Hello fellow TFFers. Now that I have moved to Kingsville, I know I will be out fishing at Corpus Christi. I practically know nothing about saltwater fishing and would like some basic information to get me started. What kind of fish could I catch, what kind of reel/rod combos should I use, what kind of line, etc... A buddy of mine told me I should stick to braid only because mono or flouro might turn bad after a trip or two fishing in saltwater. Another concern, should I use my gar rod/reel combos or bass rod/reel combos? I mean will the fish be big to the point where I will need something a bit heavy duty or will some bass rigs do it? Also, I dont really like the idea of getting saltwater through my reels, I mean, I could probably take apart a reel to clean it and dry it but what if I get stuck putting it back together? Or am I overreacting about it? Is it okay if I just submerge my reels in freshwater to wash away the salt? If so, I will have to regrease them won't I?

Sorry for the long post, I just want to make sure I start on the right track before I do anything I will regret...



Thanks

Welcome to saltwater! The one thing about saltwater is you never know what will be tugging at the end of your line. Thats what makes it fun. As far as gear goes. If your going to target bigger fish with big live or cut bait use your gar rods. If your using live shrimp or lures bass gear or M action works just fine. As far as line goes I use mono in 90% of my reels I use 12lb up to 17lb on my Medium reels.20-25 on my larger setups. For some reason pitching lures I have more success with 12lb. Fluor works as well but I use it as leader material. Berkley big game and ande last in saltwater and is way cheaper than braid. I have braid on a few reels its just costly. Get yourself some good leaders and your set.Salt in reels is a big concern but I have been using'freshwater reels" for years just rinse them with a little warm water, don't blast them. Put some oil or grease after you dry it and they will been fine. I have been using a Daiwa Laguna for over 2 years and it still works perfectly. Just try and avoid dunking them in saltwater and never lay them in sand. Hope that answered your questions. Good luck.

Thanks for the info I really appreciate it...
Now I gotta go get me some big ol fish!

Sounds like your more into big fish... are you more interested in Bull Redfish, jacks, etc.?

Braid and mono are just fine in the salt... just different. Mono doesn't degrade in the salt but a lot of areas have a lot of rocks and barnacles that will cut and nick it. Braid in the long run is actually inexpensive since you can leave it on much much longer and just change your heavy mono leader. use 30lb- 40lb braid or 25 -30lb mono for the bulls near jetties use a 30 -40 lb mono leader.

have fun.

When you want to get into the trout and reds on the flats with your bass gear just pm me.

For 10 years i was fishing in salt water just with braid 4 lb.,6 lb.,8 lb. and 10 lb.+fluorocarbon leader 8 lb.-14 lb.without problem catching nice fish from the bank with artificial.
I never fish with braid over 10 lb.

I really don't know much on the species of fish I can catch. I know or have heard of speckled trouts, black drums, redfish, kingfish, cod, trouts, snooks and maybe a couple other but I have no idea which one is which. If the reds are the ones with what looks like maybe an eye on the back of their tail, then I would like to catch those haha. I will be going this weekend to the coast there at Corpus with a friend of mine who is also new to the salt life but has been there a couple of times. I will see how things go and more than likely I will send you a PM in the near future!



Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it!

Since you are in the Corpus Area, you can go to Roy's Bait and Tackle shop and don't be afraid to ask them tons of questions when they are not busy. Friendly staff who know what's going on in the area. Plus, they have tons of gear. When my wife first walked into the store with me, she went oh, s*&%, because she knew I was going to be spending money and in there for a while. It's the only way I can keep shopping even since she will drag me out to go shopping every now and then.

Some EXCELLENT areas to wade fish here in the Coastal Bend and to be able to have some FUN catching Fish - as well as eating them