Son wants to try beach fishing next trip to St. George/Hilton Head. As I've never salt water fished, thought I'd ask for a crash course in best tackle for newbie. If anyone has tackle they have outgrown or no longer use, speak up. D
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Gear/advice - salt water tackle
- Thread starter dsjoiner
- Start date
You can get rods and reels here for fairly cheap prices,especially combos.Walmart,Academy,etc.I love to surf fish,but haven`t been in a long while.Used to go to the outer banks in NC twice a year,caught lots of fish.I`ve also done ok at Jekyll(Ga) and Port.St.Joe in Florida.I use the two-hook rigs and pyramid sinkers.Use enough weight to keep the bait out there,but no more than that.These rigs are easier found closer to salt water.I use shrimp on the top hook and cut bait on the bottom.Cut some pvc pipe about 3 ft. long,pointed on one end,to drive into the sand.You can stick your rod into the pvc to rebait or take a break.This is actually my favorite fishing.
call some of the bait and tackle shops around where you'll be.....some of them rent out the tackle
all this ^^^^^^^ and any 10ft. - 12ft. med. hvy. spinning rod w/ a spinning reel holding 250+ yards of 20-25lb. test line will get you started
Fishing from the beach is fun but you're limiting yourself to whiting, maybe some spanish mackerel, small shark, rays and trash fish. If you want to really enjoy yourself you need to hit the piers lots of them are free and if you go at the right time you can get into some nice kings and other larger fish.. (Deeper water=Bigger Fish). There is nothing better than Salt water fishing...
As far as the right gear, If you are just fishing from the shore than you can really get by with smaller gear even you're fresh water bass gear (so long as you wash it out properly). Other than that you can really get your monies worth with some of those nice combo deals like the PENN FIERCE ($80-$100) depending on size at BPS with a 7-8 ft rod. 5000 series reals are a good all purpose real size good for both shore and pier fishing.
A lot of people use those massive shore rods and yes you can get your bait out there further with them but at the expense of experience, meaning it won't be as much fun horsing in smaller fish with a bigger stiffer rod.
I prefer 20-30lb Braid (Power Pro) with either a mono-or steel leader depending on what i'm fishing for.
For shore fishing the smaller the hook the better. size 4-6 hooks. I can recommend some exact hooks if you wish.
As for bait-
Shore- Use Shrimp/Squid. Live shrimp is best.
Pier Using cut bait/Live bait to focus on the bigger fish. I also prefer using Gotcha baits when not using live bait. You can also use shrimp on the pier if bigger fish aren't hitting that day.
There is actually a lot of information I could give you to make your experience the best it can be (lessons I learned the hard way). If you are interested in anymore info just pm me.
If not I hope this little bit gets you started. Notice everyone has there only little secrets or things they prefer but I'll put it like this, my father inlaw and myself almost got kicked off the pier last time in tybee cause we were catching all the fish and it seemed to irk the others after about 8hrs of watching us do work. So i'ed like to think how I do it works and if you are interested I'll be happy to share my secrets.
As far as the right gear, If you are just fishing from the shore than you can really get by with smaller gear even you're fresh water bass gear (so long as you wash it out properly). Other than that you can really get your monies worth with some of those nice combo deals like the PENN FIERCE ($80-$100) depending on size at BPS with a 7-8 ft rod. 5000 series reals are a good all purpose real size good for both shore and pier fishing.
A lot of people use those massive shore rods and yes you can get your bait out there further with them but at the expense of experience, meaning it won't be as much fun horsing in smaller fish with a bigger stiffer rod.
I prefer 20-30lb Braid (Power Pro) with either a mono-or steel leader depending on what i'm fishing for.
For shore fishing the smaller the hook the better. size 4-6 hooks. I can recommend some exact hooks if you wish.
As for bait-
Shore- Use Shrimp/Squid. Live shrimp is best.
Pier Using cut bait/Live bait to focus on the bigger fish. I also prefer using Gotcha baits when not using live bait. You can also use shrimp on the pier if bigger fish aren't hitting that day.
There is actually a lot of information I could give you to make your experience the best it can be (lessons I learned the hard way). If you are interested in anymore info just pm me.
If not I hope this little bit gets you started. Notice everyone has there only little secrets or things they prefer but I'll put it like this, my father inlaw and myself almost got kicked off the pier last time in tybee cause we were catching all the fish and it seemed to irk the others after about 8hrs of watching us do work. So i'ed like to think how I do it works and if you are interested I'll be happy to share my secrets.
I havent fished any piers up here in Jersey, but when we go out to IBSP we either use clam or bunker. The fresher the better. Up here the fishing slows the older the bait is. If we fish over night we have to go back out to one of the bait shops to get some fresh stuff for the morning some times
Doug
Doug
For a one shot deal, I would not get to elaborate. No needs spending hundreds of dollars on something you wont use but once or twice a year. Something like this ( http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Power-Plus-Trophy-Spinning-Combos/product/1301290546237/ ) from basspro will be fine. They are $30 bucks, decent reels, and as long as you wash them out youll be fine. Its best to use circle hooks so you dont gut hook your catch and kill it. Shrimp and squid for bait on the bottom with the triangle weights. If you have good luck with that you might consider an upgrade when the time comes. The ones at basspro come ready to fish except terminal tackle ( hooks and sinkers) with 16 lb test line. You should be ready to fish with two fishing rigs for less than $100. Hope this helps. Have fun and tight lines!
If you dont mind spending a little more, the next step up IMO would be ( http://www.basspro.com/PENNBattle-R...oduct/12062704513513/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT ) They are $130 and youll need to line them, with 20 lb braid with a mono top shot ( fish can see braided line a mile away) ideally.
If you dont mind spending a little more, the next step up IMO would be ( http://www.basspro.com/PENNBattle-R...oduct/12062704513513/?cmCat=CROSSSELL_PRODUCT ) They are $130 and youll need to line them, with 20 lb braid with a mono top shot ( fish can see braided line a mile away) ideally.
Stop at the bait store in the area you will be fishing and they will tell you whats biting and set you up right..
