Sea fishing offers the widest and most diverse fishing conditions. Whether on holidays or if you practice regularly you will find here all sorts of tips, advice, and techniques about fishing gear, fishing bait, and much more. We’ll start by addressing a few scenarios you are most likely to find while sea fishing.
Rocks and seaweeds provide the best habitat for all sorts of marine life. Crabs, shrimps, sea shells all live on or under rocks. They are also the basis of the ocean’s food chain. It makes perfect sense to start fishing there. It’s actually a great spot to take kids fishing. A simple grub on a jig head or some live baits is enough to catch gobies and wrasse. Keep fishing equipment basic, a simple rod reel and a little net are all it takes.
You can catch sea bass as well. Topwater lures such as stick baits, prop baits are great for early morning slick water. During the day it’s better to switch to a jerkbait and comb the rocks and weeds beds. Get a proper sea fishing rods to make the long cast required to reach the fish feeding in the distance.
Beach fishing is usually understood as surf casting with live baits. With the proper sea fishing tackle you can fish with artificial just as well. Long-distance casting is the name of the game however. Metal jigs, spoons and jerk baits are very efficient at catching sea bass and the occasional flounder on the beach.
The best time to go fishing is around high tide. Fish fast to cover water as it can be challenging to locate the best area. Again early morning and evening are the best time to be out fishing, providing it matches with the tide schedule.
Ship wrecks and rocky bottoms are known fish magnets. You can find croaker, sea bass, and cod. The best technique is to fish vertically under the boat. Some use live baits but sport fishermen prefer lures.
Jigs are very efficient, they sink fast and can catch all species of fish. Just drop the lure and let it hit the bottom. Then retrieve it with powerful strokes of the rod and hang on! Make sure you match the jig weight to the right depth.
Another option is to drop a paddle tail swimbait on a heavy jig head. Again, it’s important to have a jig head of the correct weight. Too heavy and you will snag and drag on the bottom, too light and the lure will be washed away by the current or take too long to reach the fish. Once in the zone, jig the lure up and down and be ready to set the hook at any time.
As for tackle, I would recommend a short and powerful jigging rod. Braid with metered colors is the best choice followed by a long two-meter fluorocarbon leader for abrasion resistance.
Trolling is probably the most efficient technique to catch fish in the ocean. Just about every fish species can be caught trolling. Finding out the right speed, depth, and lure type is an art that takes years to acquire. You can catch sea bass, mackerel, bonito, garfish, mahi mahi, tuna, and many more. It can be tempting to use many fishing rods reels combo in the hope of maximizing your chances to get bit. However, it can quickly become a nightmare if all the lures get bit at the same time.
The most important factor in trolling is speed. Some lures are effective at speeds up to 10 knots but most are designed to be fished much slower. Make sure you try your lure boat side to see how it behaves at a given speed before you start fishing. Keep also in mind that diving lures will dive deeper with each extra meter of line you let out. Log your speed and length of line out to be able to duplicate it again after catching a fish.
Freshwater anglers need to remember that the sea is an entirely different environment. Saltwater fish are much more powerful and equipment needs to be adjusted accordingly. Heavy rods, reels, and line are needed to tame sea fish. Make sure you thoroughly wash and rinse your tackle after each session. Hooks need to be replaced more often as no matter how rust-resistant and rinsed they might be, the salt will win every battle and eat away your hooks.
Also, even though it might seem plentiful, fish is becoming a scarce resource, so keep only what you will eat and release everything else. If you’re fishing very deep, bringing the fish up will kill it every time due to gas expansion. Please stop fishing when you have enough to feed yourself and your family.
