1-5 Top Saltwater Fishing Tips
1 Safety
I will start this Top Saltwater Fishing Tips with the Safety. Safety should have the first priority of a fishing trip especially if it is in the deep shore. Even if you are a confident swimmer and the day is calm, be sure to take life Jacket, first aid or survival kit on your boat.
Because you never know when the weather will change, So get yourself prepared for the unexpected. If you have any children with you for the ride he/she should also wear a life jacket at all the times.
2 Do You Have a Fishing License?
To be able to fish, you have to get a fishing license due to the fact that this is an essential requirement by the law and regulations. This law may vary regarding fishing from one state to the other. For more information, you can read this article – Recreational Saltwater Fishing license
3 Finding The Right Boat
For a saltwater fishing, the first thing you will need is a boat. The size of this vessel depends on how many people will join in on the trip. For example, If you are planning a shore fishing, a 15-foot sailboat with a cuddy forward is good. It will serve as a shelter whenever it rains. The vessel should be sturdy enough to handle the strong waves or some bumps on the beach sand or on the rocks.
4 Avoid Seasickness
If you are a novice on the saltwater or you are fishing with someone unprofessional, be confirmed to pack Sea sickness medication. Even Pro anglers will use a sea sickness medication if the sea is particularly choppy. Don’t ignore this step, because believe me, there’s nothing worse than seasickness on a fishing trip.
5 Talk to the Locals
You can talk to your local tackle shop employee in order to find out what’s going on in the area you are planning to fish in. They know what’s going on and what the best bait for you to use is at the time of the year. You can also join a local angler’s club where anglers get together to swap stories, plan trips and drink beer.
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6 Saltwater Fish Migration Patterns
Have you done your homework on saltwater fish Migration Patterns? If not then do it before you leave for a saltwater fishing trip. Do a little research on the area you are planning on fishing near. Fish have certain kind of migration patterns. So if you are looking to catch a migratory fish, you will have to make sure that you are selecting the right time of the year.
7 Wire Leader
Using monofilament is better than using a wire leader. This way You will get more strikes. Wire kinks easily, which may result in line breaks. However, you can still catch toothy fish like Spanish mackerel and bluefish on mono leaders. But the material has to be heavy enough (at least 50- or 60-pound-test). You can also cut back the mono whenever it begins to look gnawed.
8 Choosing a Reel
One most common thing in a Top saltwater Fishing Tips is to choosing a good Reel.If you are just beginning to fish in saltwater you should go with a quality spinning reel combo. Unless you are already professional in the area of casting a conventional reel, a Spinning Reel (Check This Articletop 5 saltwater spinning reels ) will help you to cast better and will help you avoid the backlashes of traditional gears.
9 Marine Charts & Maps
Fish is there where food is readily available. You will find fish in the mouth of a Creek, inlet, channel or estuary during a falling tide. Marlin charts and maps are essential for locating such potential fishing spots.
10 Take The Best Saltwater Fishing Equipment
You need to stock up on various fishing equipment made for Saltwater Fishing. For instance, there are set Fishing Rods, Jig heads, Reels (Check This Article https://www.reelsspinning.com/best-surf-fishing-spinning-reels/ ) and other things for Saltwater Fishing. The fishing rods for saltwater are made of either graphite or fiberglass.
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11 Using different Lures
When fishing in turbid water it is good to use noisy topwater lures. Lures with a rattle or pop work slowly and they are easy for the fish to locate. Similarly smaller Lures are sometimes best on calm days. But in a choppy water the bigger the Lures the better the performance.
12 Fish the Edges First
You should always try the borders of the perimeter first instead of roaming at the center. The reason is it might scare the other fish away. If you go through the edges first, one will gain a much better chance to catch more fish in the middle.
13 Hooks
There are many kinds of hooks you can choose depending on your needs.Hook sizes and shapes are very important for all types of bait. Circle hooks are popular and they are good as because they don’t hook fish in the throat. Besides their hookup rate is as better than the conventional J-hooks.
Treble hooks, on the other hand, are a poor choice for bait fishing since they are easily swallowed and do far more damage. Because fish that escapes with a treble hook in the throat is a dead fish.
14 Find the Dolphins
Yellowfin tuna are often positioned closely with dolphins. So in case if you see a group of dolphins, that means you have some tuna in that area.
15 Avoid The Sharks
Another very common tips that you will find in most of the Top Saltwater Fishing Tips is avoiding the sharks. Sharks in the region will disturb you from finding and catching fish. You can trick the sharks by pouring some fish blood on a paper and rolling it in a ball.
You then toss it overboard, sharks will follow the ball and vacate the location.This will increase the likelihood of catching fish.
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16 Mind Your Anchor
If your anchor is caught on the bottom, try affixing afloat with it. You can come back after the tide has adjusted of course. This will help you to lose the anchor.
17 Tidal Currents
It is important that you understand the tidal currents and how they affect the areas you are going to fish because the movement of water changes and it does not always precisely follows the high and low tides. In many areas especially inlets and channel entrances, the tidal current may vary or lag the actual tide by more than an hour.
In spots like this, fish responds often more to the direction and speed of water movement than the actual height of the tide. Where in open water the height of the tide can be most important.
18 The Condition of Monofilament
Change the Monofilament often to get the best result. If it begins to look dull or feel rough it is no longer usable. But if you want to use it at least, cut back the front part of the Line. This will remove the weaker section. Retie the leader.
19 Prepare The Reel
Before storing the reels, soak it in a box or bucket of fresh water for at least two hours. It will remove the saltwater of the Line and the inside corners of the Reel.
20 Find Some Birds
If you can see Seagulls which have been feasting on little fishes, you can also find there larger game fish beneath the surface area of the water. You can also Look for some floating timbers or debris. In most cases upon a great chunk of floating timber, you might find a sports fish
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21 Heavy Monofilament
Some big fish has rough lips and demands extra heavy monofilament. For example, normally it takes 80 – 100-pound test to land a 100-pound Tarpon, or 50-80 to land a big Snook. But casting a long length with the heavy stuff is very difficult. So you can divide the leaders into two stages.
Keep the heavy stuff short. For example 12-20 inches and for the lighter (30-40 pound test) use in the secondary section especially when fishing around heavy cover or structure.
22 Quick Sinking
In extremely deep water and where there are heavy jigs it is important that you use fishing lures that sink quickly. For example, gel braid lines are more sensitive than monofilament. They also have a smaller diameter which has less resistance to the current. So it will be a good combination for lures that quickly sinks.
23 Lubricate Your Reel
Lubricating your new reel in the critical areas of the reel will give it a longer life. Lubricate the reel at the end of the fishing season or every 6 months. Use light oil in those critical areas where gears are not required.
24 Stay in Your Comfort Zone
Using brands of fishing line that you are familiar and comfortable with is a good choice. You might experience the worst moment for an unknown bargain line.
25 Bright & Shiny Lures
Fish bite most on lures that look Bright & Shiny. So choose and buy only the lures you know that will work. Rines your used lures and before returning them to the tackle box dry them.
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26 Avoid the Swivel
If there’s no other way but to use a wire leader, try to skip the swivel if possible. you can rather make a loop in the wire with a haywire twist, and then tie the double mono to the wire loop with an Albright knot.
27 Setting Hook
One usual way that many anglers use is they set the hook before the fish has the bait or lure inside its mouth. Try waiting an extra moment until you are sure that the bait or lure is inside the fish’s mouth. A better way to time this is to wait until you feel the pressure on the line from the fish.
28 Lures Work Better
Most lure work better if you attached it to the line or leader with a loop knot. This allows you a more natural action for bait as well.
29 Letting a Fish Go
If you catch a fish and decide to let it go into the water again, make sure the fish is well enough to swim back. If you find a fish tired and lethargic you need to help that one. Because If you just toss it back in the water, it will eventually sink and die.
You can move the fish back and forth in still water or face it upstream in the current. It will help its respiratory system back in operation a lot faster. Wait until you can feel the fish is beginning to move on its own before letting it go.
30 Keep Your Bait Alive
You can keep Crabs, Shrimps, and other crustaceans alive and healthy for many hours in an ice chest if they are packed in wet newspaper. You can also keep them alive in damp vegetation so they do not make direct contact with the ice or ice water.
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31 Necessary Condition for Live Bait
Live bait will stay in top condition for a longer period of time if you keep them into good circulation. Incoming water is always the best choice, but if that’s not possible, you can use an aerator.
Temperature is a critical issue here because warm water cannot hold as much oxygen as cool water. You have to change the water in every few hours to remove waste material that replaces oxygen in the water.
32 Chumming
For chumming you need three ingredients: a current to carry it, fresh or fresh-frozen material, and judicious use. The idea is to make a line of food that attracts fish from far away. If you toss too much food over a short period of time, the fish will hang too far back. On the other hand, too little chum may not move them at all. So you have to start slowly and gradually increase the chum until you get results.
33 Tie the Tough Knot
Saltwater fish are strong fighters than the freshwater fish. So make sure that you use a fishing line knot that is strong enough under all types of conditions. The Bimini Twist is one of the best choice out there that strengthen the line for a strong leader connection.
34 Bait for Saltwater Fishing
Saltwater fishing is a bit different than the freshwater fishing, and you must prepare yourself differently as well. Freshwater and saltwater fish area are pretty much the same in regards to living bait being the best option; the only difference is what type of live bait you would use to attract what type of fish! There are many kinds of baits out there that you should learn about.
35 Be patient
Many anglers that are too impatient move from one spot to another to find fish, which sometimes causes these people to miss out on a hotspot and thus also reducing the chances of capturing fish. It is important that you cast out a couple of times before shifting into various kinds of bait. This practice can be done from the shallowest to the deepest position.
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