# Fishing from a boat , help.



## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Hi, 
We are new to this whole fishing from a boat thing and have not had any luck at all. 
We go out to the areas that people have caught fish, like between Fort Pickens and the Navy Base Port place. We troll around but nothing bites. 
Do people troll? or anchor and cast, or drift and cast?


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## inshorecatch (Oct 1, 2007)

troll just outside the pass around the markers lots of spanish right now. good luck


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

What kind of fish are you looking to catch? What kind of tackle do you have?


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## Johnms (Nov 29, 2010)

inshore I like drifting over holes, then casting out lures. Early morning I like the "dog" series lures (Wal-mart sells them) "Top-dog" and "Popa-dog"floating lures. www.mirrolure.com/classics/87mr.htm

8:00 and later 
try a 1/4 oz jig head with soft plastics, Mirrolure soft plastics work, also Berkley gulp shrimp (try 3" white shrimp).

The trick is to find a combo of shallow an deep. Fish hang just off the shallow areas waiting on the tide to drift bait over them. 

Tight lines!


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

Johnms said:


> inshore I like drifting over holes, then casting out lures. Early morning I like the "dog" series lures (Wal-mart sells them) "Top-dog" and "Popa-dog"floating lures. www.mirrolure.com/classics/87mr.htm
> 
> 8:00 and later
> try a 1/4 oz jig head with soft plastics, Mirrolure soft plastics work, also Berkley gulp shrimp (try 3" white shrimp).
> ...


Other great lures for close to shore/bay fishing are gold spoons, clark spoons, and gotchas.

You can troll the spoons at about 4 or 5 mph.

You can set up some rigs and deep drop bait around the bridge structures and deeper parts of the bay. 

Sky's the limit here. The two best things to do are to go and talk to guys in the tackle shops (Dizzy Lizzie's, Outcast, Half Hitch, Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle, Hot Spots) and to practice at fishing. The hardest things are being intimidated by other boaters/fishermen and keeping a positive attitude. We all have good days and bad days.


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Thanks for the advise! 

We are fishing for fish we can eat. :whistling:

After a lot of research and reading in these forums we have stocked up on lures that others have mentioned, I don't remember all the names, Gold Spoon, Go-get-ums, I even made a batch of Straw Rigs.
My pole I bought at Walmart, its a medium/heavy I think....its bigger then my trout pole for sure.

We moved down here from Oklahoma where all we fished for was catfish, now we'd like to catch ANYTHING else but.


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## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

Im paying attention to this post lol need to learn too


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## bigrick (Sep 29, 2010)

go to a tackle shop and get a map of the cartography in your area, it will show you were all the ledges, holes, flat and stucture are. Try drifting across some grass beds with a couple live baits on popping cork out the back. I'd invest in a cast net, no need to pay for shrimp every time you want to fish. I was basically born on a fishing boat but still learn something new every time I go out so be patient.


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## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

sorry to ask a questiin in your thread but what should I be looking for when looking for shrimp to catch


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## oxbeast1210 (Jun 21, 2010)

not sure what happen to my first post .... owell


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Thanks again!
I didnt know that _*cartography*_ like that existed, what a great help that will be!

Cant wait to get back out there now. Unfortunately hubby is outta town till the end of the month, but I hope to be totally prepared to catch fish when he returns!


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## jhall (Oct 8, 2007)

*some help*

Maybe this will help you put something in your boat. First, it would help if you have a livewell. Go to a local bait and tackle shop and buy some small sabiki rigs like this so you can catch some of these.










You will have to put a small pyramid weight on the very bottom of the sabiki rig. Look around the pass for bait flickering or birds diving. Then throw the sabiki into the bait. Let it sink a little ways and then slowly reel and jerk like you would with a plastic worm for bass. You can also find these baits around the bouys or tide lines. Then catch as many as you feel you will use. 

Once you get some in your livewell, go out to the bouys in the gulf and troll slowly in around the bouys. You dont have to be right on them. The rig you will need is below.










It's a stinger rig made out of wire that you can buy from any of the local shops. Make sure you dont buy the big ones since you'll be fishing with small bait. Hook the bait in the nostral with the first hook and put the treble in the back behind the dorsal fin. The object is to get the bait in the water alive and allow it swim naturally. You don't want to drag the bait around if you can help it. This should at least get you a king in the boat if nothing else. If you have anymore questions, send me a pm.
thanks
Jeff


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Thanks Jhall, pictures always make it easier to understand.

Couple of questions... does taking the bait fish off the hooks not kill them, and putting a hook thru their nostril, they will swim around naturally like that and not like ...flap around in pain?


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

Teater said:


> Thanks Jhall, pictures always make it easier to understand.
> 
> Couple of questions... does taking the bait fish off the hooks not kill them, and putting a hook thru their nostril, they will swim around naturally like that and not like ...flap around in pain?


No, it doesn't kill them.


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## jhall (Oct 8, 2007)

*rigging*

Normally the bait will come right off the sabiki hooks. They arent very big and dont cause any damage to the mouth or face of the bait. 
As for the stinger rig, if you get a smaller rig meant for smaller bait then the hook will go right in one side of the nostril and out the other with no issue. If the hook is too big then you might have some problems. 




















Might catch some big spanish too. You never know.


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Awesome! I am soooo excited to get out there now and catch something that will wake me up.

I did find some sabiki rig's at Walmart and used it off the edge of a dock, supplying my friends with live bait. Catching even those tiny fish were fun.:thumbup:

Thanks for all the great tips , you guys are kinda great!:notworthy:


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## jhall (Oct 8, 2007)

Sweet. Good luck


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## Reel Cool (Jul 24, 2011)

*Doggie*

That sure is a cute doggie ya got there wanna trade her for some fish ??:001_huh:


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## lsucole (May 7, 2009)

IMHO, the best way to learn is to go out on a couple of trips with a guide that fishes the area and uses the type of equipment that you like to fish. I just started fishing here in Pensacola a couple of years ago ( I still live and fish in Louisiana) when I bought a vacation home here. I was lucky enough to find Capt. Wes Rozier and Have learned an awful lot by fishing with him. Ask around some of the fore mentioned bait shops for guide suggestions on how/where and who they suggest for the type of fishing you want to do. Dollar wise ,it may be cheaper if they go with you in your boat sometimes. Good Luck !


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## submariner (Oct 2, 2007)

*fishing help*

to better provide some help; couple of questions
1. what type and how big of a boat?
2. GPS and/or depth finder installed??

size and type of the boat determine where you can go or should go

GPS allows to access known spots in the bay and gulf if you have gps we can provide some general numbers

bascially this time of year is to watch for surface activity- that will mean spanish, kings, sea trout (specs) or reds- various degrees of eating pleasure.

cast or troll a shiney spoon/lure though them. Need to circle around so you don't push the bait down. Other options are to freeline shimp or bait fish on the flats early in the morning.

If you troll around the bouys in the pass with a Mann 25+ , you can catch kings and/or spanish. If you work the flats/grass areas in the morning (dawn) or late afternoon (dusk) you can get reds and sea trout.

pompano can be caught in the surf,-
flounder and reds by structure in the bay
sheepshead by barnicle incrusted structures:shifty::shifty:

Just remember the idea is to have fun and fishing is trying to catch fish, not necessarily catching fish- otherwise it would be called catching


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## Reel Cool (Jul 24, 2011)

Its a 20 ft larson center console yes we have a garmin 489 with chartplotter and depth and fishfinder . I am the husband that just got back in town . lol 
I'm Ray


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## Too much junk (Jul 8, 2011)

Thats what I like about this Forum. People are so ready to help someone out. Thanks Keep up the good work.


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

*A question about bait.*

I was going to send a PM but I figured I would post this question here as someone else might learn from it....

I used that bait fish rig and catch quite a bit fish... we went out this morning and the top waters were brewing with activity... So I plunked the Sabiki rig down over the side of the boat and was catching a lot of small fish. Trouble was, they were not pin fish, they looked like small trout or tiny tarpin. We didn't know if we should use them for bait so we released them to grow up.

Whats the scoop on this, do any small fish act as bait or is it bad manners or a crime against mother nature to use certain ones?

Sorry for such noob questions.:jester:... I am afraid there will be more to come too.


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## hogdogs (Apr 19, 2010)

Were they the thread fin herring?
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/05/02/outdoor_tarpon/tarpon_fish2.shtml

Either way they sound like bait to me...

Brent


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)




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## FenderBender (Oct 2, 2007)

That is a baby spanish mackeral in your picture.


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Ahhh okay, I Googled "Spanish mackeral" and see that now. thanks :notworthy:

We caught a varitity of small fish on that Sabiki Rig, this is the only one I took a pic of, it was part of a larger picture, had to take it as the fishing rod I was using was one of those tiny pink rods from Walmart and hubby looked so cute with it in his hands.:tongue_smilie:


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## Diesel (Jan 9, 2008)

Careful, that could easily be a juvenile King. You need to look at the lateral line to make the distinction...,king's make a big dip, a Spanish is straight. Don't want to put an illegal fish in the box.


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## archcycle (Sep 1, 2009)

+1 what Diesel said.

FWC has a $500 fine with your name on it. Not knowing the local fish or the local laws is definitely going to cause you in some financial pain. I get checked almost every time I go out whether it's on the water or FWC waiting at the dock and checking everyone who comes in.

First go here and get the recent regs. They put new ones out in january and july. I always take the two pages with the list of fish and limits and sizes and have office depot print it double sided color and laminated. It costs about $3 to do that. Just bring them the PDF on a cd or a flash drive.
http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/regulations/

Then go to amazon.com and get 'Sport Fish of the Gulf of Mexico' this book is absolutely priceless. You just flip the pages until you find your fish. Full color photos, descriptions, and basic info like eat or don't eat, bait or don't bait.

There are some really similar fish with really different rules. I don't ever leave without both of these.


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## Teater (Jun 24, 2011)

Really great advise, thank you very much! :thumbup:


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