Presque Isle Pier fishing

Going to give the pier a try in a few weeks.  Was wondering what types of baits should I have in my box ?  I noticed people jigging baits up and down along the wall.  Also looked like others had some type of rig.   What lb test and size hooks ?  Appreciate your help !

The pier with the white and black light house.  Not sure which pier that is.  Any chance of catching walleyes or perch there ?

That's the North Pier.  In July/August you'll likely catch large mouths, sheephead, gobies... perch seem to slow down during the summer months.  As the previous post said a crappie rig, a heavy weight to hold in the current, and shiners or crawlers.  A little later in the fall you can catch more perch, steelhead, and even walleye off the pier.  One of the largest walleyes I ever caught (a 29") was a few years back, fishing early afternoon on a bright, sunny October day.  Never expected it - as I brought the fish to the surface I shouted to the crowd "I need a net!!!"  Some wiseguy responds "She's not here!  You have a sheep of the deep!"  Wasn't he surprised to see the walleye.  If the weather's hot and the fishing is slow beach 11 is just behind the pier & you can cool off.  Great place.

Yep. The channel has a pretty stiff current and is about 25 feet deep, plus you want to get below the boat traffic. on the Thompson Bay side of the pier you can use any bass tackle that you have. Rapalas, twisters, even a bobber and a worm. But the crappie rig is pretty much standard for the channel. Try adding a six foot length of line between the bottom of the rig and the sinker. That will bring it off the bottom a bit more.

I was just reading the thread and wanted to say thanks for the tips. A lot of the questions that was asked were things I also was wondering about and there was some great answers.

Got the wife a rod and bought some crappie rigs sz 2, 4, and 6.  What is the hot bait ?  How's the fishing been ?

I was up last weekend. Sheephead and small mouth were biting pretty good; as were the bluegills. Didn't get into any perch or crappie.

The bass action has slowed this week a little with the morning and evening the best time to catch active fish.  The sheephead are still in the channel pretty thick.  Also gobies are always present n the channel and lov to devour bait.  When I catch one small enough for bait the bass and sheephead really crush them.  I simply hook them so they swim around weighted with a sinker  I have even caught a walleye in the channel using this method.  Good luck....dont hesitate to try soft plastics I have had a good deal of success dropshotting roboworms(gobie pattern) and powerbait tequila sunrise worms on a texas weedless rig..

Dafishfinder someone told me that using gobies for bait was illegal.  is this true?

gotchya. makes sense. thanks

ORIGINAL: pghmarty

ORIGINAL: McD50

Dafishfinder someone told me that using gobies for bait was illegal.  is this true?

Possession of live gobies is illegal
A hook through the head should make it a legal bait

Um...yes it SHOULD. But I have the suspicion that the WCO would fine me anyway. Kinda hard to prove that the gobie was dead before using it.

yep

Where is the north pier located at?

There's cats at the south pier and better yet, while the north pier closes at sunset.  The south pier remains open.

Its much easier to catch a catfish at night, IMHO.