Fish Cleaning Stations & Fishing Dock Setup

Down at the marina one summer, I watched a guy’s 12-pound redfish die in a borrowed cooler when the ice gave out before weigh-in. He’d had that fish alive an hour before. It’s one of those moments that stays with you. What he needed was a functional DIY dock-mounted livewell — the kind of setup … Read more

Out on the water near Pensacola, I once watched a spinning rod valued at roughly $200 slip off a dock post and vanish into the bay. The rod holder had been fastened through a hollow aluminum post using nothing but undersized screws, no backing plate underneath, and no sealant around the holes. When a bull … Read more

Spend enough time at the bait shop or hardware store and you’ll hear it: “Just bolt any old table to your dock rail and you’re good to go.” That advice evaporates the moment saltwater gets involved. I’ve watched dock owners follow that exact guidance, only to call me six months later when their mounting hardware … Read more

Hurricane season along the Gulf Coast has a way of exposing what your dock really needs. When salt spray picks up and the wind tests every fastener you’ve installed, gaps in design become obvious — and nowhere is that clearer than at a fish cleaning station. Most DIYers bolt down whatever’s handy and hope it … Read more