Fishig at Russell Fields Pier in Panama City Beach

[DEADLYMNM7]

Hello
I am planning to fish at Russell Fields Pier at Panama City Beach tomorrow.
I hear there are Kings to catch and Spanish Mackerel.
I have two reels with 65 lbs braid and one with 25 lbs mono. The braided reels have a St. Croix Surf Rod and a Ugly Stick Tiger spinning rod. The mono has a Bass Pro Offshore Angler rod.
Any tips on catching Kings and Mackerel?
Also hoping to catch a shark.
I have a pier net to reel them in.
Thanks for any tips!

[mac03]

have fished from this pier many times. Your best bet is to get there as soon as they open so you can get a spot on the end of the pier. some colorful lures will produce bonita in the early morning. I've seen everything from Reds to Kings caught there.

[DEADLYMNM7]

Bonita?
What do you recommend to catch them?
What time do they open?
I was planning to come in the afternoon and fish until 11 pm.
How is the night fishing?

[Juan]

It might have changed but: Pier hours on Fri - Sat I think are still 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM
If the bonita are there, they'll hit just about anything. Gotcha plugs are good for them and Spanish and either of those make excellent shark bait.

[leonreno]

The pier is open 24/7, I went a couple weeks ago and caught some kings and Spanish.
Kings: spinning reel with 15-20lb mono (preferred) or 20-40lb braid; you want about 300 yards of line. I prefer mono as it is much easier to detangle. 12-18" wire leader made off small swivel (#10 Spro Power swivel) bare 7 strand wire (30-40lb and coffee color) and a good quality #4 treble hook. 7 strand can be tied in knots to attach swivel and hook. Buy frozen cigar minnows at nearby bait stores and hook treble into head and cast out and let it drift with the occasional jerk for some movement. Watch the wind/current and those around you and you will be able to keep from tangling. When the king bites it will scream your drag and work it in after it runs some. Use a light drag at first. They bite best at sun up(between 5-9am) and sun down (3-8pm).

Large Spanish can be caught the same way.

Smaller Spanish can be caught on spinning reels wit 10-12lb mono with Gotcha plugs, spoons, bubble rigs, etc. all available at local tackle stores.

Also take some #3-#6 Sabiki rigs to catch some live bait.

[DEADLYMNM7]

Thank you sooo much everyone!
Taking all the advice and leaving in an hour and staying until 11pm!
Thank you all!

[DEADLYMNM7]

We fished yesterday 4pm until 10pm.
We just caught a crab. Lots of bait stealers. It was beautiful out there. Lots of people. Good lighting. Some people where hunting big sharks. Had Bonita setup with big hooks.
Had problems placing treble hooks in the head of cigar minnows. Sometimes it would fly off after casting.
Still we had fun!

[leonreno]

I usually push one hook through the top of it head between it's eyes then rotate hook so eye is facing forward, or take one hook and push though bottom lip and out top lip. When the minnow thaws and is cast out a good number of times they will tend to fall apart. Learning the ins and outs of fishing for kings on the piers takes some time. I learned over years of observing and asking questions. Many of the anglers out there will be helpful.

Here is a link for a forum the has a lot of pier info, its mostly for Gulf Shores Pier but has reports and info on other piers.
http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com/forum.php