Looks like I'm going to be doing a little night fishing off a pier down in Baffin this week and I've never done this before. What am I going to need?

Will my regular bait-caster work or do I need a heavier rod?

What is the best bait?

Do you fish with a float or just put it on the bottom?

Besides a cooler of beer, some kind of jacket, and a flashlight, what other gear will I need out there?

Anybody else been fishing out there lately and know what's been working?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ag97

When I fish the pier I take live shrimp. I'll typically put them on the bottom but a poppin cork works well too. I don't know about this particular pier but at Marker 37 and Clem's in CC P'corks get pulled by the current in the channel. Take a knife and a net with a LONG reach on it. Also if youre going to use live bait have either an aerator or a bait bucket with a 24' stringer on it. Thats what I always use. As far as the bait caster goes I think it should work as good as anything else, I however use a spinnin rod with a 7' ugly stick. That works well too!
Good luck
p.s. As far as the flash light goes I would suggest a head lamp that way your hands are free to work.

[This message has been edited by ToHntortoFsh (edited 5/6/2007 8:44p).]

Is it a private pier or commercial...ie Does it have lights shinning into the water? Is it at Loyola beach or on the Intercoastal Canal near Baffin?

Wow, 97 My son and I fished the county pier last Fri. night. There is no live bait in the area. But we did catch a large croaker on just fresh dead shrimp, a small black drum on a shrimptail with a peice of shrimp, and a 14" speck on a tandem rig of cocho ? minnows. We are not very experienced but we did catch fish. Talked to a local and last Sunday 29 April caught 30+ specks on different colored spec rigs. There are two county piers, one has a park and boat ramp, that is the one we where at. The other is on tip of the *****ola near the Baffin Bay Cafe. This is the one that is the best that local said and with the most people fishing on. Also Baffin Bay Cafe is a great place to eat. Good luck and let us know how everything turns out. If you are a good fisherman, the fish are there.

Both of the county piers had lights. Are there other piers beside private that you can fish on, and where do you find live bait.

Thanks for the advice and info. I'm not real sure which pier we're going to be fishing off of yet. I'm really looking forward to it though. I only get to go fishing at the coast about once a year and really enjoy it. Each year I seem to get to try something new. Last year it was gigging flounder off an airboat. This year it's night fishing off a pier. Here's to a good week of fishing.

Ag97

Anyone ever use a sabiki rig to catch live bait at the pier?

i fish piers at night alot on sabine, but my biggest suggestion is to check the tides. Get there about an hour before the tide starts and fish through it. If there arent lights consider take lights with a generator, that will usually pull the bait towards the surface.

I have fished the south side of the bay several times and have had success with shrimp under a poppin cork and even artificial as simple as hogies or speck rigs. When I say success, we may sometimes limit out with keepers but compared to Rockport or Seadrift, it really is a pretty good place to pier fishing. Fishing seems to best after midnight.

One item you will need...mosquito spray...especially if there is no wind and you are not far from land.