Just bought 23ft Key West and Im planning on going offshore.
First trip Im planning on going to the Charleston nearshore reef out from the jetties. Planning on eventually making it out to the 60. Any tips to help a new offshore guy out would be great.
Hook size, Weight, Trolling skirt colors
Im planning on going Saturday morning(5-3-14) if someone WITH experience would like a ride along. PM me if interested
some advice I can give is be prepared to maybe fish the jetties, saturday is a world away right now and no telling what the sea gods have in store for saturday, just have an alternate plan to still fish. I think when buying trolling skirts -plugs etc, a variety of colors are going to need to be aquired over time (blue-white, pink-white chart-white, black-purple and many others), not one is a gurantee catch all, I think #7 or #8 hooks and 150lb leader work great for trolling ballyhoo, also you may want to get some 8oz to 16oz bottom weights and #6 or #8 circle hooks for bottom dropping with cut bait or squid, and 100lb leader, just my 2 cents worth, and this site is full of knowledgeable members willing to help out. congradulations with your new ride and enjoy it!
SEMPER FI
30 gw marlin
35 donzi sfc (sold)
25 pursuit cc(sold)
45 egg harbor sportfish (sank hurricane)
Thanks man! Your 2 cents is worth way more to a guy that fished for smallies on the Tennessee River his whole life. Took me 20yrs to figure the smallies out, now have to start all over with this saltwater gig. Looking forward to the challenge though.
Be prepared to not go. If the weather is not good you need to be prepared to say it is not worth it. This is the best advice I can give anyone.
Also think about your worst case that can happen and have the right equipment.
If you are trolling the nearshore or 60, be prepared for toothy creatures. Kings, spanish, cuda, sharks. Goto a local tackle shop they can help. But pre-made trolling rigs will help a lot.
What size rod/reels do you have?
If the forecast calls for north east winds don’t go out. I’ve never had a good day offshore whenever there is a NE wind forecast. I wouldn’t waste much time at the Nearshore reef unless you like catching a thousand undersize seabass, losing anchors and rigs. Wait for a good day, like yesterday and push a little farther out to get some better fish.
I have 6 TLD25s on star rods with hiVis 40lbs plus a couple of Penn battle 6000 on 7ft shimano rods
NE winds = NO GO Got it
Thanks a lot for all the tips. Its great to have a communtiy like this that is willing to help
So in other words, if its nice go ahead and go out to the 60. It will be my first time out so Im sorta iffy about going out that far for the first run. Guess I will have to put my big girl panties on and just do it
I second the NE it sucks.
1 more piece of advice. Never let anyone else convince you of doing something you are uncomfortable with. The nearshore holds fish but I would count of catching dinner. Instead, maybe troll the shipping channel. That way you can go as far a you feel comfortable.
decent fishing can be had at 4KI or Capers as well, especially in June when the spadefish are present. Both of these reefs are in sight of land so that makes some people feel better when they just start venturing out into the ocean. The 60 gets very overfished , it does however always hold plenty of amberjacks if you are looking for a good fight. You never know what you may catch there, I caught a 30 lb cobia trolling stretch 25s for kings there once.
Get a membership to Towboat US or sea tow, very important if you’re heading offshore best money you’ll spend all summer
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Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Already have my Sea tow membership. It was the first purchase for my boat. I will research 4KI and Capers. I haven’t looked into them yet. Can you troll there or is it more bottom fishing?
Just got back from Haddrell on Folly. Talked with Dee and he taught me how to make my own ballyhoo rigs! Made a couple with wire leaders and a couple with fluorocarbon… That fluorocarbon and stainless steel hooks are pricey!!!
I need a ride and have been out there plenty of times. I can get numbers. Capers is a breeze. I don’t even need a gps for that one.
Umm, you gonna eat that?
Thousands have died to save my freedom. Only one has died to save my soul!
SeaTow is a great investment, I have had SeaTow every year since I bought my boat in 2006 and luckily have never had to call them but I still purchase a package every year regardless. As far as 4KI, you can expect to catch sheepshead, BSB, ringtails, spades, barracuda, spanish, kings and sharks. I have also caught some triggers, cobia and even amberjack out there although these last three are kind of rare for there.
Capers aka R8, is great because it is 10-ish miles from the jetties. But it is straight down the beach so you can see land the whole time. Plenty to catch out there as well. Sheephead are very fun to catch.
You can troll or bottom fish at both. I’ve see kings at both places.
I guess R8 is the buoy number? I should fish my TLD25s on the bottom instead of my Penn battles incase of a pig. I bought some trolling rigs but my question is can u catch ballyhoo around here?
Those battles are tougher than you think… Esp of you have them loaded with braid.
2007 Scout 221 150 Yamaha 4 stroke
Yellow suffix braid. Might drop down and see what happens!
I call alias.
Charleston Fishing’s most hated guide!
Charleston City Papers Best Guide of 2014
???
quote:
Originally posted by CaptFritzI call alias.
Charleston Fishing’s most hated guide!
Charleston City Papers Best Guide of 2014
Make sure your radio transmits as far as you are going. Almost had a problem with that before.
14’ Carolina Skiff
19’ Sea Pro