gulf shores pier? - Page 4

bassfisher10 · 06-17-2009, 09:04 PM

Where is the peir going to be located.i am going at the end of july and i want to fish on a peir down there:letsdrink

fred · 06-17-2009, 09:24 PM

Quote:

bassfisher10 (6/17/2009)Where is the peir going to be located.i am going at the end of july and i want to fish on a peir down there:letsdrink

The new pier is 100 yards east of what's left of the old one. Near Lake Shelby on the Beach Road. Less than 1-1/2mileeast ofthe south end of Highway 59.

Pier#r · 06-21-2009, 11:42 AM

http://www.al.com/outdoors/mobilereg...xml&coll=3

Quote:

Artificial reefs designed to enhance fishing at Gulf State Park Pier
Artificial structures will be placed where they are of the most benefit to fishermen casting from new Gulf State Park Pier
Sunday, June 21, 2009
By JEFF DUTE
Outdoors Editor
In a sentimental gesture, one piling from the old Gulf State Park Pier will anchor a system of artificial reefs that will be deployed around the end of the new pier, Alabama Marine Resources biologist and state artificial reef coordinator Kevin Anson said Friday.

The lone old piling will be placed on the bottom along with several pilings from the new pier that were damaged during hurricanes Ike and Gustav last year to create a 25-foot by 50-foot, lean-to-style reef southwest of the new pier's 90-foot-wide end octagon, Anson said.

Anson said the company subcontracted to build the reefs has indicated it will begin placing the pilings Monday or Tuesday morning.

In addition, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit allows the state to place 12 limestone reef pyramids constructed by well-known Alabama coast reef-builder David Walters at three other locations around the end of the pier. The pyramids measure 10 feet at the base and stand 8 feet tall, Anson said.

Anson said plans are to have the pyramids in place by the time of the pier's expected opening, which has now been pushed back until early August.

All of the reefs will be placed inside of the 300-foot no-boating zone around the new pier. He added that the additional structure should combine with the pier pilings to eventually attract many popular game species.

"It'll be illegal for boats to be inside the marked 300-foot no-boating zone, but depending on the wind and waves, they (boaters) may be able to drift a bait into the reefs," Anson said. "We want to make these a pier fisherman's reefs."

Anson said the no-boating zone was a long-standing practice at the old pier in an effort to "minimize any user conflicts" between boaters and pier fishermen. The old pier did not have any additional man-made reef structures around it.

Anson said the remaining rubble from the old pier would be used to construct three new artificial reefs in the permitted reef zone south of Orange Beach.

LCI Inc. of Memphis, which submitted the low bid of $16.2 million, began construction of the new pier in December 2007. Its original completion date was expected in March, but weather plagued construction efforts since two late-season storms in 2008 damaged more than a dozen pilings on the new pier.

The new pier will be 20 feet wide and 1,520 feet long while standing 20 feet off the water at mean high tide. It will be the longest fishing pier on the Gulf Coast, according to state engineers.

It has a concession area with restrooms, picnic tables, snack bar and tackle shop. Additional restrooms will be located at a 65-foot-wide mid-pier octagon. The end-pier octagon measures 90 feet across.

Hmmm open in March (NOPE),
May (uh-uh),
mid July (afraid not),

early August ? We'll see :doh :banghead

Robertsdale · 07-03-2009, 05:39 AM

I guess they have to pay for the new pier somehow. The price went way up. You have to pay $8.00 a day to fish and you still have to have an Alabama fishing license.

saltfisher1 · 07-03-2009, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Robertsdale (7/3/2009)I guess they have to pay for the new pier somehow. The price went way up. You have to pay $8.00 a day to fish and you still have to have an Alabama fishing license.

I've fished all over and thats not as high as some piers....The pier was already paid for by tax money so anything extra is pocketed as earnings.

Pier#r · 07-05-2009, 09:55 PM

Here's some updates thatappeared in the Mobile paper this week...

http://www.al.com/outdoors/mobilereg...xml&coll=3

Quote:

Pier into the future: After five years, new Gulf State Park Pier set for July 23 opening
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
By JEFF DUTE
Outdoors Editor

Shortly after Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Gulf State Park Pier in September 2004, many fishermen began counting down the time until a new pier would be built.
On Tuesday, Alabama conservation department officials announced that the clock would officially reach 00:00 at 9 a.m. on July 23. That's when Gov. Bob Riley is expected to cut the ribbon to open the 1,520-foot-long pier after more than 18 months of construction and a bid cost of $16.2 million.

"As you know, good things come to those who wait. We had hoped to open the new Gulf State Park Pier this spring, but Mother Nature decided otherwise," state conservation commissioner Barnett Lawley said. "That said, the new pier will be the longest on the Gulf Coast and will reach more than 1,500 feet into the Gulf of Mexico.

"This facility will provide unparalleled educational opportunities for students and teachers alike to view and experience first-hand the intricate ecosystem that thrives on Alabama's coast. It will also give Ala bamians and visitors unequaled access to great sightseeing along our beautiful beaches and shore line. The wait will be well worth it."

That also appears to be the sentiment among fishermen who regularly fished the old pier, said David Thornton, who spent 35 years learning to catch fish along its weathered rails. Thornton said he has kept in touch with many of the people who shared those rails with him.

"I think the consensus is that it's been worth the wait," Thornton said. "But it sure has been a long time ? more than four years ? and that time hasn't gone by quickly.

"The pier will be a very consistent, accessible place to fish and there's a lot of camaraderie that developed over time on the old pier, and it's that social aspect of fishing on the pier that we've been missing, too."

Thornton predicts the pier will open up opportunities to catch fish species that were out of reach for the old pier, which had an end octagon in about 12 feet of water. The new pier's end will be in 26 to 28 feet of water.

"There are a bunch of us who are eager to give a shot and get a taste of what we knew we were missing. The old pier was always a good inshore pier because of the shallow water and there were good pelagic (migratory) opportunities at certain times of the year," he said. "Now, it's like there are two piers out there. We'll still have the good inshore fishing, but we'll also have a whole new pier outside that second (sand) bar."

A "soft opening" is planned a few days before July 23, said the conservation department's chief engineer, Terry Boyd.

"We don't want the governor and a thousand people to be out there and the drink maker doesn't work," Boyd said.

Boyd said parks personnel will begin the process of stocking the concession areas, putting up signs and doing anything else necessary to get the pier ready for fishermen. He added that the state transportation department also must install a stoplight at the intersection of State Park Road and East Beach Boulevard.

"The contractor may still be on site after Friday tying up a few loose odds and ends, but the contractor is not going to be a problem with opening the pier," Boyd said.

Prices to fish the pier have increased across the board, but Gulf State Park assist ant superintendent Trey Myers said it is still a great value.

"The cost of living has had an impact, but the facility is triple what we had with the size of the pier and the amenities out there now," he said. "The cost has gone up on everything, but the pier is still a great value."

Based on the new daily rate of $8, Myers pointed out that the weekly rate of $40 gives the angler two days of free fishing, the monthly rate of $80 results in two weeks free, the $160 semi-annual rate gives four months free and the annual rate of $320 affords a full eight months of free fishing.

Myers said the pier will almost certainly have an impact on the demand for the park's campsites.

"The cabins and cottages stay booked through most of the year, but I'm sure it'll increase the demand on our 496 campsites," Myers said. "With the camp store, new nature center, boat docks and pool and pool house under construction all in the campground, the pier will help re-establish the park as a vacation destination place for people from all over the country."

:clap Kudos to JD for staying on top of this, and giving an old salt his "15 minutes"

See y'all out there on the 23rd :letsparty

http://www.al.com/outdoors/mobilereg...xml&coll=3

Quote:

New rules to greet Gulf State Park Pier anglers
Sunday, July 05, 2009
By JEFF DUTE
Outdoors Editor

Along with the grand opening of the 1,520-foot Gulf State Park Pier on July 23 there will come some new rules for fishing off of it, said assistant park superintendent Trey Myers.

All of the changes are intended to give pier fishermen a better experience while allowing them the freedom to catch as many different kind of fish as they care to target, he said.

-- One of the biggest changes, Myers said, is the prohibition against trolley rigging.

The trolley rig involves the use of one rod ? the anchor rod ? on which a heavy weight is cast out as far as possible. Then a clip device from which hangs a leader, hook and usually live finfish bait from a fighting rod is used to attach it to the anchor-rod line. The bait is slid down the anchor line until it can easily swim on the water's surface.

Trolley rigging can be very effective for king mackerel fishing. When the fish strikes the bait, the clip attached to the anchor rod line releases the fighting-rod line and the fish can then be fought on the fighting rod.

The problem, Myers said, is that trolley rigging makes it too easy for the fisherman to leave that rod and begin fishing another rod.

"A lot of the time, they'd be off fishing another rod when they'd get a fish on the trolley rig and somebody else would have to pick up their rod," he said. "If someone isn't standing right there and that fish is running up and down the pier, it can really get tangled in everyone else's lines and create a mess."

In conjunction with this rule change, Myers said anglers will be allowed to fish only one rod at a time no matter what type of fishing they're doing.

-- A second major change is the attempt to limit the number of rods each angler can bring onto the pier.

Myers recommends that anglers bring no more than four rods onto the pier ? one for catching bait, one light-tackle for inshore fish, one medium rod for bonito-size fish and one big rod for kings or cobia.

"There's no need for anyone to bring 15 or 20 rods onto this pier," he said. "They'll be able to reach fish they never thought possible on the old pier with just that many rods.

"It should also keep down the size of the pier carts. I've seen guys with carts big enough to hold 30 rods."

Myers said if a fisherman insists on bringing more than the recommended number of four, they will be charged an additional $3.50 per rod.

A few standing rules that existed on the old pier will be in effect on the new one, Myers said.

-- There will be no alcohol allowed.

-- There will be no shark fishing allowed.

If a shark is hooked, it must be broke off as quickly as possible or if it's small enough, it can be brought to the rail ? not over ? so the hook can be removed.

-- The 300-foot no boating zone will be enforced around the new pier.

Myers has said previously that this zone is intended to eliminate any user conflicts between boaters and pier fishermen.

Myers added that the manmade reefs to be placed at four locations around the end of the pier would be about 250 feet from it. That should allow pier fishermen to fish the structures without continually getting hung up and boaters to drift baits over them from outside the no-boating zone, he said.

-- Similar rules for float fishing and bottom fishing off the extreme south rail that existed on the old pier will be enforced on the new pier.

-- Anglers will be able to bring food onto the pier, but no cooking of food on the pier will be allowed.

The pier does include a concession area where hot dogs, burgers and drinks can be purchased. There is also a fully stocked tackle store next to the concession area.

Myers added that, as of now, there would be no charge to park in one of the 250 spots in the pier parking lot. Also as of now, the spots are open to pier fishermen and/or beachgoers on an equal, first-come, first-served basis.

He added there might be a time that a parking fee is instituted.

While there is an effort to include an angler's saltwater fishing license in the cost of fishing on the pier, Myers said it is very likely that when the pier opens officially anglers will have to have purchased an Alabama saltwater fishing license to be legal.

Alabama's marine resources director Vernon Minton said Friday that to fold the state saltwater fishing license into the pier fishing cost would be a change in law that could only happen through an act of the state legislature.

Minton said he would not be in favor of changing current saltwater license requirements for pier fishermen because his department would lose too much income.

Robertsdale · 07-21-2009, 07:25 AM

THE PIER IS OPEN.

dpewitt · 07-21-2009, 08:48 AM

go get us some reports! Will be down at the end of next week and since I just had "emergency" gall bladder removal surgery last Friday my offshore trips are out. Will be a pier/surf rat this trip!

sail7seas · 07-21-2009, 09:17 AM

i went on the new pier after work today. didnt have any gear but just wanted to take a look. it is really nice. have a good dolley cause it is a long walk to the end of that thing. it was about 5 pm when i went and saw two slot reds caught, helped a guy handline a nice 2 lb flounder up and saw a king caught at the end. and i was only out there about 10-15 minutes.

06-17-2009, 09:04 PM	#31
bassfisher10 Member Ruby Red Lip Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: williamston,sc Posts: 63	RE: gulf shores pier? Where is the peir going to be located.i am going at the end of july and i want to fish on a peir down there:letsdrink

07-03-2009, 05:39 AM	#34
Robertsdale Junior Member Cigar Minnow Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 3	RE: gulf shores pier? I guess they have to pay for the new pier somehow. The price went way up. You have to pay $8.00 a day to fish and you still have to have an Alabama fishing license.

07-21-2009, 07:25 AM	#37
Robertsdale Junior Member Cigar Minnow Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 3	RE: gulf shores pier? THE PIER IS OPEN.

07-21-2009, 08:48 AM	#38
dpewitt Senior Member Trigger Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 379	RE: gulf shores pier? go get us some reports! Will be down at the end of next week and since I just had "emergency" gall bladder removal surgery last Friday my offshore trips are out. Will be a pier/surf rat this trip!

07-21-2009, 09:17 AM	#39
sail7seas Senior Member Trigger Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Orange Beach, AL Posts: 314	RE: gulf shores pier? i went on the new pier after work today. didnt have any gear but just wanted to take a look. it is really nice. have a good dolley cause it is a long walk to the end of that thing. it was about 5 pm when i went and saw two slot reds caught, helped a guy handline a nice 2 lb flounder up and saw a king caught at the end. and i was only out there about 10-15 minutes.

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