Hi, I will be coming to Charleston this September for a week, and will be doing some fishing from the pier at Folly I guess. My question is I am getting either a Penn Spinfisher V 3500 or 4500, havent decided yet, or a Revo Inshore 40. Either way, what would be the best bet for a fishing line and line size to spool up with, and what size rod, an 8 or 9ft? Also, what would I expect to catch around there in September? I’m a freshwater angler coming down from Ohio for honeymoon that week and would love to do some saltwater fishing while there.
I also have an Abu 6501 C3, should I bring it too?
4500 with 20lb braid targeting the big reds that show up during the mullet run. You’ll also find a variety of small sharks black drum pompano blues whiting and if you use fiddler crabs right on the pylons you may get a few Sheepheads. Double dropper rigs with no 4 circle hooks for smaller fish and a fish finder rig with cut mullet or a live shrimp are good options or live mullet of course if you can cast net some
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I would be very, very hesitant about bringing a 6500C or most other nice freshwater reels and using them in salt water. A good friend repairs reels and many times he has been asked to repair freshwater reels that were only used a couple of days in salt water. He has shown some to me and the corrosion inside the reel covers is almost unbelievable. If you have an old baitcaster that is mostly worn out already bring it instead of such a nice one. These guys all said that they “rinsed the reels well” after fishing in the salt, but the inside of the reels said " not nearly well enough ". I gave my Dad in Florida a few of my older, well used, baitcasters to use on a pier. He has already had trouble with one of them.
Is ther a flea market near you? Buy a cheap reel for the small fish. My Dad would use a Zebco 202 until it froze up, trash it, and buy another. They are inexpensive, mostly plastic, but actually held up pretty well on small fish.
When you say a #4, you mean the smaller 4, not the 4/0 ones, right? What are double dropper rigs? Sorry, I fish freshwater usually. I would imagine they sell the double dropper rigs all over down there at the tackle shops
If you are fishing for whiting and similar panfish, then yes, #4 hooks (smaller) are the right. I prefer the long-shank, bright silver ones, because they are very easy to unhook, and they are pretty shiney lol.
For tossing live mudminnows and finger mullet for stuff like sea trout, reds, flounder— I prefer a 1/0 to 3/0 circle hook (finger mullet usually getting the larger hook), on a carolina rig, or on a popping cork with a 15-20" leader (20# line). Trout are the most likely taker if you are using the cork.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
I’ve never fished with the cork. When using live bait do you simply toss that out and let it sit or are you working it like an artificial?
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Your choice. If you work the live as you would an artificial, you will wear out your bait faster, but I think you increase your chances of a hit, especially from flounder.
“Sire, it belongs in truth to the Church of God, in whose name I speak, to endure blows and not to inflict them. But it will also please your Majesty to remember that she is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.”…Theodore Beza
Is a shock leader necessary using 20lb braid with the double dropper rigs? Or just tie onto the rigs directly from the braid? What length pole would be best too, an 8 or 9ft? Also how much weight should be used on the dropper rigs to keep them on the bottom?
8 or 9 is fine. Usually use 2 oz in the first gut and off the pier
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Thanks for the info folks, all I need now is a rod, which I will look for this week. Can’t hardly wait to get down there and fish.