I thought Id type this up and save it since many folks unfamiliar with saltwater ask what to fish for when they come down to stay at the beach on vacation and so forth. Here are just a few basic tips and tackle/rigging recommendations to get you started.
First of its not that complicated. Saltwater is no different than bass fishing for the most part. Reds Speckled trout, flounder, etc… are just ambush feeders/predators like bass/bream/stripers, etc…Id bet my meager paycheck you can catch any of the saltwater species with the majority or your bass lures. The only difference is they respond and feed more during tidal movements. Also for the purposes of this write up I am speaking about bass sized tackle as far as rods and reels. My preference is bait casting gear spooled with 10# and 2500 size spinning reels spooled with 8 or 10#. I fish a little lighter than most so anything in the 8-14# range will work just fine. You can catch anything from a 6” croaker to a 40+ inch redfish with good quality and quantity of line, have your drag set and know how to use it. If you want to go buy a 12’ “surf outfit” and sling 60lb test off the beach with a 14/0 hook baited with a small weaned child to catch the “big fish” then go for it. Just know that you will likely just catch sharks and rays (which is fine) but that’s not the intention of this write up.
Spanish and king mackerel run the Gulf side beaches. I like light hard wire or heavy mono leaders fished with alewives, pogies, BIG live shrimp or silver eels. You can drift them in the current or use small water balloons blown up and tied at various depths to float it out. This also helps if there is little current by allowing a breeze to carry it around. For kings you may want to step up to a reel capable of a few hundred yards of 20-30lb test. By catch for this will include but not limited to skipjacks, hard tails, bluefish, sharks, rays, etc…
One of my favorite beach fish to catch and eat are whiting. Carolina rig for whiting with a small 8 or 10 kahle or treble hook and a thumb nail size piece of peeled fresh shrimp. They are great fighters for their size and some of the finest table fare around.
Specks/reds will run the beach early and throughout the day also. I like to walk slinging a Krocodile spoon by Luhr Jensen in ½ or ¾ oz.
http://www.basspro.com/Luhr-Jensen-Krocodile-Spoons/product/8346/I also like many of the mirrolure C17MR, 9MR-18 and 16MR. Lures that also produce well are many of various jig head/grub combinations twitched across the bottom or even higher in the water column. 1/8-1/4oz jig heads are usually sufficient. GULP baits in 3” pogie or shrimp in almost any color will work well also. I like “new penny”, “natural”, and “molting” but they all work pretty well in our area.
Live Bait:
I fish live shrimp/croakers 2 different ways. There are others but these are the basics and what works well. I like to fish Carolina rigged with a swivel, sliding egg sinker or split shot and about 16-20” of leader. Use as little weight as possible (even free lined at times) to get to the bottom. The other is slip corked. Slip corking helps in the event that you are around structure such as bay gas platforms or rock/oyster shell bottoms. This helps prevent some bait stealing from what we call “tail biters”. IE, Croakers, white trout, toad fish, and one million others. The depth for slip corking varies depending on the water depth of course. It varies from 2’ in the shallows to 20-30’ around gas rigs in the bay/offshore.
If anyone has anything to add please feel free to do so, I was trying to have something on here for folks fishing down this way without having to retype it every time.
