# Pier:kings and Tarpon



## pier-legend (Jan 14, 2004)

Alright pier jockeys....how many kings and tarpon did your favorite set of boards land in 2005??
I will share what I know..
Johnny Mercers: 17 kings landed.
6 Tarpon (4 in 2 days)
Kure Pier...just counting pictures it looked to be somewhere at about 45-50 kings.
and 1 Tarpon.
How many on your tee end??
Add cobia if you want.
I know Jolly Roger had 2 Tarpon landed. (both by my neighbor)..
I also know there was a 48 lb,74 lb. and 80 lb. cobia landed.
Let hear it pin-riggers!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Bout twenty kings or more off Frisco and two dozen or so cobes..

Avon caught two 90lb cobes in one day,by the same 17 yr old...

Not sure about Rodanthe's numbers,but I know there were tarpon and cobes around..


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## pier-legend (Jan 14, 2004)

Hey DD, what is it about the "young and dum" that the big fish are attracted too!
Wasn't it a 16-17 year old that caught that 68 lb. king offn Avon?
Was that the same dude that caught the 2-90lbes cobia??
Ain't our man "Jesse of Bogue" only 16 or 17, with that manster tarpon!
It was sure a young man that caught the Hog Tarpon on Mercers last Sept..(145 lb.)

Didn't I gaff a 40 lb. king for a youngan that was only 15?? It was his 1st fish ever.
The old rodwatchers 1st king weighed 40 lb. too ,but he was in his 20's.

2-90 lb.cobia in the same day!!!
I'd been sending out christmas cards with THAT picture on the front, like folks do with their babies!!
Angelo Depaola has almost 500 pier kings, and the lord only knows how many cobia over 40 lbs..and over 50 lbs...
BUT, as of this year..he still hasn't caught a 40 lb. pier king...me either..

I know a dude that landed 2-42 lb. kings in one afternoon..I knew a Surf City pier fellow that landed 2 Tarpon in 24 hrs...

The 1st "legend" I ran into on the Dolphin Pier, was the fellow who landed 4 Tarpon in 2 weekends..back to back weekends!!Yet he only got 5 ever.
These WERE NOT young people!!

It seems everytime lately you hear about a monster pier fish, its a youngan that got its hiny.
Maybe there ain't a whole lot of old guys fishing anymore..
Well for sure the young crowd has learned how to tie their knots and set their drag, crimp or tie wire...I hope those fish weren't landed on "store bought"rigs!!
Yea I'm jealouse!!!
Well its ALL LUCK anyway!!! Ain't that right!!


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

Drumdum said:


> Bout twenty kings or more off Frisco and two dozen or so cobes..
> 
> Avon caught two 90lb cobes in one day,by the same 17 yr old...
> 
> Not sure about Rodanthe's numbers,but I know there were tarpon and cobes around..



ryan monroe caught the two cobes....not the king tho.....rodanthe got a tarpon(63#) caught by CE Midgette


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

No Pier Legend,he (Ryan) as Chris stated caught the two cobes and his first big drum this past yr,forget the youngen's name that caught that *monster sized* king,yr before last...

Yeap,Wilson,in many ways pier fishing is becoming a young man's sport. Many have lots of time on thier hands with school out. ALSO,many of them grow up fast as fishermen.. The net has helped them,as well as talking with the oletimers out there and learning.. Most of them have thier knots,rigs,tackle in order,and know thier stuff.. Oletimers like myself,and Rodwatcher ain't gonna go out there till the kings are chewing like they used to and that may be never.. Glad to see these youngens get out there on the planks,with success.. It's a pain sometimes with crowds and such,but one thing is for sure an empty pier will most definatly wind up as condos...


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

avon is never very crowded in the summer....when im there its usually just me, ryan, and jerry(the guy who parks his rv in the lot and keeps ryan with him)...sometimes theres one or two more guys out there...at rodanthe its empty almost during the day...maybe two or three guys king rigging....then CE and russel/his wife and Clyde come later on usually(weekdays).....the kid who caught the monster king was named chris...i think...

ive learned alot from the guys out on the pier...mostly CE and jerry...learned distance casting from a guy we call "Danville" here in VA....one thing i really enjoyed this year was listening to clyde tell stories about years past at rodanthe pier...hes gotta be the oldest dude still drum and king fishing on the entire east coast.. i do think it has alot to do with having alot of time on our hands.....and its fun....that king i caught this year was one of the awesomest days ever for me...


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Actually Angello (Depe) is older than Clyde by a few yrs.. Yeap the boy that caught the king his name was Chris..


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## fishrulemylife (Jan 20, 2006)

you mean this king....

68# King Mackerel landed by Chris Hollins


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## fishrulemylife (Jan 20, 2006)

sorry its so big.....the pic i mean, I couldn't get it to resize for some reason.


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## matt anderson (Jan 29, 2006)

the bogue inlet pier got 20 kings But the storm killed it for oct


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## fstrthnu (Jun 14, 2005)

Oceancrest pier landed 70-80 kings in 2005...in a span of two weeks!!! By the time I got my butt out there though, the kings had moved on...oh well, this year is my year...


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

fstrthnu said:


> Oceancrest pier landed 70-80 kings in 2005...in a span of two weeks!!! By the time I got my butt out there though, the kings had moved on...oh well, this year is my year...


 I know that sounds like a lot of kings,and for this day and time,it certianly is. That being said,I can remember seeing right at 40 in one day on Frisco,back when it was HOT.. They caught over 400 kings that yr,1977..


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## chris storrs (Aug 25, 2005)

wish it was still like that...took me 4 years to get my first king


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

DD...i sure remember those days...i saw some awsome fish...


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## fishrulemylife (Jan 20, 2006)

Angelo and "Slick Rick" down at the Jolly Roger tell me about those days. It's amazing how times have changed....sometimes wish I was born 10 yrs sooner for reasons like that. I guess it gives you veterans some memories to really appreciate. Anyway, did ya'll know that back in the day when the fishing was HOT...Angelo caught a sailfish from the pier?


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Yeap,I remember hearing about it when I was fishing Frisco regular.. I missed seein him last drum season on Avon dernit....


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## newellchunker (Jun 16, 2004)

DD, I'm wondering how many kings or tarpon that pier legend would have caught if he had fished on other days instead of just FRIDAY's??? Huh Wilson? 

Just wishin' Crystal Pier was still here


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

newellchunker said:


> DD, I'm wondering how many kings or tarpon that pier legend would have caught if he had fished on other days instead of just FRIDAY's??? Huh Wilson?
> 
> Just wishin' Crystal Pier was still here


 I never had the pleasure of meeting Wilson,we just have a mutual friend.. Both Pierlegend and I fished two different sections of NC,actually with different techiniques as far as pinriging and floatfishing.. Depe,Pierlegend and Rodwatcher fished south,mainly Dophin Pier and I think Jolly Roger..Me and my buds fished in Hatteras,mainly Frisco... We use different rods and reels,different style of hooks, and different rigging altogether.. Both seemed to catch some kings though,no matter which section of NC ya fished..


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## Rodwatcher (Sep 17, 2003)

I had a picture of some kings stacked up like cord wood from the Dolphin Pier back in the day. 6 of us had caught 23 by 10 am that morning in Oct., wind howling out of the NE, rainy and cold. We had one pair of gloves that we shared when someone had a fish on, wouldn't take them down to pier house for fear that the word would get out. Guess we were a little greedy back then. Can't find that picture anywhere, thinks pier legend has a copy of it though. DD has heard that story over and over again. Maybe PL will post it on the board.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Sure hope you can get that on,Jimmy.. I am pretty sure Pat has many pics from Frisco,but I have *"0"*.. Sure wish I had taken the time back then to get some memorys stored away somewhere besides just in my mind..  Remember this,ya'll youngbucks,always take a pic,cause those memorys are even better when ya got pics ta prove em..


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## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

As one of the "young guns" on the piers (i'm 17), I sure am glad that I got started while there were still oldtimers on the piers. without people who would be willing to help, be it with rig-making, proper setup, or gaffing, I don't think I'd still be hunting kings and cobes.

So here's a tip of the hat to all you oldtimers out there.

And you're right, always take a picture. Because I don't believe half the stories I hear on a slow day on the t.

Good luck to all,
Evan, aka KFM23


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## matt anderson (Jan 29, 2006)

So here's a tip of the hat to all you oldtimers out there.


Thats right If it werent for some of the old timers teachin me I'd be SOL


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

matt anderson said:


> So here's a tip of the hat to all you oldtimers out there.
> 
> 
> Thats right If it werent for some of the old timers teachin me I'd be SOL


 Strange but true,I WAS a youngbuck once,and yes,that's how I learned,from the oletimers.. You can read all the books ya want,but the tried and true method of someone explaining and showin how,is the ticket..


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## chipotle (Nov 24, 2005)

*That Is Diffenitly True*

I Got Skunked Surf And Pier Fishing My First 3 Years When I Was 12 To 15, When I Used To Go To Murtle Beach Every Year. I Never Talked To Any One On The Pier I Was Just To Scared. Then One Day An Old Salt Told Be What To Do And I Caught My First Bluefish That Day, Not A Big Un But Something That Set A Goal For Life And I've Been Hooked Ever Since. I Just Wish My Dad Was Still Here To See My Acomplisments Since I Never Took Pictures. When Ever You Can Always Take The One Fishing Who Used To Take You. The Main Thing To Rember Is That Life Is All About Expierenece


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## matt anderson (Jan 29, 2006)

*The old salts*

The very first day I fished the planks for kings, I thoght it would be my last because I was so dang mad at my self ,cuz I dident know wat the heck iI was doing 

then a old salt by the name Dany said .......Son you look confused. so he sat me down and gave me a list on every thing I need for king fishin 

Then a few weeks later he toght me how to make rigs and told me a lot more about kingin from the planks


Still to this day that old salt is still teachig me stuff


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