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Kinda new to saltwater fishing, any advice?

2K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  Woody Forbs 
#1 ·
So far I've fished off the pier in st George with moderate success, but that was mostly catfish. I've attempted to surf fish a few times at st George and Cap San blas. Besides a few trout and mullet at the state park in st George I haven't done well. Haven't caught much besides sail cats. What can I do to better my odds? And when surf fishing how can you tell you have a bite and correctly set the hook?
Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Run! Run Away! And damn sure dont buy a boat! It just gets worse and worse... LOL

All joking aside, if you are going to be surf fishing, look at the "sticky" posts in the surf section. You can learn a lot from them. Also, to know what to tell you to do to better your odds, we have to know what you are doing now...

Oh, and Sailcats are a good catch. They eat just fine. But the much more common Hardheads cats do not! And watch those spines. They have an extremely painful neurotoxin. Even a little prick with them can sit you down for a while and run a fever. A good spine stabbed through your hand or foot can turn into a nice afternoon in the ER. Ask me how I know....
 
#3 ·
So far what I've done is pretty much just use a circle hook and shrimp.i have a sand flea rake but those guys aren't easy to find at those two beaches. I have a seven ft tsunami surf rod with a diawa reel, and then a few normal penn and okuma reels. Pretty much all have the circle hook and shrimp setup for me.
I'm mainly wanting to catch whiting, pompano and maybe some drum.
And I make sure to always avoid the spikes on the catfish !
 
#4 ·
Sandfleas are usually VERY plentiful at San Blas. I fish it a good bit. Do you know how to spot them? Are you fishing ocean side or bay side of the cape?

What size circle hook and what type of rig? For the surf, I use either a single or double dropper rig with 1/0 or 2/0 circle hooks for what you are trying to do. Are you using those store bought rigs or are you tying your own. If using store bought, dont. Tye your own with as little hardware on it as possible. Swivel at top, one or two hooks and a snap swivel at the bottom. Use as light of flourocarbon leader as you can. I even lightly dust all of my swivels and weights with flat light tan spray paint (way before fishing day) to make them less visible to the fish.

Whiting should be plentiful this time of year, as well as bluefish. The Pompano have pretty much come and gone by now in that area. You'll see a few, but the Pompano run is in April/May through there.
 
#5 ·
I generally fish the ocean side side, haven't tried the bay side. I've caught a few sand fleas but not much and it takes like ten scoops from my rake to get just one. I'm not too sure how to spot them honestly. The sinker I use is 2 ounces.
As far as whiting and bluefish go how far out do you have to cast to catch them normally?
I saw online that they say sand fleas are good for catiching whiting.
 
#7 ·
The ocean side is going to be more productive for what you are trying to do.

You need to learn how to spot the sandfleas before your rake ever hits the sand. It should only take a scoop or two for a full afternoon's worth of bait. Try looking at some youtube vids to learn how. Here is one, there are others.



The weight size will depend on the surf conditions. You want to use just heavy enough to hold in the surf.

As for how far to cast? Depends. There are three productive areas. The cut. Which may be close or far. It depends on where you are and changes from day to day. Number two is just inside or outside the first bar. Also varies with where you are. And third, one of my most productive areas is the little 1ft drop off where the surf skim slides back into the water. I've caught fish as big as 6-7lbs in that water. And it is usually only about 10-15ft out from the beach.
 
#6 ·
You'll never get away from catfish. Since you are new, WELCOME ABOARD!!! Remember one thing, sail cats (gaf tops-long fins) are very very edible!!! They are slimy but they are a predatory fish so eat alot of "good stuff" instead of mud and trash like their cousin the hard heads!!! Their meat is white and fries up great, so if you are catching a bunch of em, keep a few and try em if you never have!!!
 
#9 ·
Don't get me wrong I don't mind the catfish but I do mind the two inch ones repeatly trying to grab bait the same size as them!

I'll watch that video and learn how to catch the fleas . How can you normally spot the cuts and drop offs and all that stuff .

Where is this stumphole at?
 
#12 ·
I'll watch that video and learn how to catch the fleas . How can you normally spot the cuts and drop offs and all that stuff .

Where is this stumphole at?
There is a "sticky" thread in the surf section of this forum that is the best tutorial that I have seen.

https://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f30/how-read-surf-65252/

And how to catch sandfleas:

https://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f30/sandfles-17414/


The stumphole is right at the BIG boulder seawall as you turn onto the cape penninsula. There is a parking lot on the left. The whole beach there is covered in stumps. I have heard repeatedly over the 20+ years that I have fished the area that it is a good place to go. But I have fished it twice I think in those 20 years and never caught anything at all....
 
#10 ·
When you get to the breakwater, park and walk down the beach to the left (south) which is toward the actual cape. There are usually several vehicles parked there.
 
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