# Sabiki Rigs in Myrtle Beach?



## Yankee Son (Jul 13, 2005)

I'm a relative amateur when it comes to saltwater fishing (considering I live in the midwest)... but I'm headed to Myrtle Beach next week for vacation and hoping to do a little surf/pier fishing. I've been reading up on bottom fishing rigs, mackeral rigs, etc... and I have a basic idea of what bait to use. But I was wondering if Sabiki rigs work from the pier to catch bait fish? A couple of years ago, I was in Palm Beach, FL and Sabiki rigs were killing. I never had to buy bait. I'd just drop one down by the pilings and pull up more bait than I could use. Do these rigs work in MB at all... or should I leave them at home?

I'd appreciate any insight into what to fish for this time of year from the piers and what baits are doing well. I'll likely be fishing the Surfside Pier since it's close to our condo... but I'm willing to drive to any of the other piers as well.

When it comes to surf fishing... I flat out suck. I can't figure it out. For one thing, I cast like a girl with a big heavy 4 oz pyramid. So I can only get out there about 30-40 yards. Should I stick to the piers... or is there something I can do to catch fish in the surf. I'm open to any suggestion (rigs, bait, time of day, etc).

Thanks in advance for any insight! 

Oh... and by the way, I have both a spincasting set-up and a baitcaster (Penn 209 reel with 7' medium/heavy rod). Any advice on which rod/reel to use in different settings? I'm not very experience with the baitcaster yet since I just bought it.


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## johnnyleo11 (Dec 17, 2003)

Yes, you can use sabiki rigs to catch baitfish off of piers. I'm not sure if there are King Macs running there or not.

As for you sucking at surfcasting, don't worry. Surfcasting sucks in South Carolina too. The beach here is very flat. Your best bet to get to the fish is to spank the planks.

Your Penn 209 might be a little bit of a burden to cast out on the pier. It has that level wind and it will dramatically cut down on your distance and dramatically increase your backlash. I would say go ahead and liveline with it and use a heaver to cast out your anchor line, but you say you can't cast very well with 4oz. You didn't say what species you were going to target, but I'm assuming something a little bigger b/c you want to use sabiki rigs to pick up baitfish.

What else do you have in your arsenal?


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## Smashed (Jul 1, 2005)

Sabiki rigs are killer around pier pilings when spadefish are around. You can sometimes catch 3 at a time! Mustad also makes a Sabiki rig with small imitation shrimp on them instead of fishskin that I've used before to catch whiting, trout, and pomps.


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## flathead (Dec 18, 2003)

I've seen days in July when the only people on the pier catching anything at all were jigging Sabiki rigs.Take them.They're great for catching greenies for use as spanish bait.make up another rod/reel outfit holding at least 250-300 yds of 20# test.Make a 4-5' leader of malin single strand coffee colored steel wire with 2-#6 4X strong trebles on the end,30# barrel swivel on the other end for your running line.(all pier tackle shops have this stuff)Hook the greenie behind the head near the dorsal and let it dangle on the surface.Spanish will bust it.In the event a 30#+ king hits it,hang on because then,you yourself will become hooked.In that event,just go buy a Penn 4/0 and a decent 5-6' rod 

And you can blame your lowly Sabiki for starting it all


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2005)

Take Em......


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## Yankee Son (Jul 13, 2005)

Thanks for the advice guys. In Palm Beach, the Gulf Stream runs so close to the shore line that you can actually catch all kinds of species off the pier. People were catching Amberjacks all day long. I hooked a nice Barracuda that gave me a good thrill until he shredded my line. 

Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm targeting in MB. I just figured the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish.  I've never attempted to fish for King Macks. It sounds complicated... is it worth the effort to try to learn? Or should I just target a different species?

Also, if I catch larger bait on the Sabiki rigs, can I also use them as chopped bait for bottom fishing as well as live bait? Or would I just be catching crabs all day?


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2005)

IF YOUR BOTTOM FISHING BIGGER BAIT WILL CATCH YOU CRABS.....FOR THE MOST PART..SOME BAITS ARE MORE RESISTANT TO THE OCEAN BOTTOM AND CRABS THAN OTHERS...

YOU'LL NEED A HEAVER FOR KING RIGGING NO LESS THAN 11'.....AND A GOOD FIGHTING ROD AND A REEL WITH A SILK DRAG...IT'S PROBABLY MORE THAN YOU WANT TO GET INTO ON A SHORT TRIP...IF PEOPLE ARE KINGIN WATCH YOU'LL LEARN ALOT..

CUT BAIT IS WORTH IT....FRESH IS BEST...AND MAY YOUR WINDS BE TO THE WEST!!!!


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## JerryB (May 15, 2003)

i really like fishing at surfside pier when i'm in MB. i've had my best luck there on whiting fishing just behind the wash with shrimp and small hooks (#4 or 6). they do jig for spanish macs at the end of the pier an there are plenty of baby sand sharks to keep your hook clean and your bait fresh out at the end as well. 

if the sun is out you can expect a decent run of bikini trout on the peir all afternoon so don't forget you cheap sunglasses 

the season on those is closed for me so you'll have to check the limits locally before you head out  

have fun
jerry


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

JerryB said:


> if the sun is out you can expect a decent run of bikini trout on the peir all afternoon so don't forget you cheap sunglasses
> 
> the season on those is closed for me so you'll have to check the limits locally before you head out
> 
> ...



Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee-HAW!

Now that's funny!


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## Yankee Son (Jul 13, 2005)

JerryB said:


> if the sun is out you can expect a decent run of bikini trout on the peir all afternoon so don't forget you cheap sunglasses
> 
> the season on those is closed for me so you'll have to check the limits locally before you head out


Not sure about the Bikini Trout.... I'll be taking sand to the beach (or pier) this time around. I'm guessing my girlfriend would prefer that I target the Whiting and Mackeral. Then again, there's no harm in looking, right? I've heard mirrored sunglasses let you get a good look without scaring the fish away.


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## JerryB (May 15, 2003)

good luck, 

if you don't cath anything good you might drive on down a bit to garden city pier. they always have one **** of a run of similar sized trout on friday evenings. starts about an hour before the band starts to play out on the end. 

have fun,
jerry


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