Mackerel fishermen own the end of many piers along the Carolinas’ coast, waiting for the next big strike from a king or other powerful, speedy gamefish. Here’s how they do it.
There are plenty of dedicated, big-game fishing folks along the Carolina coast who pursue their quarry without benefit of a boat.
They ply their craft, some very successfully, from the ends of ocean fishing piers scattered from the South Carolina Lowcountry to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
While their primary target is king mackerel, these fishermen often battle other species, including Spanish mackerel, tarpon, cobia, jack crevalle, false albacore and sharks. Less-frequent catches include dolphin, blackfin tuna and occasionally, a sailfish.
The fishermen at the end of piers stand ready for their next big strike.
The piers in Long Bay, especially on Oak Island, N.C., have a reputation for producing lots of big kings and a good mixture of cobia, tarpon, jack crevalle and others. This area typically has good spring and fall runs, with smaller, intermittent runs and isolated catches throughout the summer.
This year, Oak Island Pier is the only pier on Oak Island that has a T-end dedicated to fishing for king mackerel and other big-game fish. Ocean Crest Pier sustained serious damage during Hurricane Isaias in 2020, and the pier’s end hasn’t been repaired. Long Beach Pier was the third pier on the island, but it was lost to development more than a decade ago.
Ron Brewer has fished all of the Oak Island piers for years. His typical fishing day begins early, as he grabs a cup of coffee and heads to Oak Island Pier to line up and choose his preferred location along the railing for the day. The pier has 30 numbered stations on its offshore end that are reserved for king mackerel anglers, and Brewer has his favorites depending on wind, tide, time of year — and several factors he wouldn’t divulge. The pier opens at 6 a.m., and many king fishermen are lined up by then as the stations are picked on a first-come, first-served basis.
Two rods required
“We use a 2-rod setup for kings,” Brewer said. “The first is a longer, surf-fishing rod that is used to cast an anchor sinker as far as possible. The second is typically shorter, matched with a reel that holds a lot of 30- to 50-pound line, and is used to present the bait and fight the fish. We use mono on the anchor rod, but many fishermen use braided line on their fighting outfits to be able to get more line on a smaller, lighter reel.”
Once at his selected fishing station, Brewer’s first order of business is setting the anchor line. The anchor sinker is cast as far as possible directly in front of the station. The next step is getting bait. Bluefish and menhaden are preferred baits, but mullet, threadfin herring and other species are occasionally pressed into service. Many piers have a community live-bait well, and fishermen from the previous day may leave bait in it overnight to begin the day. Otherwise, bait can be jigged or caught in a cast net. Some fishermen closer in bring bluefish and other fish they don’t care to keep to the bait well for the king fishermen.
With the anchor rod set and bait in hand, it’s time to go fishing. A king rig for the pier is similar, but a little different from the rig used to slow-troll live baits. It’s made of wire and uses treble hooks, but is made to suspend the bait from above, not pull it by the nose.
A bait is hooked onto the rig and lowered down the anchor line into position a few yards off the pier’s end, and the wait begins. Sometimes, a new bait entering the water catches a king’s eye, and the wait is short, but sometimes it takes a while, and occasionally, there isn’t a strike all day.
Brewer said sharks have visited much too frequently this year, but there have been several days of good king mackerel action, and a good number of Spanish mackerel, plus several cobia, tarpon and jack crevalle caught. Spring and fall are good times for pier anglers and fall begins this month. Kings are migrating along the beaches and feeding heavily as they go. There are days when double-digit numbers of kings are hoisted to the planks.
Team effort
Preparation, catching and positioning baits are just the warm-up. When a fish hits, multiple fishermen spring into action. One is the lucky angler whose bait was eaten; the others move rods and crank baits in to make sure the fish clears the other lines on its first run. Moving over and under other rods and lines can appear to be a bit of a dance — sometimes fondly referred to as “the king mack two-step.”
When the fish tires and the fisherman leads it back to the pier, he again often needs a little help working it through the lines and into position to gaff. The gaff man is very important, as he must lower the gaff into the water without tangling anything, jerk it to set its hooks when the fisherman leads the tired fish over it and then hoist the fish up to the pier. Large fish usually require two gaffs for security and a little help to lift the fish from the water to the deck.
All pier-end catches are congratulated. There are too many things that can go wrong, and landing a big fish from a pier is an accomplishment. There are core groups of anglers that fish most piers and know each other. They also share bait and jump in to help when needed. It’s satisfying to all of them when a big king, cobia or whatever is hoisted over the pier’s railing.
Yogi Berra was right when he said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” When catching big fish from the pier ends, it ain’t over until the fish thumps on the deck.
Rigs for pier kings
Rigs used to target king mackerel from a pier are different from those used to slow-troll live baits from boats. They harness the bait from above, not from its nose going back.
Veteran angler Ron Brewer makes his own rigs — and the rigs sold in the Oak Island Pier’s tackle shop, plus several others area tackle shops. These rigs use Nos. 7 and 8 coffee-colored, single-strand wire, three 4X strong, silver-gray, Nos. 4 or 2 Gamakatsu treble hooks and two 100-pound barrel swivels.
The rig begins with a swivel, then uses a single piece of wire for a couple of feet to another swivel. Two pieces of wire extend 6 to 8 inches from the bottom eye of this swivel and have treble hooks on the ends. Another piece of wire drops about 4 to 5 inches from one of the treble hooks to a third treble hook. The difference in wire sizes is due to availability, and the difference in hook sizes relates to the size of the bait: larger baits get larger hooks.
The rig is tied on the end of the line from the fighting rod. Some fishermen double the line for more abrasion resistance. A bait is attached by inserting one barb of the single, trailing treble hook just behind the bait’s head and one barb of the top hook of the trailer with two hooks just behind the bait’s dorsal fin. The lower hook can be left dangling or pinned in the bait’s belly.
“King strikes come from below or the side, and the hooks are positioned to get as many hooks as possible in the king’s mouth,” Brewer said. “It’s hard to believe they can miss three hooks, but they sometimes do. Sometimes when they miss, the treble hooks snag the fish anyway. Ideally, you want a fish hooked well, especially when leading it back through the lines and around the pilings to be gaffed, but sometimes they aren’t, and sometimes they get away. It’s fishing, not catching.”
The baited rig is lowered down the anchor line to the water, confining it to a small area so it doesn’t tangle with other baits. The release is a balance of enough strength to hold a struggling bait, but sensitive enough to release the line when a fish strikes. There are numerous variations in releases, and as long as they work properly, all is fine.
The release most Oak Island Pier fishermen are using begins with an 8- to 12-inch piece of the same wire as the rig. It is bent in half, and a small loop is formed in the bend and secured with a haywire twist. The release is attached to the line from the anchor rod using this loop. Double snap swivels and shower-curtain rings as two of the most-popular ways to do this.
Building the release is personal preference, and fishermen use different combinations of beads, floats and weights to quickly identify their release. Hold the wire ends together and thread a bead or two, then a small float and/or egg sinker or some combination of these up the wires. The last step is to bend the ends of the wire in opposite directions. The release is attached to the line from the anchor rod, and the rig is snapped into the release by pinching the ends of the wire together and sliding them through the top eye of the swivel at the end of the rig.
The rig holds the bait, the release holds the rig and the anchor line holds the bait in place until a fish hits. On the strike, the rig is pulled from the release and the fisherman fights the fish on the fighting rod. Hopefully, all goes well, and the fish is landed, but sometimes things go wrong and help fuel fish tales about the big one that got away.
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