Pier ettiquette

[Jimmy Carl Black]

Being new to Great Lakes pier fishing I just wanted to ask what kind of ettiquette exists and is appropriate as the silver fish show and the crowds follow. I'm sure I'll pick up most of it but I want to gear up right before I go out there and know what to expect.

Mainly I'm wondering how many rigs people fish. Does everybody do different styles or does everybody fish the same general technique in certain areas? (bobber/plunked bait/casting spoons)

I'm thinking that I would like to plunk one rig with roe and then have a bobber rod and spoon rod to cast while that one soaks.

[jpollman]

Well I'm not sure what you mean in the last line of your post. But when fishing from a pier you're limited to two lines. Yes you can set one line with a bobber and also cast but that's it. You can only have three lines if you're trolling in the great lakes for Salmon.

John

[Jimmy Carl Black]

Thanks for the info. I just meant that I would set out one bait rod in a holder and have two other rods to cast (one bobber and bait and the other for casting spoons), depending on what the fish are or are not hitting.

[Blueump]

Welcome to the Pier! Although I don't consider myself an "expert" at pier fishing, I have done my share. You are correct in assuming that you'll learn as you go. It may be the tough way, but watching what's going around you is probably the best way to learn. Here are a few things I've learned about pier fishing:

1. 2 poles is fine, just as long as your "set" line is close by. Personally, I dislike a guy that anchors his set line on the corner of the pier-head so that nobody can cast off one entire side, and then chooses to fish with a spoon 50 yards away, taking another entire side of the pier away from other sportsmen. Once the pier starts getting crowded however, its best to pull the set line in. Not everyone is a casting expert and having someone cast across your line becomes common. With that said:

2. Taking your kids along is great to do, but again, once the pier becomes crowded, (especially the pier head) take them where their constant miscasts don't irritate other fishermen. Remember, some of these guys, me included, have traveled hours to fish. The last thing we want is to have an 8 year old kid casting across our lines every 2 minutes!

3. Bring a chair. Its more comfortable + once you hook a fish, and walk it to a corner to land it, nobody will take your spot. Which is also another pet pieve of mine. If I'm standing in a spot, and hook a fish, don't steal my spot, when I move away to land it!

4. Once somebody calls "fish on", get your line up! The fish we hook do not follow scripts. I've seen them run sideways straight down the pier taking everyone else's lines with them. I've also seen hook-ups after the original fisherman yells "fish on" and the twin tangled mess results in both fish being lost. Sure you lose a minute or two of fishing, but you get to watch somebody else catch one. Besides, if the person with the fish on is you, you don't want somebody else's line costing you a fish. On one pier I fish, if your line interferes with a fish on, we simply cut your line.

5. Be courteous with your net. Its nearly impossible to fight and net your own fish at the same time. If you've never netted a fish before, there is a certain "correct" way to do it. Learn it before you try. If you bring a net, offer it a guy fighting a fish. Multiple hands make light work.

6. Don't pee on the walkway or the lighthouse. It stinks, even days later.

7. Finally, be friendly! It may be an hour or two between fish. Get to know one another, and make friends.


(Which reminds me...Hey guys in Frankfort...keep the weed at home. I don't want to see it, smell it, or watch you share it. I'm there to fish and relax...legally! I get my high from the outdoors, not the drugs. Next time I'm bringing my cell phone and I will call the cops!)

Good luck, I hope you run into you on the pier!

Paul

[sullyxlh]

Being new to Great Lakes pier fishing I just wanted to ask what kind of ettiquette exists and is appropriate as the silver fish show and the crowds follow. I'm sure I'll pick up most of it but I want to gear up right before I go out there and know what to expect.

Mainly I'm wondering how many rigs people fish. Does everybody do different styles or does everybody fish the same general technique in certain areas? (bobber/plunked bait/casting spoons)

I'm thinking that I would like to plunk one rig with roe and then have a bobber rod and spoon rod to cast while that one soaks.I'll always accomodate the guy with the fish on,it can be a pita sometimes but it's all good,just happy to see people catchin fish you want to see etiquette ya shoulda been around back in the snaggin days on the big man,oh boy...:yikes:

[Jimmy Carl Black]

Thanks Paul. I always bring my line in when somebody hooks up (unless they are snaggers but that's not really 'hooking up' anyways).

I'll probably fish the north GH pier or the Muskegon piers 90% of the time as I live close to Ferrysberg.

I can't promise you about the peeing though, when I gotta go I gotta go (just kidding).

[ZobZob]

Blueump gave some great pointers. Although I usually avoid the end of the pier due to the crowds you do not want to throw out a set line there... if people tolerate it, you can bet they won't once they lost their fish because it wrapped up in your line. Also, there are a lot of rednecks that come out of the woodwork to salmon fish. It's not a great place to take your kids unless you fish in closer. Good luck, when the fish are there it can be better than being on a boat... watch the winds and prepare to get there early to get a good spot.

Zob

[MPsteelheader]

so let me get this straight you cant set a bait line out at the end if you are the first one there?

i dont think so...

sounds like "spoon politics" to me

[TheSteelheadBum]

Pier Ettiquette:lol: :lol: :lol: . Bring the KA-BAR...

[Dave Ash]

We call in wedging in holland... Person 1 is 6 feet from person 2 .... and person 3 trys to fit in the middle.

not a good way to get on anyones good side.

#2 Telling my net person they arnt good at it because they are a girl
My GF nets 90% of my fish and she is DAMN good at it.... Leave the poor girl be because she is small. I am sure she has handled more fish then most of the guys on the pier.



I would advise brining 3 one ounce sinkers with you.... Boats tend to ride the pier ALOT in holland ... it is used as ammo when the look up on your lines... (On a side note, I have a sling shot and paintballs in my fishing bag.... If a boat makes a dumbass move and spools me... I WILL... change the color of his boat..... He has the whole lake to fish leave the 50 yards from the lake side of the pier to me)


On a funny note the old timers in holland have found a new way to combat the pier huggers.... a few of them, LIke 10.. bring old poles with 25 pound braided... with a 3 oz sinker on the end.... They aim not for the boat but for the lines.. and pop them all loose... (Its not very nice but effective.)

[Alpha Buck]

so let me get this straight you cant set a bait line out at the end if you are the first one there?

i dont think so...

sounds like "spoon politics" to me

I'll tell ya what, you better beat me there if you don't want me to set bait rods on the end.:lol:

[Erik]

Yeah I've done my share of peir fishing and never had a problem with set lines. Most of the guys I see have one line set while they cast spoons with another. If theres not enough room to fish this way then theres probably not enough room period. Maybe the last people who showed up should go somewhere else? Which beings me to the most important peir ettiquete "violation" I see. And that is this. If you arrive at the peir and it looks like theres no place to fish, then you are probably late, and there is in fact no place to fish. Don't walk out with all your stuff and try to cram your way in between people. Even if you drove a long ways! It doesn't matter. Your late! Go somewhere else or wait til some of the people who were already there before you leave.

[ZobZob]

I do set lines sometimes when it isn't as crowded. Believe me I am not much into chucking spoons... I'm just saying that there are a lot of a-holes that go to the end of the pier and do not respect the face that you have a set line.

Zob

[Dave Ash]

And that is when you throw them off the damn pier.

[Salmonous Maximus]

I do set lines sometimes when it isn't as crowded. Believe me I am not much into chucking spoons... I'm just saying that there are a lot of a-holes that go to the end of the pier and do not respect the face that you have a set line.

Zob


I love the guys that walk up to you and act like they are your best bud while chucking cast after cast over your lines and continue to cast even after you tell them your lines are there. There should be some unwritten rules about shoving these a-holes off the piers, like Dave said.:evilsmile

[ausable_steelhead]

I love the guys that walk up to you and act like they are your best bud while chucking cast after cast over your lines and continue to cast even after you tell them your lines are there. There should be some unwritten rules about shoving these a-holes off the piers, like Dave said.

Or the guys who walk-up, and AS they're casting ask, "you mind if I make a cast?". When I'm running a bait rod and a spoon rod, I'm always close to the bait rod while I cast. It's the right thing to do and it's safer on your rods. And if the pier is already crowded, then go into the surf, kings run very close to the shoreline at most ports, especially at night and early in the morning. In the surf, you have ALOT of room!

[Mags]

I love the guys that walk up to you and act like they are your best bud while chucking cast after cast over your lines and continue to cast even after you tell them your lines are there. There should be some unwritten rules about shoving these a-holes off the piers, like Dave said.:evilsmile

That's when you walk up ever-so-quietly behend 'em and give their legs a good "golden shower!":yikes: ;)

[Jimmy Carl Black]

I was wondering about the surf fishing. Do they run in along the beach just about anywhere or only near the piers? and, do they hold between the first and second sand bars so that you could fish from the beach, or are we talking about wading out to the second bar and fishing from there?

And by first, I mean the very first one that is almost at the water line. I love to wade actually, but I'm just wondering how y'all have seen it done.

[Dave Ash]

This is just a note about my post...

I am telling people what could happen. And if you read....very very carfully ... I never said I would throw a 3oz sinker at a boat...


I have seen the 3oz sinker thing happen and... they are not out to hurt anyone because they throw it way behinde the boat... They are more intrested in making you loose gear.




But that is just an observation.


Simple enough... DONT HUG THE PIER... or bad things could happen.
It is a fact of life in the fall.

I am a down to earth guy who likes to have fun, but there are some crazys out there... (exp. Fishing in GR i saw a guy strung out on crack with a handgun and a fishing pole)

[sfw1960]

RRRRR0IGHT...........
:evilsmile

Iz dat one of them there 0xy-MORONz like "military intelligence" , or "jumb0 sHriMp"??

:lol:

[MPsteelheader]

I'll tell ya what, you better beat me there if you don't want me to set bait rods on the end.:lol:

you guys had it on lock down i heard:lol:

[fishergirltc]

6. Don't pee on the walkway or the lighthouse. It stinks, even days later.


Yes! My son and I fished the Frankfort pier on Saturday for the first time. There was nobody fishing to the left of the lighthouse and after a few minutes we figured out why. Apparantly that side is used as the bathroom. :sick:

[Alpha Buck]

you guys had it on lock down i heard:lol:

Yeah, we had a few rods set off the end. No room for spoons but probably could have squeezed a gatorade bottle rig in somewhere.:lol:

[Alpha Buck]

This is just a note about my post...


I am a down to earth guy who likes to have fun, but there are some crazys out there... (exp. Fishing in GR i saw a guy strung out on crack with a handgun and a fishing pole)

Whats so crazy about that? We deal with that everyday living here in the city. If your uneasy about fishing around crackheads with guns I would stay away from the Grand.;) I usually carry a side arm myself, just incase the need arises.

[PackerFan]

Whats so crazy about that? We deal with that everyday living here in the city. If your uneasy about fishing around crackheads with guns I would stay away from the Grand.;) I usually carry a side arm myself, just incase the need arises.

Are you the guy that sold the crack to that fella in the first place? :)

Just kidding of course. Lots of crazies downtown.

[Oldgrandman]

RRRRR0IGHT...........
:evilsmile

Iz dat one of them there 0xy-MORONz like "military intelligence" , or "jumb0 sHriMp"??

:lol:

Good one man!