balloon fishing

[kingsinthaSC]

im going to try and balloon fishing tomarrow off of holden beach fishing pier for a shark or somethin like that can any1 tell me r the sharks in or anytihng else and maybe a few tips
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

Well, it's about time you got out there and did some fishing! LOL You'll have to fill us in on how the Holden Bch pier is, i've never fished there.

Anyhoo, Balloon fishing is pretty basic. But, in order for it to work, the wind needs to be blowing in a direction that will carry your bait strait off the pier and out to sea. If the wind is blowing your bait under the pier, obviously, that's not going to work. So, you might want to bring your anchor rod just incase. Or, just use a large scale carolina rig with a heavy sinker and a shark friendly hook.[cool] Similar to what alot of anglers use for Amberjack and large Grouper. Don't forget a block of chum. Sharks have one of the most keen senses of smell in the entire realm of water. Sharks also are food motivated and are willing to travel long distances; and don't require the shelter of structure to maintain life, as they don't have anything to hide from. With that said, if you don't deploy a chum block of some sort, you better take a snickers bar with you; you're going to be there a while. (unless you're lucky)

The sharks never leave. Though some species of shark migrate with the change in season, or to "make babies," many hang out all year around. You can catch a shark along the reef in the dead of winter, or the heat of the summer. That's good to know for those freak days of warm weather in the middle of the cold season. []

I don't know what you can expect at Holden Beach this time of year. It really depends. I know the water temps have taken a dive with this recent spell of cold weather. So, it'll take a week or two of hot weather to get us where we are suppose to be along the eastern seaboard.

You can probably count on flounder and drum for sure. If I were you, i'd take your favorite medium action combo and buy some Mud minnows and live shrimp just incase. It never hurts to be prepared. I don't know how many times i've showed up on a pier and missed out because I wasn't prepared. LOL, learn from my mistakes. If you're going to take the trip, be a boy scout and go prepared. I promise you won't regret spending the 10 bucks for bait. [cool]
[signature]

[kingsinthaSC]

well we didnt go because they wanted 6$ per rod and i think thats just crazy so we just went and fished the ICW for a little while didnt cach anything but a few spots maybe 4 and they where aslo very smal
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

6 dollars a rod? They must think thier pier is made of gold plated boards or something. LOL With those prices, I think i'd be sticking to the park.

Well, atleast you got on the water somewhere. That cold air is making things hard right now anyway. Atleast it's going to be warming up soon.

Thanks for the report
[signature]

[tubeN2]

What kind of rods do they rent over there??? They won't even do that here anymore. There were too many people that are dishonest and took the rods.[crazy]
[signature]

[tomc]

i wish we had $6 rod rentals,most of our charters are around 10 now,if you lose a rig, you have to buy your next one
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Over here, they won't rent rods for pier fishing. They do rent at the landings if you are going out on the boats. 12 bucks gets you a medium range Seeker Rod and Penn Seaboy reel. If you loose it or break it, they will be seeking 180 bucks from you for the 75 dollar combo.[crazy]
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

He's not renting rods believe it or not. It's actually 6 dollars per rod you bring. So, if you bring 3 rods with you, it's 6 dollars per rod. 18 bucks to fish on the pier with YOUR rods. LOL, it's a crock.

I know alot of piers still do rent rods, but they are cheapo's. I know the state park rents Penn 9's on a cheap, stiff rod. They've got like 40 yards of 50 pound test on them so they can't cast them out. LOL
[signature]

[tubeN2]

They are charging to bring your own rods????[shocked] That sucks. Sometimes I hit the pier with 6 or 8 new outfits to break in. That could run me into the poor house after awhile.

I would end up having to use the string tied to the Coke can trick.[cool]
[signature]

[Tarpon4me]

6 or 8 rods? LOL< hell, I can't fish but with one at the time. [] Na, I usually take 4 with me. 1 anchor rod, 1 fighting rod, 1 live bait rod (flounder, sheepshead, whatevers there), and one multiuse rod(jigging for bait, light bottom fishing for bait, jigging for spanish or blues, etc...) I'll toss out my anchor rod, send a live bait down it on with the fighting rod. Then i'll rig up my live bait rod usually with a mud minnow or mullet minnow and slowly work it around the pilons for a while. Once i've done that, i'll leave it to rest beside a bait cleaning table on the bottom and go to work on the small fellas with my other rod to pass the time and fill the bait bucket with live ones for the big rod. It's pretty routine.

But you're right, that's highway robbery, hints i'll never fish that pier. What they try to do is get you to buy an season pass, but it's still a ripoff unless you are able to fish there quite often. Best to buy a boat and call it a day. [cool]
[signature]

[tubeN2]

I would bring different rods with different set ups. I would always leave 1 or 2 soaker rods and play with the baitfish with one of the others.[cool]
[signature]