugly Stick with an Abu Garcia 6500 reel and 50lb spiderwire. I also have a Penn 209 around somewhere but no rod for it.

I have that Ugly Stick and Abu 6500 too, though the ugly stick sports a Penn Jigmaster, and the Abu is on a Berkley IM-8.  What you have a pretty good combo for anything up to about 25lbs.  The rod is good for a lot more than that, but the drag on the Abu will make heavier fish a lot harder to land.  

For landing fish from a pier you can net them.  Just need a net with a long enough handle.  I'd not be so worried about the line breaking as the fish twisting enough to come off the hook if you were to hoist them up without the net.

[Northwoods]

I always winched up the smaller ones, but for something big, like a shark, I would use a 10/0 weighted treble hook tied off with paracord. Keeping tension on the line, I would take one turn around the fishing line with the paracord and lower the treble to where I could attempt to snag the fish in the mouth and then haul him up while the wife or whoever I was fishing with reeled in the line. Once I got the hang of it, it usually worked.



bob

A poor man's gaff basically.

Be aware that in some jurisdictions that may be illegal.  E.g. in WA you can only use a gaff on halibut, tuna and dogfish shark.

ETA: Speaking of dogfish shark, don't bother trying to keep any for food.  Unless it's to feed a neighbor that you want to not like you anymore.   

[BobR]

About the only shark I would keep to eat would be Thresher. I used to catch guitarfish, a ray with a long tail in San Diego harbor. The tail on those were pretty good. A strip of meat down each side of the tail. I would strip it out and slice it into rounds like scallops. Sauteed in butter and garlic they made a pretty good skallop. I really need to move over to the wet side when I retire in a few years so I can start fishing again.



bob

[Northwoods]

Thresher's are no longer legal to retain in WA 

[BobR]

We used to catch the occasional Leopard Shark off of the pier in Imperial Beach, but I never kept them, they were seldom over 3-4 ft long. I caught a leopard one night that was less than a foot long, just a little baby, but the only thing different between that and a grown one was the size. Shape, markings, everything was full on leopard shark. I threw him back to fight another day. I spent a lot of days in the harbor and in the kelp beds off of Point Loma and the nights on the piers around San Diego. Looking back, I spent a lot of time fishing. I should rent a boat out of Fairchild, tow it over and go do some bottom fishing, or better yet, I am sure one of the military bases over there rents a capable boat.

bob

eta: The main fish I targeted in California was bottom fishing for the California Scorpionfish also called a sculpin, but not a true sculpin. That was one of the best tasting fish I have ever eaten.

[280plus]

I had a gull swoop down and grab my bait mid cast once. I reeled it in most of the way but it got loose about 4' from the pier. That's another one I was glad got away cause I had no idea what to do if I actually got it all the way in. 

[Sergeant Bob]

I had a gull swoop down and grab my bait mid cast once. I reeled it in most of the way but it got loose about 4' from the pier. That's another one I was glad got away cause I had no idea what to do if I actually got it all the way in. 

I had a gull get caught in the bill when he went after my chovie. I had a bunch of line out and I flew that sucker like a kite for about 5 minutes. Luckily, I kept a pair of heavy leather gloves in my boat for the release.

[lupinus]

I had a gull swoop down and grab my bait mid cast once. I reeled it in most of the way but it got loose about 4' from the pier. That's another one I was glad got away cause I had no idea what to do if I actually got it all the way in. 

Just tell the kids it's chicken. They'll never know the difference.

[280plus]

Just tell the kids it's chicken. They'll never know the difference.

[Jamisjockey]

I'm a freshwater fishing enthusiast. So I have all the gear, know all the lures, and the fish, and how to catch them and stuff. So it embarrasses me to ask people about saltwater fishing, because I know I'm sounding like a tourist the whole time. I don't even know the names of the fish; they don't look like anything we have back home. I think I could recognize a redfish or a flounder or a shark if I caught one but that's about it.

Now that I live near the Outer Banks I feel like I should try to catch some saltwater fish or something. Just because. I don't like boats. Is it possible to catch saltwater fish from the banks or beaches, or by wading, and how would one go about doing that?

One time a guy who knew nothing about fishing was going on vacation and asked me how to go fishing. He didn't even know what he wanted to catch. I told him to buy a spinning rod with 8lb test line, and some Mepps inline spinners, and some curly-tail grubs, because I figured he might accidentally catch almost anything with that. I need the equivalent advice for saltwater fishing.

I'm late to this party, but you're asking a loaded question.

The Outer banks has fantastic surf fishing, as well as back country/bay fishing.  There are a number of piers and docks and beaches and such in that area where you can fish.  Common catches are blue fish, flounder, redfish, cobia, Spanish mackerel, speckled sea trout, croaker, and a few others.  Oh, and sharks

Start here.




You will want dedicated salt water gear.  Mine takes a pounding, and has to be cleaned after every trip if I expect at least a full season out of it.  Line will have to be replaced yearly, no ifs ands or butts.