Gulf State Pier, Gulf Shores, AL 07/01/17

[ChileRelleno]

On/Off rainy AM, sunny PM and hotter than a liquored up Prom Date with something to lose.
July seemed to want to be sure everyone knew it was here and it's typical heat with it.
It was steaming hot today, especially after all the AM showers that passed through.

Nate and I got on the pier about 0545am and stopped in the shallows hoping to kill some Specks or Pomps.
Neither cooperated, but the Whiting were showing up with decent size, as were some nice Flounder.
I saw no Specks/Pomps landed while we were there till 1130am.
A few Blues, some Ladyfish and way too damned many bait thieving Pinfish and baby Hardheads.
I later heard that some slot Reds were killed in the shallows, but we were on the Octi the rest of the day.

The Draw and Octi apparently had a great morning of Spanish and Jacks.
When we got out there the Spanish were still firing off, and did so on/off throughout the day evening.
2-3 Kings caught in the AM, and then they shutdown till about 2pm when the breeze picked up.
Then the Kings were showing again here and there, probably 8+ killed, with several Shorties caught-n-tossed.

I watched two Kings feed on my live LYs, but no hookset.
But I managed to seal the deal on my third feed, and then again a fourth time.
Yep, two Kings for me, both nice eating sized Schoolies at 29"-30".

The BoBos also were around today, I saw at least 8 killed.
A few Tarpon rolling here and there, none hooked up.
Spadefish if you wanted them, no hubcaps, but Nate put five 10" or so Spades in the cooler.
Heard that a few Bull Reds were killed on the Octi in the AM.

More sharks than you could shake a stick at.
If you wanted your King, Spaniard or Bobo you'd better teach it how to water ski.
Well... Maybe not that bad, but it was entertaining at times.

Lots of life in the water, and the water actually looked really nice for awhile early afternoon.
Saw innumerable Cow rays, big Remoras, a big 8-10' Manta, small schools of Ballyhoo and quite a few sea turtles... And sharks, plenty of sharks.

As Nate and I wrapped pour day up and strolled off the pier at 730pm, the Draw was a veritable Chew Down in progress.
Sammich sized Spanish flying over the rails by the hundreds, every cast of a Bubble or Gotcha was a Spanish.
They were hitting Sabikis too, and the Sabiki Brigade was danged near having orgasms.
Along with the Spanish were incredible numbers of small Blues, Ladyfish and Hardtails.
Everybody there, which was quite a few, was having a great time.

We left tired and happy, with a cooler full of Kings, Spanish, Whiting and Spades.

[Newell Nut]

Sounds like you had a very interesting day. What bait and hook size do you use for the spades. I always see big schools of them and never see anybody catch one.

[akfish]

What's a Bobo?

[conchydong]

What's a Bobo?

Bobo is a "local" name for a Little Tunny/ False Albacore what we generally refer to (incorrectly) as a Bonito in Florida and other Gulf States.


BTW, Nice going Chile!

[ChileRelleno]

Sounds like you had a very interesting day. What bait and hook size do you use for the spades. I always see big schools of them and never see anybody catch one.

Spades are very fun to catch, and they're great eating too, comparable to Flounder.
Think Bream rig on steroids when targeting them, cause these fish fight VERY hard.
They use their broad, flat bodies to generate a helluva lot of pull.
The larger dinner plate sized and bigger will snap lines, straighten/break hooks on lighter tackle

For these slabs you'll want 12# or heavier line.
A heavier wire hook, 2X or 4X, a #4 Kahle or Circle hook, I also like a #8 or #10 treble.
Just enough of a split shot to get the rig down to them.
Best bait is pieces of a cut up Cannonball jelly, they love to eat Jellies.
But small pieces of peeled shrimp, cut fish, and FishBites (Shrimp or SandFlea) works well too.

[ChileRelleno]

What's a Bobo?

Bobo is a "local" name for a Little Tunny/ False Albacore what we generally refer to (incorrectly) as a Bonito in Florida and other Gulf States.


BTW, Nice going Chile!

Correct.
But we do get actual Atlantic Bonito in the mix too, and they tagged as BoBo too.
Most people don't even know the differences between the two, especially confusing as they oft school together.
Bonito have straight lines lines running laterally and Tunny have squiggly worm marking and sometimes belly spots.

Bonito are good eating, Tunny not so much...  But some people swear Tunny can make acceptable sashimi or be seared.

Both species hit topwater lures with incredible gusto and fight like maniacs.

[conchydong]

What's a Bobo?

Bobo is a "local" name for a Little Tunny/ False Albacore what we generally refer to (incorrectly) as a Bonito in Florida and other Gulf States.


BTW, Nice going Chile!

Correct.
But we do get actual Atlantic Bonito in the mix too, and they tagged as BoBo too.
Most people don't even know the differences between the two especially confusing as they oft school together.
Bonito have straight lines lines running laterally and Tunny have squiggly worm marking and sometimes belly spots.

Bonito are good eating, Tunny not so much...  But some people swear Tunny can make acceptable sashimi or be seared.

Both species hit topwater lures with incredible gusto and fight like maniacs.

We occasionally catch Atlantic Bonito off of S. Florida and I think they are great. You forgot to mention that they have some nice teeth unlike the Tunnys.
As far as Tunnys go, my wife who is Filipina, cooks them with coconut milk, calabasa squash, long beans and hot peppers and believe it or not as much as I hate to admit it, it isn't bad. If I want to save them for bait, I have to hide them from her.

[handi2]

That sure reminds me of my childhood fishing off the Pensacola beach pier. We would sell the Bonita to some local Vietnamese who loved to eat them. I would clean out the restaurant at the foot of the pier for a hamburger and coke.

They sold Bonita hamburgers at the pier shack. They were good.

Mitchell 302 and a 300 for a bait reel.

[ChileRelleno]

Word is coming in that today is another awesome day of fishing on the GSP.

Yesterday's haul minus last night's eats.

[Benni3]

Way to go,,,,   ya!!!!!

[mhc]

Nice mixed bag - it's good to have a choice of what to cook first.
Mike

[Shark Hunter]

Good Work John.

[coastal_dan]

That is a heckuva haul from a pier!  Nice going!  I'd like to try pier fishing at some point, we have a small pier in DE that I've flounder fished from before and did ok...too many people around who don't care to make it serious though.

[Newell Nut]

We are seeing huge schools of big spades every day and I have to try and rig up something for them. Is a strong 1/0 hook too big with 20# fluorocarbon?

[ChileRelleno]

We are seeing huge schools of big spades every day and I have to try and rig up something for them. Is a strong 1/0 hook too big with 20# fluorocarbon?

It should be a small hook enough for larger dinner plate to hubcap sized Spades.
Hook'em up, great fight and better eating.