Newbie to Saltwater fishing

[CWCW]

I will be going to South Padre Island this summer in June for 3 days for a sports medicine clinic. I want to go fishing off of the jetties at the south end of the island during my time there. I dont want to buy a real expensive rod and reel cause i will probably fish off of the jetties maybe twice a year. What is a good rod and reel to buy for my situation? A guy at work just said to go to walmart and buy the Ugly Stick catfish setup cause it comes with heavy duty line. Do i need more of a normal bait casting setup or will the spin cast Ugly Stick work? Im not looking at spending more than $40 or $50 dollars. The Ugly Stick setup is like $40.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

cant beat an ugly stick for the price....for that pric the reel is probably lousy, but for twice a year it'll be fine....then if you ever want to upgrade the reel you can do that, i have three ugly sticks that see heavy use and they've held up great....just make sure you get one with enough backbone for the fish you'll be catching

 

[CWCW]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

Like i said earlier ive never been saltwater fishing. What weight fish can i expect to catch? and what size line do i need?

 

[hardheadted]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

You can expect anything from half a pound to 500lbs. Just depends on what comes by. But you'll probably do just fine with 15 to 20 lb line. The main thing is to enjoy it.

 

[tnduc]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

Fishing off the SPI jetties you can get into some red drum, speckled trout, spanish mackeral in the summer and, as mentioned above, whatever else swims by. A rig with 15-20lb test should work well.

 

[CWCW]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

Best bait for at the jetties? Shrimp?

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

check with the local bait stores and see whats popular in that area...squid works pretty well in most places or cut bait (but the type varies by time of year and region)...in terms of size of fish you'll be catching....that can really vary....20 lb mono should do ya fine

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

when you buy a rod, keep that line weight in mind....make sure its heavy enough to cast a reasonbly heavy weight also...you need something substantcial 5oz at least....when i surf/pier fish i use either a 9 or 10' rod with 50lb braid and a shock leader...some guys go with longer rods for more leverage and casting distance but it takes some getting used to casting with something that long

 

[CWCW]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

tylerr83,
that was my next question. Im assuming that i will be fishing with a sinker sitting on the bottom and a leader hanging above with the hook and bait? Do you fish off of the jetties like you fish for catfish? Use a 5oz sinker and how high up from the sinker do i put the leader?

 

[tfonz]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

Yes you need to use a Carolina rig set up. Your hook can be a foot or so above the weight the best way, but if theres not a lot of snags in the area you can put weight up top and hook on the bottom.
correction: your fishing from the jetties deffinitely put hook above the weight.

I have good reels and cheap combos but you know my cheap combo was the only one not getting seized up from the salt water here recently. I cleaned all of them good with the hose but some corrosion still set in and my cheapest reel faired the best with no problems at all the Shakespeare.LOL!

 

[CWCW]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

Oh so thats what a Carolina rig is. I had seen the term used before but didnt know what it meant. Yeah im new at fishing saltwater and somewhat new at freshwater fishing, i really didnt know if expensive setups where that much better than the cheaper ones, but i have been told by many freshwater fisherman that they wasted money on high priced rod and reels cause the Shakespeare and Pflueger setups caught just as many fish and worked just as well.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

i agree with tfonz, carolina rig is pretty much the standard for that kind of fishing...you want your bait off the bottom...but you may not need a 5 oz sinker, that you need to determine of how strong the current is or how rough the surf is where you'll be fishing...but i'd say no less than 3oz...and anything bigger than 5 is gonna be tough to cast...like i said before make sure the rod is suited to the weight line you'll use, and has enough backbone to cast a weight that heavy

 

[SubSailor1]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

I'm from SPI and have dove and fished those jetties many times. Don't use to much weight or you'll snag. Those big chunks of granite go further out than you realize and it's very easy to get snagged with a heavy weight. Most likely you'll be catching Sheep head in the 2-8 lb range and a catfish or two. Shrimp, squid and cut bait work well. Good luck and enjoy!

John

 

[CWCW]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

I'm from SPI and have dove and fished those jetties many times. Don't use to much weight or you'll snag. Those big chunks of granite go further out than you realize and it's very easy to get snagged with a heavy weight. Most likely you'll be catching Sheep head in the 2-8 lb range and a catfish or two. Shrimp, squid and cut bait work well. Good luck and enjoy!

John

SubSailor,
How much of a weight would you recommend? How many yards out do i need to try to cast to keep from getting hung up in the rocks? What rod and reel and size line setup do you use?

 

[spacerust]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

you really can't go wrong with that ugly stick combo you mentioned. the laguna is my home water and i have fished the jetties a few times. if you don't want to lose weights you can use the carolina jig or what i used to do was tie a 2lb line to your main line and attach a nut (without the bolt) to the 2lb. when you snag on the rocks the 2lb line with the nut will snap off. this way you can just look around the house for loose nuts instead of buying some weights. if you fish the channel side you can catch some reds, trouts, cats, macks, and really just about anything going by. if the water is warm you can switch to the beach side and get yourself some young sand sharks in the 3-4ft range. great fight and good eats. although you would have to use a steel wire leader and some good size finger mullets. as for bait in this area i like shrimp, finger mullet, ballyhoo, and on the larger mullets as cut bait. enjoy your stay while you're here!

 

[CWCW]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

Wow, that seems like a good idea! I will be down there in early June. Is there a best time of day to fish? Is it like freshwater fishing, early in the morning? Or can you do ok during the day?

 

[mtpawn]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

When I was a kid we allways stopped by the service station and got the old spark plugs just tap the electrod closed they made great weights and the stations were allways happy to give them away. then just use a light leader so it will break if snaged

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

when fishing salt water keep the tide in mind...fresh water bites are often good early am or in the evening becuase many freshwater fish (like trout) feed on insects that are hatching or highly active at these times...but in tidal situations, make sure you are fishing with the tide moving, depending on the species some bite better on an imcoming or outgoing tide, but usually things slow down when tide is slack

 

[Bunnerrabbit]

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deleat

 

[spacerust]

Re: Newbie to Saltwater fishing

i have always preferred fishing early in the morning. not really a lot of wind and everything is nice and calm. but have had success throughout the day. main thing to look for is tidal current. it needs to be flowing strong enough to keep everything active.