New to the salt life .

[Bluegill]

Hey guy's have a few questions about fishing in salt water . As of now I fish only fresh lakes, reservoirs , rivers non tidal etc. I need some info on what I need to get started . I have the yak , PFD , fish finder etc what I need info is on tackle ,when and where I should go and rods and reels need one that will get the job done but won't break the bank. I joined this forum a while back read posts about severn , the Bay etc want to get out there with you guy's . But I don't want to embarrass my self or not be ready . Any help will be appreciated and I hope to see you guy's out there .

[chimo]

Basic tackle would be a couple top and bottom rigs with an assortment of weights for soaking bait, an assortment of jig heads and gulp/soft plastics (3 inch swimming mullet will catch a wide variety of fish in the bay) and maybe some spoons for jigging / casting to breaking fish. Depending on what you want to target you can add to the list from there. I just started fishing the salt a few years ago myself and was intimidated by it at first but its not that much different from freshwater. The main difference is the tides. Fish structure when the water is moving and chances are you will catch fish.

Chimo

[J.A. Veil]

Chimo gave you some excellent advice. Many of the MKF anglers have had good luck using the Berkeley Gulp baits http://www.berkley-fishing.com/produ...ait/gulp-alive These are soft plastic lures that are infused with a scent that attracts fish. I have tried various shapes and colors but have had the best success with two varieties that have a twister tail design. I fish the swimming mullet in 3" and 4", and the minnow grub in 2". I have caught a lot of fish recently in the Severn using a 1/8-oz jighead and the Gulp minnow grub (rockfish and redfish to 16"; pickerel to 21"; perch to 11") on an ultralight rod.

Last fall I caught some larger fish using the 4" swimming mullet on a 3/8-oz or 1/2-oz jighead. Size the jighead to target the depth you want and the Gulp to match the bait on which the fish are feeding.

One other type of lure that I use frequently is a spinner. Spinners come in several styles: a) inline (Mepps); b) safety-pin (looks like a miniature bass spinnerbait -- look for 1/8-oz or 1/16-oz); c) others like Roadrunner jigheads that have a spinner blade attached to the lead head. I caught hundred of perch last summer using various spinner lures.

All of the lures I mention above can be cast and retrieved or trolled. The heavier jigheads can be jigged too.

[surfdog]

^all good advice! for rods i use 7' med power with fast tip, IM 7 or 8 graphite rods with 300 or 400 series bait runners spooled with 10-15lbs braid but thats just my preferance. if you dont have leashees for you rods in would make some or rod floats

[dsiekman]

Welcome to the addiction! I fish very similar gear to what I use in freshwater. I carry anything from ultralight with spinners to small boat rods with umbrella rigs. Just depends on what you want to do. Just wash it all off when finished!

[Bluegill]

Thanks for all the good info, looks like this will be an easy transition for me, on my way to bass pro in a few for the gulp and jig heads ,hope to hit the water one day this week any suggestions on a good spot, I live in Montgomery county ,Burtonsville

[BassMoore]

any solid 3000 size spinning reel or 4000, 12lb mono or 20lb braid will be great for rock and pickeral. For perch 6 lb mono, or 10lb braid

1/8 oz jig heads, 1/4 jid heads, an assortment of chartuse and pumkin seed 3 inch grubs from bass pro

A popper or zora spook for rock fish

Small spinner baits, i use the spinner blades that have a clip and put my jig heads and grub on that

swim baits for rock, with a 1/4 jig head or 1/2 ounce.

Rattle traps, big and small for rock , red, and perch.

6'6 Medium action rod for rock, can go MH i use a MH but its a bass rod i like the lighter action

I use 6' M and a 6'L action rods for perch. i use the 6'M for my top water rock fishing and shallow water swim baits and rattle traps

shad darts to use for jiggin perch under neath peirs as well. work it like a bass worm is the trick.

any other ?s come into bass pro i work tuesdays and fridays name is zach i can walk you thro and show u anything and everything u need to get started, give you reviews on everything , and give you the best value for your money

[dsiekman]

After reading through all this I went back through my arsenal. I did a little swap and came up with what I think will be a great trolling combo for the Xraps I've been having luck with lately. It started out as a 6'-6" bass blank. Plenty of back bone but a fairly fast tip and VERY sensitive. I built it for casting but hadn't been happy with my Cardiff 200 (Only Shimano I've ever had problems with...POS). I swapped it out for my Avet 5.3 MC spooled with 55lb braid. I call her "Overkill"...



She'd probably make a pretty good jigging combo, too.