# Please Saltwater Educate Me!



## kyudizky (Aug 5, 2009)

Hello all, this is an awesome forum!

I have been bass fishing my entire life and never saltwater fished. I have been living in Perdido Key - Holiday Harbor for the past 5 months or so and have been fishing the surf and enjoying that. I just got a boat and plan on doing a lot of fishing on it. Can anyone give me direction on how to go about hooking'em.Don't particular care what I'm catching, just as long as I can eat it. Reds, Specs, Spanish, Kings, Pomp, Flounder, i don't care. i would like to change up what i fish for regularly. Help with bait/lures to use, how to rig bait, and were to go.Please try to avoid abreviating things or places as again, this is all new to me (i.e...I have read about LY's a thousand times on here and have no idea what it is, other than bait). My boat is a 18' Stratos fish and ski bass boat. Sits very shallow in the water so flats aren't a problem, how ever going out for snapper will be. It should be ok on calm days going out nearshore in the Gulf for makeral. I greatly appreciate your help and am eager to get out and wet a line. 

Any and all input, opinions, methods are welcomed

Thanks


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## K-Bill (May 14, 2009)

find you a grass bed to drift over. tie on a thunder chicken poppin cork w/ a 2 ft. flouro leader, hook up a live shrimp - or gulp shrimp - or DOA, and get ready. another popular choice is the cajun thunder popping cork. i like the thunder chickens because they're weighted and you can throw them further. i also use kahle hooks w/ the livies - prob a 1/0 sz. good luck and let us know how it goes.


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## Hopin4aboat (Jul 5, 2009)

Your best bet is to get up with someone on the forum and go fishin with them a few times its much easier than trying to read and repeat. Your are in a great place try some of the dock lights at night with live shrimp or bull minnows its always good for a few flaties, reds and trout.


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## kahala boy (Oct 1, 2007)

Whatever you do, DON'T stick your fingers in the fish's mouth!!!!


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## Private Pilot (Oct 3, 2007)

I will also say that grassbed/flats fishing is worth a shot. Mygo-to lures would be a topwater skitterwalk and a gold spoon. They seem to work everytime. Try and get out just before sunrise and throw out the topwater. Make it "Walk the dog" and you'll soon see a redfish explosion. Later in the day, I'll switch tothe spoon.If you see sandholes, tie on a something scented, like a Berkely Gulp. SLOW bump it in the sand and a flounder might take you up on it. Good luck out there.


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## Jighead (Feb 11, 2009)

I was in your shoes about 4 years agoand I'd say go out and have fun learning. Get on www.maps.live.com and go to Perdido Bay and use the "birds eye" veiw. Find an area you've never fished before and go fish it. Get you some Gulp shrimp on jigheads, top water lures, popping corks and learn how to use a slip cork with live bait. Fish the channels with the slip cork rig.Use the other baits in shallow water where you see fish breaking the water, on ledges, around grass beds. I'm still not a great saltwater fisherman but if you do your research and don't be focused on where to go catch fish instead just go out to learn an area.


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## kyudizky (Aug 5, 2009)

<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Thanks for everyone advice, especially about not sticking my fingers in the fishes mouth, figured that out surf fishin.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o><P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">I would love to go out with anybody on here that would be up for taking me, let me know if anyone would be interested.<o></o><P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">When fishing grass beds with a popping cork, how deep should my bait be, and do you fish just a hook on the end of the leader coming off the cork? How much and how often do you pop it? <o></o><P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">When using a jighead, how do you hook live shrimp and doa shrimp? Do you use it under a pop cork or just by itself? I've only ever put a plastic grub on a jig before?<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">And by slip cork rig, do you mean just hooking up a good old fashionbobber that can put anywhere on your line? What channels are you suggesting i use this set up at?<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Has anyone fished the grass flats on the southeast side of the Perdido Key bridge, over by the Oyster Bar?Would this be a good place to start?<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Again appreciate everyones help.<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Kyle<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"><P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #1f5080; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">


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## TWINKIE6816 (Oct 10, 2007)

Not that I am that great at fishing or anything but, here is a link that works great for learning the rigs. It is a completely different style than fishing freshwater. I had to learn, and re-learn, and re-learn a ton of knots. Just because you can do it from home and solid ground it is a lot different when you are out in the water. I know you said you have a "basic flats boat" but, many of times I have went out in my jon boat, when it was calm only for it to get rough quick! I would second on trying to get up with a few members on here! Good luck!



http://www.combat-fishing.com/basicusefulrigs.html


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

HIRE AN INSHORE GUIDE. Really, it's the best investment you can make in your fishing career as you are starting out.You will spend way less on the price of the guide than you will figuring it out on your own over the years. I have tried fishing inshore for years and I still don't get it for the most part. Even with all the expert advice on here that you will get, it will still require you to go do some testing and trial an error. I have lived here my whole life and I need to take my own advice.:letsdrink


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## studter (Apr 1, 2009)

I second the guide thingy. I grew up as a kid going to the gulf & moved away when I was 20 moved back last summer & now 31.. 

I came back & went on 2 inshore charters(one in PCB & onein Pensacola area). Just watched what they where using & places we went has seemed to help me a ton these past couple times I have gone out.


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## studter (Apr 1, 2009)

anybody LY's I also wonder what they are?????


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## TWINKIE6816 (Oct 10, 2007)

> *studter (8/7/2009)*anybody LY's I also wonder what they are?????




Here you go!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alewife


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## gckayakers (Aug 8, 2009)

LY's- although that's not techically the correct name, are weak bait fish that are pretty popular. When I say weak, I mean they die quick and aren't really the best for staying on your hook. I personally have had more luck with shrimp and squid, but then again, if you are fishing in the bays and not on the oceanside, you might get a good bit of luck with them. If you have a bait net, they are easy to catch, and you really just have to look for a minnow movement about 8' in diameter in about 5-8 feet of water. At least that was in Niceville, but it's been over 10 years since I've used them. It all truly depends on what you are fishing for.


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## Russian (Jan 13, 2009)

Correct me if im wrong, but I believe "L""Y" is short for "Alewife" or "Alewives" which are a type of herring. They live in freshwater and saltwater running up freshwater rivers to spawn. They are also an invasive species in the Great Lakes and one of the reasons for the salmon fishery they now have up there. They make great salmon bait for fishing off the piers in Lake Michigan, people also catch them with cast nets there like they do down here. For down here Threadfin herring are one of my favorite live baits. Havent found a fish that wont eat them. But like the alewife herring they are very fragile and die easy. I have yet to use LYs down here, but mainly because I usually fish off a jet ski w/o a live well.


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## fy01CPO (Jul 3, 2009)

also, when you start fishing outside the pass, you'll hear about "hard tails", which are also called blue runners. You can go to myfwc.com and click on fishing and then saltwater fishing to access regulations and a handy dandy fish ID and description pdf which helps when initially learning the species. More useful offshore but still good stuff.


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## Fishermon (Oct 19, 2007)

I found a pic of a hard tail


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