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Talk me off the ledge

4K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  lettheairout 
#1 ·
This is my first time posting here, hope I'm in the right spot.

So I started inshore fishing this past year to deal with Covid boredom. I went out with no real prior knowledge, so I did some studying and asking around and learned a ton through Youtube and chatting with other fishermen, but even though I feel like I'm following their advice as closely as possible, I keep coming up empty handed. I'm fishing 3-5 times a week in what sometimes seem to be perfect conditions in pretty good spots, but I never seem to catch what I'm going for (reds, specks, flounder, sheepshead, etc)

Don't get me wrong, I typically have a great time out there regardless of how little success I have, but sometimes the frustration boils over and I end up asking myself if there's some small detail that I'm missing or if I just suck as a fisherman.

Is this just a part of the learning process? Is it like this for most people? Or am I striking out way too much for how often I'm going?

I'm going to keep at it even if I do catch nothing but pinfish and stingrays for the rest of my life, but any advice towards catching more quality fish or just how to approach fishing in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys!
 
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#2 ·
By the comment of pin fish or stingrays, I will guess you are either shore fishing or bridge fishing. Are you specifically targeting saltwater species? If you catch a pinfish, take a larger rod/reel and either free line a pin fish or small egg sinker to send it out for larger species of fish (red/trout/shark). It kinda helps to know where you are fishing too??? Maybe buddy up with someone and go out with them....
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the reply! I’m going to copy and paste exactly what I’m doing from another comment, hopefully that’ll provide a little something to work from:


I’m typically fishing live shrimp either on a knocker rig or underneath a popping cork with a 2/0 circle hook. I’ll throw artificials like Gulp shrimp/swimming mullet on occasion, but naturals are my usual go-to.

I’m without a boat for the foreseeable future, so I’ve been doing a bunch of land based fishing at little spots I’ve found since moving to Pensacola.

My main spots are the bridge by the navy point boat launch, High Hump bridge in Perdido Key, and Perdido Pass Bridge in Orange Beach. I always make sure water’s moving before I go, preferably falling.
 
#3 ·
Are you using dead or live bait, or artificials? Salt or brackish? Shore, pier or boat? Helps to know what you're doing to know what you're doing wrong. It has been a learning curve for me also coming from high mountain lakes and streams. Different tackle and tactics, but the fish are starting to come. Keep at it. Also you may try soaking yourself in fish urine prior to venturing out, a common practice aimed at reducing the scent of newcomer. :D
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the reply man! And I’m typically fishing live shrimp either on a knocker rig or underneath a popping cork with a 2/0 circle hook. I’ll throw artificials like Gulp shrimp/swimming mullet on occasion, but naturals are my usual go-to.

I’m without a boat for the foreseeable future, so I’ve been doing a bunch of land based fishing at little spots I’ve found since moving to Pensacola.

My main spots are the bridge by the navy point boat launch, High Hump bridge in Perdido Key, and Perdido Pass Bridge in Orange Beach. I always make sure water’s moving before I go, preferably falling.

As far as fish pee goes, I think I’d like to try a couple more things before I resort to that, but I appreciate the advice/encouragement 😉 hahaha
 
#7 ·
One of the best things you can do is join SaltStrong. www.saltstrong.com. Join the club and watch every video they have. If you do what they teach, you’ll start catching fish every time you go out. I got a membership for my son and it’s amazing how fast he started to out-fish me. Makes me happy to see it. So, it will cost you a couple bucks, but it’s totally worth it.
 
#15 ·
I’m usually going with 25 lb braided line and about 5 feet of 25 lb flouro leader tied straight to the main line, 2/0 circles with anywhere from a 1/2 oz- 2 oz egg sinker directly above the hook, knocker rig style.

if I’m fishing a popping cork, I use anywhere from 18”-24” of flouro, and I’m using the same sized circle hooks or a 1/4 oz jig head with either live shrimp, Gulp New Penny shrimp or gulp swimming mullet (I think both of them are 4”, maybe 3”).

My retrieve usually goes one pop, then I wait a few seconds after the cork stands straight back up to pop again.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Im not a inshore guy. I’m strictly freshwater.

But, If I’m understanding your post, you are completely new to fishing. If that’s the case I think your just following the learning curve. Keep researching and fishing. Things will start to turn around for you and you’ll learn a trick here and there and before you know you’ll start being consistent. Main thing is to enjoy your time on the water whether your catching or just fishing. If you do this, everything else will eventually fall into place.

Keep fishing and learning. Good luck
 
#18 ·
The 25lb flouro is way to big for clear water leader shy fish, go down to 12 or even 10lb test....If you know the fish are where you are fishing and just can't get them to bite ,then you got to try stealther approaches......Are your burying the hook where you can't see it...? If its shiny ,that may be your problem.....I'd rather lose a few fish than not get any bites at all...Good Luck....
 
#19 ·
Don't use a knocker rig, Carolina rig your shrimp. Black swivel not shiny swivel. Popping cork, the the length under the cork depends on water depth. Not to shallow not to deep. Keep it just above the grass. Artificial. Swim baits, mirrodine,skitterwalks, or rapala x rap.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
#20 · (Edited)
Use the smallest treble best hook (preferably black) you can find with live shrimp hooked under the horn. Free line the shrimp with 10-12# mono, no flouro, weights or swivels needed. Or use a popping cork with 10-12# flouro and same treble hook. No added weights or swivels. Use a weighted popping cork if you have to.
The shrimp wants to swim and you should encourage that.
 
#21 ·
Use the smallest treble hook (preferably black) you can find with live shrimp hooked under the horn. Free line the shrimp with 10-12# mono, no flouro, weights or swivels needed. Or use a popping cork with 10-12# flouro and same treble hook. No added weights or swivels. Use a weighted popping cork if you have to.
The shrimp wants to swim and you should encourage that.
Can't use treble hooks with live or dead bait fishing for specks or redfish in Florida, Rick.
 
#25 ·
Sounds like you might have to find new areas and probably have to start wading. The juvenile fish you're looking for would have taken a swipe at your offerings.
I have some articles that should help you, their too big to copy and paste here but if you message me thru this forum (conversations) and give me your e mail, I can send them to you.
Here's a snippet:



FALL FACTS ABOUT FLATS
When fishing flats this fall, keep these facts and suggestions in mind:
1 Most of the better flats in the fall will be in less than 4 feet of water.
2 Keep in mind that shallow fish are usually active fish and are really aggressive when it comes to taking artificials.
3 Since water temperatures are gradually dropping, an indicator for me that the flats are heating up is when water temperatures first get down into the mid-70s again.
4 When a tide is rising across a flat, the fish are usually more scattered and are sometimes found along shallower ridges or humps on the flat.
5 If the tide is falling, you “fall back” to the edge along the contour drop if possible. This is where the quality fish will be.
6 Grass flats or patches of scattered grass will hold enormous amounts of bait and white shrimp and are some of the best places to fish in the fall.
7 Grassy areas are usually clearer than oyster bottoms because the grass actually filters the water. This is something to consider on windy days when a “blue-northern” comes crashing through.
8 I’ve had some memorable days when fishing flats with top-waters in the fall months, especially if the water is relatively clean and the skies are cloudy.
9 As far as the tides go, the last two hours before high tide and the first few after is absolutely the best time to be situated on active fish.
 
#26 ·
Sounds like you might have to find new areas and probably have to start wading. The juvenile fish you're looking for would have taken a swipe at your offerings.
I have some articles that should help you, their too big to copy and paste here but if you message me thru this forum (conversations) and give me your e mail, I can send them to you.
Here's a snippet:



FALL FACTS ABOUT FLATS
When fishing flats this fall, keep these facts and suggestions in mind:
1 Most of the better flats in the fall will be in less than 4 feet of water.
2 Keep in mind that shallow fish are usually active fish and are really aggressive when it comes to taking artificials.
3 Since water temperatures are gradually dropping, an indicator for me that the flats are heating up is when water temperatures first get down into the mid-70s again.
4 When a tide is rising across a flat, the fish are usually more scattered and are sometimes found along shallower ridges or humps on the flat.
5 If the tide is falling, you “fall back” to the edge along the contour drop if possible. This is where the quality fish will be.
6 Grass flats or patches of scattered grass will hold enormous amounts of bait and white shrimp and are some of the best places to fish in the fall.
7 Grassy areas are usually clearer than oyster bottoms because the grass actually filters the water. This is something to consider on windy days when a “blue-northern” comes crashing through.
8 I’ve had some memorable days when fishing flats with top-waters in the fall months, especially if the water is relatively clean and the skies are cloudy.
9 As far as the tides go, the last two hours before high tide and the first few after is absolutely the best time to be situated on active fish.
Well that’s fortunate, cause I just bought a new pair of waders last week! I’ll get my email to you shortly.
 
#29 ·
I feel like this was just a plug for the other website for newbies learning how to fish. If not, lighten your leader and run a smaller hook. Small hooks catch big fish just the same but big hooks don’t normally catch smaller fish. Keep fishing and figure out what works. Also target the species that are running. You’re not going to catch specks flounder reds from your same spot 365 days out of the year and if you do please PM me your spot.
 
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#30 ·
Haha, I promise this isn’t any sort of ad. But honestly man, some friends came down from Birmingham today for a day of fishing, and I rigged everything up with wayyy lighter tackle like you and a lot of others suggested and we had the best day since we started this inshore stuff earlier this year

Caught a ton of dink reds, a really nice upper slot red, and a handful of specks and mangroves. It felt good to finally be able to consistently hook up on fish when we were able to find them, and I really think it was because I went with smaller gear.
 
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