# Santa Rosa Sound fishing



## Justice

Hey guys,

I recently took a couple days and ran electricity down to the end of my dock. After a few nights of light being up, I figured why not give fishing a shot. My bro and I got up at 5am and went out on my dock which is about 230ft out in the Sound although the water is about 3-6ft high depending on the tide. We were using live shrimp with popping split corks and no matter how much we adjusted the height of the cork to keep the shrimp away from the bottom I had a ton of little pin-fish and small specks attacking my bait. No solid hits. Even when I got into my kayak to get a little further out schools of little specks were just nibbling away at my shrimp. I ended up busting out the casting net and catching some pin-fish and putting them on some lines but still 

Anyone have any advice for fishing off the dock? Also, what hooks do you guys think are best for the specks and reds? 

Thanks for all the help!


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## Bill Braskey

I would try throwing soft plastics or topwaters instead. Or you could try bull minnows instead of shrimp. If you are set on using shrimp, at least take the cork off and freeline. But you will still be busy trying to dodge the little critters.


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## Loki

When fishing off a dock in the sound i use Gulp 3'' shrimp (White pearl and new penny). It takes away the prob of lil bait stealers. I usually catch reds,trout,ladyfish on them


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## FishinFool

Set up a couple of good flood lights at the end of your wharf and fish at night for the big ones!


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## Justice

Thanks for the help guys!!

Bill: when you use pin fish or bull minnows do you hook through the tail or eyes or back or stomach??

Loki: When you're using the gulp bait do you keep the constant pressure on the line and pop it??

Fishin: I have a HPS bulb about 12ft up on the end of my dock and I am going fishing tonight!! Any advice?


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## todd in the bay

patience, Stealth, tide. These are my 3 favorites. That elwy is a livie. any small crab whole or part.


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## Justice

I've always heard of using crabs for big reds, how do you set up the crab on the line??


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## Yakavelli

Hook the pinfish right in front of the dorsal fin, behind the head.


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## redfish maniac

Redfish love cracked crabs. The way I do it is cut the crab in half - just like in the picture - then run the hook through where the pincher claw comes out of the body of the crab - into the body of the crab. It's not likely to come off when you cast.


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## Justice

Do you put it under a cork?? Or fish it on the bottom?


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## redfish maniac

I'd put it on the bottom, just like where a half eaten crab would lay


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## jasonh1903

I like using a DOA Shrimp under a popping cork when I fish in the grass. Specks love them and the pinfish don't really mess with it.


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## GatorBait

Ive fished many a nights under dock lights on the East side of Mobile Bay and I absolutely tear em up throwing the white (glow in the dark) D.O.A. I use a pair of scissors to cut a notch right behind the hook on the under bottom and a notch on each side of the tail to give it more action. I just throw and reel slow to medium speed with fast action twitching keeping it about 6" from the surface. If there are trout or redfish there I assure you they will eat it. I've found that 2 hrs before high tide to two hours after high tide I catch the most fish. My best spots were in 2-5ft


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## Justice

Thanks guys for all the advice!! I seem to keep running into the schools of baby specks!!! Do any of y'all fish when it's really really windy?


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## ldw

Tide movement is key. My bait of choice would be live shrimp. Its like deer hunting a greenfield: early evening is going to be the best concentration of bait. After its been dark for a while the fish/ deer will move on. Watch the light for a good five minutes before casting.


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## shootnstarz

Pigfish always produced better for me than pinners. I think that's a pigfish in the center of Todd's pic. I would catch them using a small gold hook baited with a small piece of shrimp or fish and let it set on a clear patch of bottom. If it's not sitting on the bottom all you'll catch is more pinners. And you'll catch some with it sitting on the bottom too but that's where the piggies feed.

Fishing in the sound with live shrimp has always been a crap shoot. Everything loves them and most will fall to the bait stealers or catfish. I used to spend all afternoon pushing a one man seine net around and collecting shrimp and pigfish for a morning trout trip. Put a shrimp on for bait and you'd have action within 30 seconds, something would find it by then. Pigfish usually produced a speck as the bait stealers didn't bother them.

I really enjoyed the top water lures on a calm morning or afternoon. They were hard to hook with them but seeing them blow up on it is worth it. Mirrorlures are great top water and sinker lures. The old "stingray grub" was a speck killer too, if they're still around.

The very first fish I ever caught was a speck off Oriole Beach pier around 1960. The very last fish I caught was also a speck off Oriole Beach pier in 2004, on a mirrorlure. In between I loved speck fishing from a boat, pier or wading. They are an extrememly beautiful fish and a blast to catch.

Rick


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## tat

Get yourself a cheap fly outfit from Walmart or somewhere. Use a little bait fish pattern like a Clouser. Better than anything but live shrimp and lots of fun!


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## Justice

Well guys I went out this morning on my yak and it was great!! I used live shrimp and caught about 7 specks (only 3 were big enough to keep) and 2 cats. I had left a pin fish on a line on my dock and when I came back, I had a lovely ray on my line.. And because I got too cocky I got stabbed in the hand.. All in all a perfect morning out on the water though!! hope to be going again today or tomorrow morning.. I don't know how you guys have so much luck with live fish as bait.


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## saltwater redneck

I have fished a lot of docks / lights at night around FWB/DESTIN for 20+ yrs and have always used live bait with just a hook and the bait, if there is some current / wind you can add a small split shot. i have caught my biggest specks around the edge of the light casting right in the edge of darkness, i keep my bail open and hold the line on the end of my finger tip when they hit i let them run for about a 3 count close the bail and start reeling. you should check out the feeding times and tide chart, fish around a major feeding period and a high tide you should tear them up . good luck


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## Yakavelli

Justice said:


> Well guys I went out this morning on my yak and it was great!! I used live shrimp and caught about 7 specks (only 3 were big enough to keep) and 2 cats. I had left a pin fish on a line on my dock and when I came back, I had a lovely ray on my line.. And because I got too cocky I got stabbed in the hand.. All in all a perfect morning out on the water though!! hope to be going again today or tomorrow morning.. I don't know how you guys have so much luck with live fish as bait.


I don't think that I have so much more luck with bait-fish, I am just willing to be more patient and content in catching nothing until ole fat-daddy comes along and eats my bait. I use bigger baits in hopes of keeping the small ones off the hook. I may catch few fish soaking 6" croakers and pinfish all day, but they will be big fish! Plus cleaning 2-3 big-uns is a whole lot easier than cleaning a whole mess of small ones. Of course, sometimes it don't matter what you're using. There are good days and bad, and sometimes you're just surrounded by small fish and have to make do. Keep at it, doing what feels right to you. You will see some damn good days around here...even with shrimp.


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## Justice

Saltwater *******: If you're using shrimp does it get taken by the little pins and whatnot in the grass beds??

I had left that pin on a line on my dock while I was gone and got a ray!! I guess because it was dying and was on the bottom.. I still haven't seen a single red yet!


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## shootnstarz

Justice said:


> Well guys I went out this morning on my yak and it was great!! I used live shrimp and caught about 7 specks (only 3 were big enough to keep) and 2 cats. I had left a pin fish on a line on my dock and when I came back, I had a lovely ray on my line.. And because I got too cocky I got stabbed in the hand.. All in all a perfect morning out on the water though!! hope to be going again today or tomorrow morning.. I don't know how you guys have so much luck with live fish as bait.


 

Stabbed by the stingray?

Rick


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## Justice

Yessir, it didn't stick in me luckily.


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## tyler0421

Get rid of your bobber and free line the shrimp with a smaller hook in the tail. Or if you have some finger mullet swiming around near the shore cast net them and throw them out there.


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## saltwater redneck

Justice said:


> Saltwater *******: If you're using shrimp does it get taken by the little pins and whatnot in the grass beds??
> 
> I had left that pin on a line on my dock while I was gone and got a ray!! I guess because it was dying and was on the bottom.. I still haven't seen a single red yet!


 i pretty much use shrimp only around the docks/lights at night , on the grass beds pinfish or gulp unfortunatly shrimp draw pinfish anytime kind of a trade off . most redfish are caught on pinfish , small mullet , pigfish . the larger the bait the larger the fish . the biggest speck ( 8 lbs) i have caught was on a pin fish almost as big as my hand 4/5 inches..... croakers are great bait if you can find them.


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## Justice

I caught a school of menhaden.. Any ideas or advice on fishing them?


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## barefoot

sure, hook them behind the dorsal, freeline into bait schools being busted or sight fishing or your hot spots.


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