I know exactly what you're talking about the local youth had it perfect when it came to pier fishing. Did you ever pull the mullet,/ sardine trick all the tourist? Sent more than running off the pier to throw up!

WJ Never heard of that one.

That's when you lay your dead mullet on the rail on one side of you and good sardines or the other. The tourist see you putting mullet on your hooks and when they start to crowd you and won't  let you be just pick up a sardine and bite it! Just remember which side is what!

Walleye jigs
I lived in Florida most of the 70s and hooked on Pier fishing and you have not caught anything till you have a seagull snatch your bait in the air and hook his beak! You're trying to bring the bird in without harming it or getting yourself torn to shreds with a **** female tourist screaming at you to cut the line and not hurt the bird.

Had that happen to me last week fishing the Gulf in Mississippi. Twice I threw out live croakers and as soon as they hit the water a gull swooped in and picked them right up. Only hooked one briefly. And nobody screaming at me to unhook it.

Watched a guy hook and reel in a seagull at Trout Run many moons ago.....floating Power Bait was his downfall ! LOL.....
 
The best was the days of the KO Wobbler spoons at Trout Run. (70's)
Watched a guy casting one with a long noddle rod probably a ten footer.
As he prepared to swing back and cast, a guy was netting a fish behind him and the spoon just nipped the guy's tossle cap as he fired the rod forward !
That hat flew off the guys head and headed out into the lake in a second flat ! LMAO  
It didn't go very far but it was soaking wet when he reeled it in!  LMAO again.... 
...... only at Trout Run

I actually caught a fish, once!!    Ummmmm, Okay....  hooked a fish!!!  Okay!  Okay!  I'll leave.. I'm goin'!!

Whole list of chit I hooked 90% of this came from our pristine rivers lmfao
-Traffic cone
-Lawn Chair
-Garbage Bag
-Sandals
-Muffler
-Ohio River Whitefish
-Bat during a cast at night
- 17" Rat (on a trip in Britain fishing a syndicate)

Just odd chit
- had homeless duUD walk by and fell asleep next to a bike path this past weekend
- got stop by a fish warden at night heard something across the lake, shined his light on two guys banging each other in the reeds LMAO
- Fat black woman at Twin jogging in her sports bra when the twins both fell out
- Chinese guy fight a Russian guy at Walnut over a lost steelhead
-

This happened to me and my dad back in the 60's.
We were fishing the Long Pond on Presque Isle from the boat and the sun started to go down and was getting dark. Something went by underwater that was generating light. Traveled the length of the boat in about 5 seconds, and it was gone. Still can't imagine what it was. Never heard if any glow in the dark fish or seeweed around here and glow-in-the-dark bobbers haven't ben invented yet.