# Ft Pickens for a new guy???



## mcfay (Feb 19, 2014)

I have researched this forum and found alot of good information. I will be spending 4 days at Ft. Pickens the first week of April and plan on spending as much time fishing the surf as possible. We normally go to St George but decided on a change. 

???? I do not know the area. Can anyone give me some pointers on good places to start fishing in that area, what fish may be active at that time and any other advice would be helpful... Thanks for the help.


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## bamagator (Mar 31, 2009)

Figure out an efficient way to haul all of your gear. You'll be walking a good ways to get to the good surf fishing spots near the end of the point.


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

thats not true i have caught plenty pompano all over ft pickens just find a spot and fish if in 2 hours u dont get a bite move the point is a hot bite on some days especialy when its to rough to fish everywhere else u will want a sandflea rake to catch bait and also some fresh dead shrimp fish it just like st george i grew up fishing st george and love that area but as far as surf fishing goes pickens blows it away at pickens if u fish hard in april u should get a limit of pomps and a keeper red or 2 every day weather permiting


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

if u have surf fished i assume u know somewhat how to read the beach and build tackle if not there are plenty of posts on the forum explaining it and use floracarbon the water is clear here it makes a big difference


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## mcfay (Feb 19, 2014)

Thanks for the help. I have enjoyed this forum and the information.


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## bamagator (Mar 31, 2009)

Weedline is right. Pickens is good everywhere if you know how to read the water. I caught my best trout at 30 inches on top wade fishing the bay side. Caught my first red over 40 inches (not my best at Pickens) in the surf out from Langdon battery. My first shark in the surf over 4 feet in length was in the same area. I've caught pomps every where at Pickens, though I generally do better on pomps at Johnson's. If you are new to the area, I believe the area around the point will be a good place to start if you want a very high chance of catching fish. Pickens is my favorite place for land based fishing in the panhandle, and I have fished all of them. Here's a pic of a 45.5 inch red I caught last October.


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## Fire Guy (Mar 11, 2014)

*Let's go fishing...*



mcfay said:


> I have researched this forum and found alot of good information. I will be spending 4 days at Ft. Pickens the first week of April and plan on spending as much time fishing the surf as possible. We normally go to St George but decided on a change.
> 
> ???? I do not know the area. Can anyone give me some pointers on good places to start fishing in that area, what fish may be active at that time and any other advice would be helpful... Thanks for the help.


 

Mcfay, are you staying in the RV park by chance? I'm coming up from Michigan for a week over the same time you are there. I'm a newbe to this surf fishing. Want to go fishing?


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## mcfay (Feb 19, 2014)

Fire Guy===== We will be staying at the camp grounds and its always nice to meet people from different areas.


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## pompano67 (Oct 28, 2013)

Look us up ..we're always around there somewhere ..


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## Elrod (Mar 31, 2014)

McFay and Fire Guy, I'll be coming down from Michigan with my family. Will be there this Friday to next Friday I believe. It's our 3rd trip to Ft. Pickens (missed last year). The pier is always interesting. I've caught a few sheepshead from the beach and some cats...keep hoping for a Pompano or Red one of these times. 
A few years ago I converted one of my kids tow-behind bike carts into my fishing cart. I put some fat tires on it and it floats across the sand. If you see some crazy guy with tackle and poles overloaded dragging that along the beach, behind a bike, or on the pier say hello. ;-) I'll be happy to meet up to fish if you'd like. 
Also, in a pinch, a kids bucket and/or strainer will do for sand fleas...just takes some more work and patience...or a couple kids to help. I actually drilled a bunch of holes in a Lowe's 5 gallon bucket and it works well for sand fleas also. I get a little wet digging it into the waterline, but it works pretty good on the cheap and doubles to carry tackle, etc. If you see some crazy guy slamming a lowes bucket into the sand with kids running around looking at what's inside, that's me too. ;-) 
I'm from Rockford, MI my number is 901.four eight one eight if you want to shoot me a text or meet up.


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