If you want to target Bull Reds, NOW is the time to start. Get yourself a 10 - 12 foot surf rod & reel combo. Someone already mentioned you could spend $30-500 here. If you dont have a cast net, get one and learn how to throw it! It will save you a ton of money on bait. Buy or make some good leaders and spider weights. I prefer 6 - 8 oz on the weights, and cable for the leaders. You never know when a good toothy critter will want your Bull Red bait. My favorite place this time of year is High Island. You can go out there on the beach, watch for birds feeding, toss out your rig with cut mullet on a 16/0 circle hook, and hang on. This time of year Bull Reds are running all over the place. I am heading down for another trip in 2.5 weeks. Get ready for some fun and learning. AND...WELCOME TO TFF!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Definitely Bull Reds This Time Of Year, I Agree With All The Spots Posted Here, But Cut Shad Or Mullet Off Galveston Fishing Pier Is Hard To Beat Right NOW!!

Yall gave good info..

Except for hooks I use 14/0 - 16/0 circles with the gap widened a smidge. Better hook up ratio.

Not to mention we need to show him how to make his own fish finder rigs.

http://www.surf-masters.com/msforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8089


-Z-

Good call Z. I failed to mention widening the gap some. BTW...I am jealous of your offshore trip you are taking. Wish I could go.

thanks guys, much appreciated, that fish finder rig tutorial was awesome..

couple of questions..

-i assume fishing piers are reasonably up off the water, do i just pull the fish up, or need to get a special net?

-with a cast net, do you throw that off the pier for bait of from the shore or doesnt it matter?

- is it better to use braid or mono line... i noticed the strengths people use are heavier for braid.. is this becase they have less give or you can have more strength for the same diameter?

once again, many thanks

The piers are a good bit off the water. There are generally nets you can use on the pier, but if you want your own you can get them at Academy. They are a big circle net with a long rope attached to them.

As for catching bait, most pier owners would rather you not use the cast net on the pier. They make money by selling bait, so just got throw the net in the surf. You should be able to put quite a bit of bait on ice pretty quick.

Braid vs. Mono is a personal preferance really. With braid, you can fit a LOT more line on a reel, even with higher tensile strength. I prefer using a 50lb braid with a top shot of 30lb mono. The mono seems to hold up a little better on the sand bars when surf fishing for me. Now, if you are going after some BIG toothy critters you may want to step up the tensile strength a little.

Just my .02c

another question im afraid hehe

ok....im getting all fired up....i get back from austin on friday, pickup my suv from the dealers, will buy my tackle fri or sat....not sure if i can hold out til saturday, and plan to go down to galveston early sunday morning to try out the fishing pier <grin>

- is the bait shop on the pier open all the time or just certain times?

are there a lot f rocks around the pier? i remember as a kid we used gripaway type weights instead of spider weights, as you'd always get caught up on a rock or something and these would release... do people use those here and are they worth getting at all? They look like this

http://www.seafishingsupplies.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=57&products_id=164

i also remember fishing with my dad, using a slightly weaker mono to attach the sinker to the swivel so that if you were caught up and the sin ker was stuck you'd tend to just lose the sinker and not the whole rig....is this a good idea?

its funny for me hearing about the size of the fish, everyting really is bigger in texas haha... to put it into perspective

the british mackerel current boat best is a huge fish of 6lb 2oz 7 drams, whilst the shore best is not far behind with a fish of 5lb 11oz 14 drams, they are rarely over 1 lb

http://www.sea-fishing.org/images/sea-fish-large-images/mackerelblowup.jpg

for british flounder both the boat and shore records for flounder are very similar with weights of 5lb 11oz 8 drams and 5lb 7oz respectively. The boat record has stood for 50 years!

http://www.sea-fishing.org/images/sea-fish-large-images/flounderblowup.jpg

oh and just one more question for now... any fish i have to watch out for venomous spines from, etc

If you are going to be fishing piers I would use spectra.

Mainly because you want to have control over the fish, not the other way around, it can be heart breaking to have a large fish tangle up in the pier structure.

Secondly, if you are going to be wenching up large fish spectra is the obvious winner (most pier fishermen spool up with 20# mono while spectra can be up to 65#), tho an expert pier fisherman will have a pier gaff.

Use mono if you are going to fish the jetties.

Catfish, if they sting you.. Oooooo ouch!

-Z-

thanks guys

Hey mate if ever you feel the urge to chat with another Brit (Though I am Welsh) let me know!
Up here in DFW

Nigs

nigs, pm incoming

hey all,
another question.. i often have day times free....from what ive read most of the fishing seems to be best at night...is it worth trying to fish in the day?
thanks