Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

[saxrulez]

I could really use some advice/tips on setups, leaders, knots, hooks, bait, weights, on going fishing in Saint Andrews bay for the first time. I bass fish, but that is all the tackle I have right now. I would like to fish for Spanish Mackerel as well as sea trout and possibly redfish. I don't really have a clue where to start.

What types of leaders/swivels if any?

What kind of hooks should I use?

How much weight?

I just need some basic tips to get me going!

Thanks in advance.

 

[cjr1971]

Re: Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

Here in the UK I use traces from the fishing shop for mackerel, also for garfish flatfish, codling, garfish, Gurnard etc. Baiting the trace for bass. I caught a 4.5kg bass off a shrimp trace baited with mackerel

 

[Eddie Ray]

Re: Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

Your in luck,red fish and snook are a lot like bass.you can fish them about the same way. You'll have to learn the area,and figure when the best time to fish is.
Macs are too much fun. I like to use a a small silver spoon.the kind with the treble hook is best.add a small swivel,and a short wire leader and you are ready. Remember to reel it in very fast.believe me you can't out run them.
Sea trout are usually on the grass flats or close to them. A shrimp on under a Cajun bobber is good and easy ,if you like artifical try a mirrolure. I like to catch them on top,but you got to go early fit that. I fish the ten thousand islands a lot. You can catch all of those guys there,often on the same day with the same bait. Probably already bored you to death,sorry. If you use live bait,try circler hooks they are great,and good for the fish. Remember not to set the hook with circle hooks. I lost a couple that way in the beginning .
Good luck and tight lines
Eddie

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

Here is a good website if you would like to learn about a few knots.

http://www.animatedknots.com/snell/index.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

 

[giericd]

Re: Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

if you are going for snook, tarpon, redfish, seatrout,flounder, spanish mac, ....... there are a few MUST HAVE lures to keep in your box for back bay/flats fishing.
1) D.O.A. shrimp- every thing that you will find in a bay will eat a shrimp. this is my "go-to" lure and if i cant catch some thing on one of these it's time to go home! stick to natural colors there are times when the trout will go nuts for the chartruse or the pink tail D.O.A shrimp but for the most part you cant go wrong with natural color

2)silver or gold spoon- great search lure! I prefer the capt Mikes gold spoon, but Johnson spoons and Crockadile spoons are great too. Capt. Mikes is weed less which makes life a lot easier when fishing the grass flats! trout and redfish love these!

3)mirror lure 17mr- at about $6-$8 each it can cost a fortune to find the color they like best but my experience (and I'm broke now!) is the one that has a very dark back/silver mirror sides/ with the orange chin. redfish and trout love them, snook and tarpon will slam them and have landed a lot of flounder on them. troll them at about 5mph and you will catch more trout and spanish mac than you know what to do with!

there is a lot of hype about the GULP series of sented baits and in theory it sounds good, i got talked in to buying them and have tried and tried them again and to be honest they are stiff compared to soft plastic baits which cuts down on the action, they are messy, stink, expensive, and the bags all ways seem to dry out leaving your baits hard as a rock and useless.
I live in s.w.florida and have boxes full of the above mentioned. i have used them in Korea,Italy,Poland,Germany,and in Massachusetts. At the Salem pier in Massachusetts every one looked at me like i was crazy and i was told i wasn't going to catch any thing on my "florida" style lures but you would be supprised how fast stripers and bluefish will jump on a mirror lure!

 

[fisherguy123]

Re: Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

believe this or not.....one of the best baits I found to use for saltwater fishing is a large
silver spoon with a strip of chicken skin on it about 3 inches by 1/2 inch wide. The skin is tough and oily and I have caught mackeral,cod,flounder ,halibut,redfish,wolffish on this set up. Just rig it up and bounce it off the bottom for groundfish and troll or cast for mackeral.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Salt water/bay Fishing for the very first time.

Sax, I'm right down the street from St. Andrews (St. George Island) and I fish the bay and estruines often. I have a rig that catches everything: trout, flounder, reds, croakers.

Here's what and how: 2' of 50# flourocarbon leader, 1- 6" black worm with chartruese tail (curly tail is best), 1 - 1/4oz bullet shaped weight (painted black!), 1 - red faceted ball, 1 - weedless hook, 1 - black swivel.

Tie hook to one end of the leader and feed worm onto the hook; make sure to embed the point into the worm so that the body hangs straight not curved. Next, on the free end of the leader, feed on the ball followed by the bullet weight, then tie on the swivel. VOILA...a fishslayer you will be.

I have my best luck fishing tops and bottoms of the tides, maybe 2 hours before and after and my favorite spots are the edges of the reeds and grasses, particularly on a point. I cast to put the lure at the edge of the grass (yep, lots of casts end up IN the grass!) and let it settle. Then retrieve a foot or two with a quick tug with the rod tip. Repeat as you make your way along.

Good Luck! Richard