# Pier fishing



## Jbirch (Aug 18, 2020)

Hey fellas. I’ve been reading a good bit about pier fishing in obx. I see on some of the pier websites down there some people catch some real nice fish and sometimes a cooler full of fish. I never fished a pier before. And my questions are probably pretty broad. But I ask how do you bring them in? Also are there any techniques to fishing piers? Also what runs through the obx around late august-early September?


----------



## Rougesun (Oct 26, 2020)

Pier fishing in the OBX can be a great experience. However, it can be a great way to get your feelings hurt, too. Stay off the end. The guys that are throwing 13’ rods or pin rigging won’t have any patience for a newbie. Big fish/sharks/rays are landed with a pier/drop net. The smaller ones can be reeled in or hand lined. If reeling in a larger fish, keep your rod tip pointed at the water so you don’t break your rod. Watch and learn before you make your first cast. Some anglers might give you some advice while you are out there, but don’t count on it. Stick with fishing for some spot, croaker, sea mullet, etc. on a hi/low rig and some Fishbites on #2 circle hooks. Try a Gotcha plug for some Spanish and blues. You could try for some bigger fish with some cut bait and a 5/0 hook or so, but that can lead to some instances where you‘d be better off with more experience. Watch and learn. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Most of all, have fun.


----------



## Jbirch (Aug 18, 2020)

Lots of good insight. Thank you! I surely will. My main goal is to have something to bring home to the smoker. Regardless of what it is. But that was good info thanks!


----------



## Lukeksnyder1 (Nov 12, 2019)

I would fish small hook double rigs. Store bought ones are usually crap but “river rigs” made by a guy named river down in the obx are good (he uses owner hooks and fluorocarbon). Buy fresh seafood market shrimp and don’t use frozen rotten bait shrimp (the price is surprising close and using fresh bait is really really really important….like way more than doubling your bites important). Fishing for a cooler full of fish I would say you would have luck with spot, croaker, whiting, blowtoads with maybe some drum, flounder, sheepshead, and pompano mixed in. If you have a second pole rig it up with a gotcha plug ready to be cast if a school of Spanish come by. Fishing is pretty good in the obx. Cast a line out behind the breakers and you’ll catch and catch


----------



## Jbirch (Aug 18, 2020)

Thanks! What’s usually running around Labor Day? That’s the week I’m gonna be headed down


----------



## ecks (Jun 24, 2007)

Jbirch said:


> Thanks! What’s usually running around Labor Day? That’s the week I’m gonna be headed down


Puppy drum start showing up around that time in Nags Head. Pompano and sea mullet on shrimp and sand fleas. Throw a gotcha plug in deeper water in the morning for Spanish. I go every year around that time and I haven’t filled a cooler in a week’s time.


----------



## Trevfishin (Apr 10, 2019)

YouTube how to tie a mortician rig, it will save you time and money. Or just buy a sabiki rig, with 1/0 hooks. Fresh bait is the best bait.


----------



## jahtez (Aug 29, 2021)

If you happen to hook into something nice on an OBX pier and you're in any doubt whatsoever as to whether you can reel or even hand line it up, DON'T do it. I've seen too many nice fish lost that way. All those piers have a ring net somewhere and somebody will typically run to get it and drop it in, then you work your fish over it so they can haul it up. I've needed help like that a couple of times and somebody always ran to get the net. Conversely, if you see somebody else hook up with a nice fish you should offer to do the same. I'll definitely buy whoever helped land a nice fish a 6 pack of something

The best way to fish a pier is show up, see what's biting and what people are using, then buy a couple of those rigs from the pier tackle shop. Most people bait fish the pier and use bottom rigs - bloodworms for spot/croaker/kingfish, cut bait like squid, mullet, or shrimp for everything else. Typically, bloodworms are fished close to the pier (dropped straight down or within 20ft) and cut baits are cast out to greater distances. But you should also have some lures ready to cast in case a school of blues or specs comes within casting distance. I typically cast further out with cut bait and have a rod set up for that, then another rig set up with lures. If the bait fishing is slow I cast the lures while I'm waiting for a bite.

Keep an eye open for what's happening elsewhere on the pier. There might be kingfish biting on bloodworms where you, but elsewhere there might be a school of trout running through a different trough and some people are onto them. If you start to see people pulling in something different at a different spot, be ready to pull up bait and get down to where the trout are with you lure rig.

And don't overdo the rigs. A 2000-3000 reel setup is fine for most normal pier fishing situations outside of the big game guys at the end. A 6'-6" light fast action rod for lures and a 7' or 8' medium rod for bait are plenty.

For lures, I'm old school, so spoons, bucktails, and Gotcha pencil jigs work well for me. Depending on the activity I see (or don't see) I retrieve them actively for blues, drag the bottom for trout, flounder, and pups. I like the look of the new shrimp imitations (Savage and VuDu), but I haven't used any yet.

And finally, etiquette. Sometimes it can't be helped when there's a bite on, but avoid crowding people or taking their spot. Make sure you have enough weight on a bottom rig so you aren't being dragged around with the current and fouling other lines. Make sure that you're casting safely when there are people around you, and again, cast straight out and avoid casting across other lines. Sometimes fishing a pier can feel like rush hour and other times it can leaving you wondering if you're the only idiot that didn't get the notice that the fish aren't biting today. But I have to say that I've caught more and better fish on a pier than any other inshore situation that didn't involve a boat. Pier fishing saved many a fishing trip to the OBX.

Tez


----------



## Jbirch (Aug 18, 2020)

Awesome info. I leave Friday to go down. I’ll reread this down there. Thanks!


----------

