# Why do you fish the pier?



## RW_20 (Oct 16, 2007)

I was reading through another thread and it crossed my mind. Short of live lining, why do some prefer the pier over the surf?
I started on the pier. Just seemed like the place to be. Over the years, I have become quite fond of having my feet in the surf. I personally like the fishing better in the surf, and have had far more success. So,...what keeps some hitting the piers? Just pondering.


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## wvsaltwaterjunky (May 23, 2011)

Some days while I am standing and waiting on casting room or untangling the 100th knot in my rigs caused by a rented pole I ponder on that very question....guess if you fish alone it is lonely on the beach....I fish both places and actually prefer the sand myself but some beaches don't allow vehicle traffic and I don't consider dragging a beach cart for miles down the sand the beginning to a great day...lol...I would say the comradeship on the pier has a lot to do with why people enjoy them over the beach although some piers are not so friendly a place to be.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

I think a lot of it is the fellowship. our aug. vacation i fish avalon a lot and it's for the most part the same group. fish a while then drink a beer and repeat..


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## sprtsracer (Apr 27, 2005)

Because it's there.


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

Easier to catch kings from a pier.


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## bloodworm (Jan 5, 2007)

If I were to choose shore or boat id probably choose the shore as long as I know there out there at the shore or pier I'm not much of a fan of trolling its just complicating to me so I would rather do jigging for rockfish than troll to go by the "KISS" Rule of thumb. I'm also young and cant afford much Im only 21 but say if its too hot to fish for croakers and you'd need a boat than I can see why going on a boat is a good choice or if the stripers are all deep and need to fish on a boat.


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## sunburntspike (Oct 4, 2010)

because ther aint no sand!!! i love the little trips my compadres and i make in the spring to fish the point and elsewhere on the sand,but this is only out of neccesity,due to cold ,dead ocean on the northern beaches.but i HATE the sand,in my reels,in my rig bag ,in my pants,in my truck,did i mention i HATE the sand.sometimes when the toads are late arrivals avon pier will be open for the spring trips and its like a huge blessing,tho normally we don't catch anywhere near the numbers or quantity on the pier,in my mind its worth it


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Roots are on the planks,yeap I boat and surf fish,but my roots and where I learned are on the pier... Oh,and like Sunburt said,"I HATE SAND IN EVERYTHING!!"... Fellowship,I'd say so.. Many of the folks I fish with on piers are dear freinds that I have known for over 30yrs..


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## ORF Pete (Sep 26, 2009)

Easier to get out on the pier with all the gear I need. It's fun taking lighter trips to the surf with just a heaver and a bait rod, but I don't have a truck or ATV that will get me and all the gear I need for a long trip out to the sand. So, ease of access is one big advantage for me. Also like others I hate sand in my gear.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Well the only "pier" I have fished on the the Half Bridge in Grassy Sound. Never really had the experience of the of the "planks", but after seeing some of the pictures of guys 3 and 4 deep at the rail, I'm kinda I haven't had the experience.


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## smacks fanatic (Oct 16, 2010)

thekingfeeder said:


> Easier to catch kings from a pier.


and tarpon and cobes and spanish and blues...


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## NC KingFisher (Nov 20, 2011)

And you dont get sand in your crotch, or in your stuff,and to shark fish alls i need is my rod, some fish heads, and the rig. Plus like everyone else said when i decide to king fish or plug its a million times easier


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## Dwight9797 (Aug 5, 2009)

Bad wheelz on my body makes walking over soft sand & dunes an adventure, pier is just easier to get around on.


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## yerbyray (May 18, 2010)

I prefer the company of old smelly men, inqusitive tourists, people who hold spinning reels upside down, the sight of urine cascading 20', and bait stealing fish.


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## Hudak (Sep 10, 2007)

yerbyray said:


> I prefer the company of old smelly men, inqusitive tourists, people who hold spinning reels upside down, the sight of urine cascading 20', and bait stealing fish.


For a not-so-limited time, that pier I saw you on last is offering the chance for those urinating off the end a deal on fishing passes. If you are caught urinating off anywhere on the pier, you will never be charged a rod pass again for a time described as for life. Of course, you are no longer welcome on the pier as a side benefit of that decision to spring a leak off the side. Just FYI, not saying you did/would/wouldn't/have thought about it/or acted as cover for those who have (LMAO)....


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

I try not to fish a pier, but got to admit, having a pier has saved me from wasting a couple of trips. After checking the surf at home, and somehow - even after experience tells me that I should know better - believing that it will be EXACTLY the same conditions 20 miles down the road, and going anyway, just to find that the surf is absolutely unfishable - the pier often is a good fallback plan. It's aggravating, and I don't have the temperament to deal with alot of pier antics, but sometimes it's just better than nothing.

Thinking of the asshole last weekend that let his line drift off at almost 90 degrees from where he was standing, and then had the nerve to high stick it right when I was about to pull his twisted up rig off my main line... Somebody almost got their ass handed to them on a pointy stick that day. (fishing with kids and father in law)

Stuff like that usually KEEPS me from the pier. But it has its place.


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## Gregc (Oct 20, 2011)

I prefer to boat, but some days its just easier to get to the pier. Like some I learned on the planks and they have their place. but in order I have to say Boat, Surf, then Pier. I hate sand getting everywhere, but would rather set up a chair and relax, then deal with the crowds, crying kids, and retards that's can't cast and don't watch their lines. However in the off season when its just locals, the pier is actually a nice place to fish.


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## pogeymoe (May 5, 2009)

once you go yak you wont go back i grew up doing the pier thing. fellowship is the only reason id fish a pier these days way easier to catch a king off a yak hahaha piers are great but if we have more hurricanes i doubt you will see more than 3 piers in the carolinas 15 years from now


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## jamesvafisher (Jul 4, 2010)

Pier. Because I hate sand, have friends on the pier, and did I mention sand. But if the fish aren't biting, we always find stupid stuff to do.


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## westernny (Feb 18, 2006)

Good one Yerby


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

on top of the pier there are

no bugs = no bug spray
lights = no lanterns
your further out so u can cast even further

only reason i would fish from the surf is if it was day time and it was really nice and i was in swim trunks. If its not a beach screw that. that sucks. just a sandy mess ontop of grass and rocks and insects and piss and fish guts all over the place. id rather fish off a pier than the surf anyday. 

the only con of a pier is that on a pier. its a lot more colder... and if its even a teeny tiny bit rainy/windy its like 30x worse on the pier. well at night... i only go night fishing...


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

Gregc said:


> I prefer to boat, but some days its just easier to get to the pier. Like some I learned on the planks and they have their place. but in order I have to say Boat, Surf, then Pier. I hate sand getting everywhere, but would rather set up a chair and relax, then deal with the crowds, crying kids, and retards that's can't cast and don't watch their lines. However in the off season when its just locals, the pier is actually a nice place to fish.


boating is the cheapeast thing in the world... turn on sonar... HEY LOOK A SCHOOL OF 1 GAZILLION FISH. .. lets run some artifical lures right across their faces and see if they bite! 

......... but it sure is alot of fun HAHA. atleast you will never ever not catch fish boat fishing. and they are bigger!


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

Your posts are simply bizarre.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

dudeondacouch said:


> Your posts are simply bizarre.


+1


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

dudeondacouch said:


> Your posts are simply bizarre.



i like abu mike cuz he's been nice and helped me before. you tho... you.... i hate you...


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

These posts feel a lot like that kid from a couple years ago.


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

same kid. i think....

the admins were like... welcome back... don't get banned again LOL


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

The plot thins.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

yep your a bad man, better stay clear...


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## KevinImX0 (Dec 25, 2011)

im not a bad man. i never knew there were 12 year olds running around on the forums. not like 12 year olds don't know cuss words. . . and unless having an over affectionate love for the beef stick is a crime. . . idk man. . . idk. . .


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## jamesvafisher (Jul 4, 2010)

KevinImX0 said:


> im not a bad man. i never knew there were 12 year olds running around on the forums. not like 12 year olds don't know cuss words. . . and unless having an over affectionate love for the beef stick is a crime. . . idk man. . . idk. . .


I feel like you're some guy from Montana who fishes once every 10 years


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## bloodworm (Jan 5, 2007)

Young man do not get into anymore trouble! There are several youngins who are on P&S who love to fish as much as the more experienced fisherman and thats what matters, make no mistake about this but nobody was born knowing how to fish. I mean I understand your young (Myself included I'm only 21) and can only afford a Beefstick and not the top of the line stuff but there's nothing wrong with a Beefstick or like a Walmart Shakespeare Tiger combo compared to any big names. Many people on this site may say just get an OM surf rod or something but some fisherman don't understand that you may not be able to afford a 100 buck OM or even a Custom baitcaster heaver thats 300 . I'll be honest with you don't listen to some of this stuff on the board, were all getting tips on how tos for fishing. Now I'm not saying don't listen to a fisherman who has done it for 30-40 years and is trying to give you reasonable advice and knows what their doing. Use what you prefer I had to learn that fact the hard way. Many will swear by something particular, tease you on what you have, or debate on stuff like Braid vs Mono threads, but don't say yours is the only way and put people down.


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## WNYBob (Aug 16, 2011)

sprtsracer said:


> Because it's there.


x2 and if they build it they will come. lol I found I like going out on a pier occasionally. Almost as a alternitive and switch up from the beach or some inshore. We started renting and looling around a few places for a place to go in the winter. We finally settled on a place a couple of years ago and bought out own place. Not because of a main criteria of our looking for someplace, but a definite bonous where we did settle, I'm within a few mintues of the beach. One nice inshore spot is only a half mile, and a couple of miles to more inshore on one side and a just a couple of miles to a nice pier. So my decision to go fishing on any day is to not plan, but have an idea I want to go, the next day do a visual weather check and head out. or not go. I hadn't been to the pier, and last year decided it was time to give it a try. I enjoy it. I wouldn't make a steady diet of it, but then again, I don't have to. I work it in now on a little rotation depending on my mood. I take a cart to the beach. Usually I can park close to where I inshore and I travel light when I go to the pier, a rod and a tackle box. I never travel to fish anymore. It's all in my back yard. There may be bettter spots, like the surf, more structure maybe, more fish, but if it's recreation that I'm after and not being a meat hunter, I have plenty of that. I would say I probably try inshore the most often, then pier now, then surf, more infrequently. I started out heavy on the inshore, and by latter last year, my inshore and pier may have been close to the same. I still love to hit the beach and surf sometimes. I enjoy the beach and surf more when I have friends to go with. I'm a happy loaner at the tidal creek and even the pier.


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## Byron/pa (Mar 14, 2007)

In twenty years of surf fishing the beaches of OBX south to Topsail, I fished off of a pier exactly once; To be honest, the fishing was fantastic (Albies, blues, flounder and a bunch of really nice sheepshead) and everyone around was well behaved and nice, actually they were all very nice...................But it just didn't do it for me, I feel best with my feet planted in the sand several hundred yards from the nearest person.

Having said that, just about every day during a surf fishing trip; I'll spend the $1 or 2$ for a visitor pass and spend an hour or so talking to guys on the pier, and I truley enjoy that. I do this at low tide inbetween trips to the sand. 
And I openly admit that a day will come, sooner than I want, when draging a cart a mile down the beach is no longer possible and I'll become one of "them"..........

But for now, I like the open beaches.


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## Carolina Rebel (Aug 25, 2005)

They're two different things entirely to me. If I'm dedicating a few days entirely to fishing, I'm packing surf rods (or at least I was before I got into kayaking) and I'm spending all day and most of the night throughout the trip on the beach. I'm putting out as many rods as I want, some in close, some out far, different baits, different approaches. Yes there's sand, you're roughing it surf fishing, but each fish is a little more rewarding and I find this experience most refreshing.
If I'm going to the beach with family/friends who are uninterested in fishing, I'll spend more time on the pier because it's easier to get out there, get set up, and still catch fish. Too, it's nice to change it up from time to time, if the surf's not productive, as solid7 mentioned, pier can save the day. If nothing else it's always an adventure to mingle with the doofuses, and if there's a pier you can count on there being plenty of those.


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## cobia_slayer (Jan 9, 2008)

The pier is my home, fished three the past 6yrs religiously.. It's became a part of me. The majority of the people I call my "pier family" I've met wondering the planks. Things can get chaotic at times, but for the most part it's all worked out. Don't get me wrong, I love fishin te beaches for trout and drum in the spring/fall. I've learned the most fishing piers though, I've taught my fair share of people as well. It'll never get old to me


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## smacks fanatic (Oct 16, 2010)

KevinImX0 said:


> im not a bad man. i never knew there were 12 year olds running around on the forums. not like 12 year olds don't know cuss words. . . and unless having an over affectionate love for the beef stick is a crime. . . idk man. . . idk. . .


...Looking at your posts in this thread, I would say you are either a person who likes "special" attention from the mods, or a person who likes to piss people off. Let me tell you, neither of those personalitys are good...


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## Reelturner (Dec 24, 2003)

*"Great smell".......*

late in the evening while out on the end waiting for the big hit when the curious, groups of ladies walk out. Perfume never seemed as good!! Some days that king/cobia will just window shop over the baits or never show up. I have over the years met some great friends while I pier fished. I surf fish a little compared to the pier, but as DD said I have have had some great times on the end.
RT


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

flounder


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## oden (Jan 23, 2012)

To avoid people swimming into your lines in the summer!


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## 1thofa87 (Jul 23, 2011)

I live on the Chesapeake bay and not the ocean. If I lived nearer to the salt, I'd be in the surf no doubt. But the shore fishing around here (Haves de Grace,MD) is pier or bank and the pier gets me further out.


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## shadowrider98 (Jul 30, 2012)

i enjoy fishing on the pier for two reasons.1 it is where my grandfather taught me about fishing.2 i also enjoy meeting new friends out there to talk with and enjoy some great fishing.


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## flasaltangler (Aug 19, 2008)

Pier goes out farther in ocean and is more versitile than working beach in sand.


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## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

I'm glade someone has it all figured out. And here we have 5 boats that set most of the time. What have I been missing


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## lil red jeep (Aug 17, 2007)

Because I don't have a boat for starters, but honestly like talking to the folks around me. I have learned so much from watching others and talking to more experienced guys on the piers that I probably couldn't catch a cold if I hadn't been on piers learning the ropes. It doesn't hurt to see a little kids come up and watch as I reel in a fish only to hand the rod over to them and say "Whew, I'm tired! Can you reel this in for me?" only to see their faces light up! And then another one is addicted!


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

lil red jeep said:


> It doesn't hurt to see a little kids come up and watch as I reel in a fish only to hand the rod over to them and say "Whew, I'm tired! Can you reel this in for me?" only to see their faces light up! And then another one is addicted!


That's actually one of the coolest comments on this thread. I very seldom fish the pier, but when I do, I sometimes get a little lost in what I'm doing, and tend to drown out everything else. (you have to have thick skin sometimes on the pier) We always help the little ones when they tangle lines, or get hung up. Never really thought of this idea, though. Very nice - much respect.


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