How to Saltwater Fish – A Beginner’s Guide

A boat is not required to have fishing success in shallow saltwater; heed these on-foot tips to catch your share of fish in the brine

7 Tips for Saltwater Shore Fishing Success

Before I bought a boat, I fished from the shore in saltwater along the coast, mostly from beaches along the Gulf of Mexico and in bays next to it. Even though I’m a boat owner now, I still fish from shore quite a bit.

You can park the boat on a barrier island, spit, or point, and I’ll walk to the Gulf side to catch pompano, flounder, whiting, and reds in the surf. There is nothing quite like standing knee deep in teal tidewaters while a pompano is peeling your drag.

Here are some easy things to remember if you are on land and want to fish along the Gulf of Mexico during the day.

Spring and fall migrations can help you plan your trip. The best times to visit the Gulf Coast beaches are March, April, and May in the spring and September, October, and November in the fall. This is when spring and fall migrations of all types of fish are the strongest. You have a better chance of catching fish when they are moving the most because you have to stay put when you are shore-bound. Advertisement.

When you go shore fishing, you should always try to find a spot near passes, cuts, tips, points, or capes that lead from the ocean to bays, estuaries, or lagoons. It’s clear that the best places to fish are the jetties, also known as “the rocks,” inside passes and cuts that connect the ocean to bays, but it can get crowded.

Don’t overlook the beach stretches a half a mile on either side of the passes. There are a lot of fish that like to hang out on both sides of the passes, but the cut or pass is where most of the bait and fish go.

The points of peninsulas and barrier islands are premium hot spots for shore fishing as well. Along the Gulf of Mexico, many state parks are located at the ends of these points, making the best fishing spots easy for everyone to get to. Advertisement.

This old proverb also works for saltwater shore fishing, especially when beaches are crowded, like during spring break. But early and late are best. Before everyone else comes to the beach, get to a good spot at dawn, and you can have a nice red or a few pompano in the bucket before the first umbrella shows up.

It also works well in the evening, especially if a big storm in the afternoon keeps everyone off the beach. After the storm ends in the evening, the beaches are usually empty, which is a great time to sit on the shore with a rod or two.

“Real bait is better.” I usually only use artificial lures, but when I’m shore fishing, I’ll break that rule. When fishing from shore you are primarily sitting still and waiting on fish to come to you. Casting and reeling artificials like you’re in a bass tournament is just not the right vibe.

I’ve tried just about every kind of bait when shore fishing and fresh shrimp is hard to beat. Simply stop at a local seafood market and buy a half a pound of fresh shrimp. The live shrimp doesn’t have to be kept alive, and it stays on a hook better than frozen shrimp.

Heavy rigs aren’t needed. I see shore anglers all the time bring big surf rods with heavy weights and line to the beach. They put a big hook on a dead mullet or squid and throw it out into the country mile away. Most of the fish they catch are big stingrays, sharks, and bull reds that are over the slot limit. Pompano, redfish, or flounder are great fish to grill at home. A simple Carolina rig with a 1- to 2-ounce weight and a half- to whole fresh shrimp on it is the most deadly way to catch them.

If you’re beach savvy enough to spot sand fleas (a. k. You can find sand fleas in the wet sand and dig them up if you want to. They make great bait for mole crabs. However, I can promise you that if a group of pompano or slot reds swims by, they will not turn down fresh shrimp. Also, there is no need to always hurl it way out there “past the sandbar. ” Fishing inside the first trough between the beach and the sandbar is perfect for these species.

Moving on to troughs, keep an eye out for darker troughs, back flows, and holes when you’re fishing on the beach. Fish use the troughs and bars to migrate along like highways. When doing so, they feed in the longshore currents flowing down the troughs. This makes these troughs like a river with current, and you should fish them like a river, looking for eddies, cuts, or any other irregularities along the trough.

You will also see “backwashes” or “returns” along the beach. These are places where water that washed up on the beach by a wave goes back into the ocean. Pompano and redfish eat small crabs and sand fleas that live along the trough, which is where these little holes where the water flows back in are found.

Equipment considerations One thing I relish about shore fishing is its simplicity. A small tackle bag or box with extra Carolina rig tackle (weights, beads, and hooks), a spool of 15-pound-test fluorocarbon for the leader, and some pliers are all you need. Get two 7- to 8-foot spinning rods with braid that is about 15 pounds strong. Don’t forget the pliers! There are indispensable when trying to get hooks out of deep-hooked fish.

My carryall is simply a 5-gallon bucket. I put a bag of ice at the bottom of the bucket and add my fresh shrimp bag and beer bottle. If you want to settle in for a while, bring a chair.

Once you catch a few fish, put them in the bucket of ice to keep them cool. Now you can brag about having fresh seafood for the grill.

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Beginner’s Guide to Saltwater Fishing: What Do You Need?

How to plan a saltwater fishing trip?

Make sure to have a valid saltwater fishing license. You can buy or renew your saltwater fishing license either online or by phone. Check a local tide chart when planning your inshore salwater fishing trip. One of the most important inshore fishing tips is to plan your trips based on tidal movement. Choose the right spinning rod and reel combo.

Can you go saltwater fishing?

When it comes to saltwater fishing, there’s really no shortage of destinations to choose from. You can cast off the sands of your local beach or the planks of a pier, or you can venture out onto the open ocean in a kayak, canoe or boat. As long as you’re in the ocean and using saltwater fishing gear, you’re on the right track.

Why should you learn saltwater fishing?

Due to the different types of saltwater fish and number of saltwater fishing tips and techniques that can be applied, learning this type of fishing can be rewarding for both seasoned anglers and beginner saltwater fishing students.

What is saltwater fishing?

Saltwater fishing is a rather generalized term used in reference to any method of fishing in the ocean. This applies if you’re casting your line into the waves beneath a pier, fighting a fish from a kayak, saltwater fly fishing, or trolling a line behind you on a boat.