Ive fished inshore only for several years and just upgraded my boat to a 21 sea hunt and plan to start doing some offshore and more nearshore reef fishing this year (obviously on calm days). The problem is, Ive only been offshore 1 time and dont really know what im doing out there. Id love to get on someone else’s boat of similar size or slightly bigger with them, or have an experienced person go out with me a time or two to help me learn how to fish out there and what to look for. Also, just really wanna know what is reasonable to do in a boat like mine. It has a 150 yamaha 4 stroke and 65 gal gas tank. I have a couple of decent sized reels but plan to invest a little in another one or two if I need it. Terminal tackle is the biggest thing that i dont have for offshore (unless regular inshore stuff works). any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW I’m 32 with a real job and a family and not just some kid trying to bum a ride on somebody’s boat…lol
Thanks,
Adam
Start out going to the near shore reefs and getting comfortable with how your boat handles the seas. Invest in some good safety gear for the worst case scenario. At the very least back up radio and plb. I am assuming you have a GPS/bottom machine already. You will be able to go out pretty far in your boat as long as your smart about it and pick your days. Right now I go 20-30 miles out whenever the weather allows. Hopefully this year I can find some days to venture out a little further. Depending on your current gear and the type of fishing you will end up doing you might need a few rigs.
I sent you a pm with my cell number feel free to give me a call or text me. I am happy to help. There are some really great folks on here that have been a great help to me.
Pioneer 197
Hi Adam,
I am in a similar situation - I have been off shore about six times on bigger boats and out to near shore reefs a few times with others on my friends boats and now twice on my 21’ Triton Sea Hunt with a 150 4 stroke Yamaha that I bought last November. I have been trying to educate myself as much as possible on the idea of getting out a little further when oceans / weather permits. I have started to invest in what boaters call a “ditch bag” with things that could potentially save you and your crews life in case the worst thing happens - you have to exit the boat out there. As far as tackle (terminal and rods and reels) - the guys at Haddrels really hooked me up with a basic set up for trolling and bottom fishing out there. I was told that it’s great to have bottom rigs for when you go out in case trolling is fruitless and you want to put something in the box and have some dinner! The idea of buddy boating is also encouraged which is part of why I joined this forum to associate and possibly meet folks that were trying to do the same thing as me. I have a 14 year old son that really wants to get out there with me too. I took him on my last trip a couple of weeks ago to 4 kI and we really had a ball!
Let me know if you would ever want to consider the buddy boat one day to a near shore reef this spring…
Cheers!
I have been going out in my mosquito fleet going on 6 years now and it’s really not so bad. I do try to pay close attention to the weather, that’s a must, but your boat will do better than you think even if it does get a little choppy. The farthest I’ve been is about 45 miles trolling for sails east of Comanche, no luck with that yet. I just started off getting all those reef numbers on my GPS from the DNR website. There’s plenty of fish on those numbers to bring home meat pretty much everytime. I will say probably my favorite is the Edisto 60. It’s only a little more than 15 miles. I am by far no expert and still have a lot to learn, but we have fun trying anyway. You do need a SPOT, and/or EPIRB, and a good VHF. I was able to get the USCG on my VHF when I broke down 42 miles out and it’s not really top of the line. PM me anytime maybe we could buddy boat sometime. Good luck!
Key West 196;150 Yammie
Life Is Good…Gotta Love It!!!
I took my old Triton 207 to the ledge all the time. 54 gallons of fuel was my pretty much my expected burn out to the 226 hole and back. Pick your days, be safe, and have fun.
thanks for all the great advice guys…i definitely am looking forward to getting out there with some of you and taking the advice. Ill probably start trying to bottom fish the close reefs pretty soon and work my way out. What bait yall typically use over the reefs when bottom fishing? same cut bait u use inshore for reds?
Thanks
Adam
squid, sabiki some live bait or cut cigar minnows is what i use bottom fishing
Pioneer 197
I’m going to be trolling week days in about a month when the dolphin show up thick. PM me your info and I will put you on the standby list of newbies for when my normal crew can’t make it. I really enjoy sharing what I have learned here with others and often it is more fun than the catch. You made the right call getting on this forum. You will not only learn how to catch the fish you want but also how to do so safely.
Get and EPIRB and a 2nd Radio in a ditch bag and keep it on deck. Period.
26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream
I hear those cobia love those little BSBs.
Key West 196;150 Yammie
Life Is Good…Gotta Love It!!!
second the Epirb (or PLB) and portable VHF as backup. as far as I am concerned, the best VHF for a ditch bag is the standard horizon hx851. there is another popular one people recommend, but I forget what it is… icom something or other. make sure your mounted vhf is hooked up to your gps so the dsc button works properly.
What kind of fishing are you looking to do? bottom fishing? trolling? Do you have outriggers?
I’d recommend learning how to cast net if you haven’t already. youtube videos and practicing on a floating dock are great for this. it makes things more affordable (esp since you have a family) when you don’t have to drop 50 bucks on bait to head out if you have a freezer full of mullet. I typically do a few bait gathering trips a year and I always have bait ready to go. I have caught over 5 gallons of mullet in one cast before and that was from a dock. it lasts a while. You really don’t need fancy or expensive baits to catch most things on the bottom. I personally have caught black sea bass on bank sinkers, bare hooks, and beenie weenies (wouldn’t recommend trying any of those). Sabiki rigs are great for getting live bait once you are offshore. try the bouys or just simply the bottom of wherever you are fishing.
I definitely know how to cast net bait and that is always my plan…but sometimes bait can be elusive. Ive got a few mullet in the freezer now and always keep the leftovers and freeze from each trip. I figure the menhaden would be a great bait to use too when they decide to roll in. I will probably start out bottom fishing for the most part as I know nothing about trolling, but do have a friend that has outriggers and trolling reels he said I could borrow as his boat is under the weather for a while, and just doesn’t fish all that much anymore.
Ill have to check the VHF and GPS hookup…didn’t really know that was an option. thanks for that tip.
I have found pretty good websites as suggested on previous posts on wave and wind predictions and have read that under 3 ft waves are ususally tolerable, but what about the intervals? id assume that under 5-6 second intervals would get pretty choppy real fast even with 2-3 ft waves.
In your boat look for 8 to 10s interval. It’s not like the gulf here and you can get beat up running out in 3/6s in a 20’ boat.
26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream
well since you asked about terminal tackle, i’ll give you my two cents. for terminal tackle bottom fishing, there are probably one million different ways to rig it. if you want to look for ideas, there is a bait/rigs/tackle book that haddrells has that is very popular. double drops, single drops, sliding eggs, knocker rigs, semi-knocker rigs, whatever you want.
One of the rigs I use is a little funky, but it works great when i have newbies on the boat: I tie a 80 or so lb triple swivel to the mainline. On one of the free swivel loops, I tie a length of 25 lb mono maybe a foot long or less. I tie a small loop in it. I run the loop through the eye of bank sinkers and then snug it up around it. i be sure to use lighter mono to hold the weight on in case the weight gets hung, it will break first and I still may get my fish. Then on the third free end of the swivel, I attach a sea stryker fast snap (or equivalent) rated for around 80 lbs. The quick snap allows me to quickly change or replace leaders as they are worn or lost or the fish are a different size than the hook i have. I always have pre-tied leaders with swivels and varied hook sizes ready to go. that way i don’t have to retie for newbies that are on my boat. last thing I want to do on my boat after spending hundreds in gas to get out there is tie someone’s knot when i could be fishing.
i think the smallest hook i use for bottom fishing offshore is a 3/0, and I use all the way up to a 10/0. obviously use circle hooks, i think its illegal to use any hook other than circle for bottom bait fishing. I often snell my circle hooks. it’s not hard and is a dependable knot and usually sets the hook for you. i don’t spend the big dollars on fluorocarbon leader for just bottom fishing. regular mono from 25-100 lbs work for me. smaller fish = smaller leaders and hooks.