New to saltwater fishings

Saltwater Inshore Discussion
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Hello all,

Looking for some advice. My whole life I’ve fished freshwater ponds etc. and recently have gotten in to saltwater fishing. I have a 15’ key west with a 60hp 2 stroke Yamaha. I have been fishing all over the stono and Ashley rivers using popping corks and DOA shrimp, live shrimp, and mud minnows with almost no luck. I have been going in creeks and finding little pockets/ mouths and casting out. I have also been fishing the incoming tide. Am I missing anything? Am/pm tide? Using finesse plastics? I have caught trout and small flounder but just can’t seem to find anything keepable or a redfish.

All advice is appreciated.

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There are plenty of members here with better advice than me. I also came from a freshwater background and found the salt a little more challenging. Look for structure, a dock, riprap, oyster beds…

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Ride around at low tide, find oyster beds then fish them as the tide comes up/out. How are you rigging your live shrimp? Id have one on a popping cork with 18-24" leader and another on a light weighted carolina rig…this will about guarantee you’ll catch fish during the summer…to weed through smaller fish, use finger mullet…youll get less bites but typically bigger fish. To target redfish (theyll eat a shrimp but so does everything else)- quarter blue crab on a carolina rig fished around oysters (same as above) or near structure such as dock pilings. Also, be sure youre anchoring and approaching your spot properly, dont get the boat too close to your spot…if you drift/motor over the spot while anchoring, its blown out, move on to another. Hope helpful, goodluck!

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Spend some time riding around and looking at your sounder for drops, hard bottom, or any kind of structure.

While you are “scouting” the area keep your eye out for old men in old boats and the guides. Dont crowd them, but do what they did on the following tide. If they were fishing creek mouths on the outgoing, you should ape them. Likewise, if they were fishing docks at high tide, do that.

Fish are hard to “pattern” when you first start in the salt. Only two things that I know of will remedy that, one is time on the water and the other is observing the old guys and the pro’s because they are much easier to figure out than the fish, lol.

Its called fishing, not catching. Not trying to be a smartarse, but if you sit in a spot for 5 or 10 minutes and nothing is going on, just move. Lots of times you don’t have to move far, but move you must.

Dont be afraid to drop the troller and drift along with the tide and pitch baits at the bank, especially at the drops, hard bottoms, and structure you found while scouting around.

June, July, and August are the hardest times for guys learning salt water. In September thru mid December things are much differernt/better. In the meantime, don’t stress on the fact that you aren’t catching big reds, just keep a line wet and things will fall in place.

my .02 cents

edited to add,., Welcome to the site. Lots of good folks here to help, use the search function for a world of info.

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Hey,

Thanks for the reply.

What should rule of thumb be for approaching a spot? I just have a mushroom anchor no trolling motor. Also any push pole recommendations?

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Identify your spot from 50 yards away (maybe further), go into idle for a minute to get an idea of how the wind/current will affect your boat. Then use that information to determine how you approach your spot so that your boat is where you want to it to be when the anchor comes tight. 90% of the time I fish off the back of the boat, so I get the boat positioned so that I have a full cast to my spot from the back of the boat. If I anchored too far from my spot, I can then let out some more anchor rope to get in casting range…If I anchored too close, the spot is likely ruined.

As you accumulate more spots, you will be able to know which spots are best for various winds/tide combinations…ideally, it’s easiest to anchor when the wind and tide are going in the same direction.

Re: Push poles, I only have experience with Stiffy…they seemed fine. Poling would require some sort of platform near the transom and would only really be worth the effort if sightfishing (tails in the summer, schools in the winter). Poling is an artform in itself, it’s not as easy as it looks.

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Also, I’m not familiar with the mushroom anchor…I assume it will only hold in pluff mudd since it will drag along a hard bottom. If so, I’d buy a fluke anchor and 6-8ft of quality chain…that will keep your 15ft boat anchored in most conditions around here.

Note- don’t pick up chain and anchor and launch it out into the water…lol…try to release it as quitely as possible.

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I’ve been rigging either circle hook thru the head or tail on popping cork, both seem to keep them alright. What would you reccomend?

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Yep…I like 20# fluoro leader with a split shot about 8" from the hook. Note- its much better in my opinion to use the popping corks that are weighted (cajun thunder I believe) as you get more distance even in the wind.

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Oh boy, welcome to the addiction!

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Have you done much bass fishing? Tidal fishing can be a lot like fishing for bass, since the various fish species are ambush predators. The primary difference is that you’re also dealing with tides, so water levels change.

I very much agree with what’s been said about going out during low tides and learning about what’s there, the bottom contours, shell beds, and any submerged structures or abrupt changes in the bottom, that may not be evident otherwise. Just be careful and don’t get yourself stranded with the tides and not enough water for your boat.

All fishing is essentially similar, in that you have to locate the fish, and get your bait/lure or fly where they might respond. It’s not as simple as that, because as you’re finding, keeper size fish are not everywhere.

You’ve been provided with some great advice, and yes, it’s fishing, not always catching, and you have to be willing and able to put in the time and learn the area. I spent a large portion of my life fishing in tidal water around the Chesapeake Bay, and learned about the places I had fished often. Then I relocated, and fishing can be similar as you change areas, but you still need to learn the specifics of the area you’re fishing. It’s going to take some time.

I suggest too, that you spend time in an area and not move around a lot, until you have thoroughly covered the area, but of course that’s going to depend. Small creeks are going to be easier to learn than a big section of a larger river. You could be potentially moving away from the fish, instead of finding them, and that will be learning about the tides and how the fish will move in a specific area.

If that isn’t working, then of course try a different area. I like to be methodical, because I did the random running around and seldom did well like that, unless I happened to locate some fish. I did a lot better, to have a plan and some patience, and even then that didn’t always work out.

And yes, welcome! :+1: :+1:

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