Fishing line questions

This is probably not the right place to ask this but ive all but given up on trying to understand the nuances of fishing.

I'm sort of new at fishing.. which is to say thay I've been doing it for about 3 years now but unsuccessfully. I've read about 6 books and watched every YouTube video I can possibly find and scoured the internet but there just seems to be very little information on the literal THOUSAND super basic questions I have that seemingly have no answer. I'm really close to just selling or giving away all my gear because it seems to be a waste of time at this point so out of desperation I'm turning to this forum to hopefully provide some basic insight

Basically all I get is ask your local bait shop which I don't have and nobody in South Texas speaks English anyways.

Therefore, I present the question. Why should I care about line test besides obviously the breaking point for larger fish?

Why wouldn't someone just buy the heaviest, strongest line possible?

Do the fish get spooked if they can see the line? Can they even see fishing line?

How would someone know what type of fish they're fishing for (in order to size up prospective equipment needs) without being able to see what's under the water?

Is it basically just a word-of-mouth type activity where you basically need to know someone experienced to have any luck? I would really like to know what's "normal" or useful so that I can buy fishing line at the store but people just look at me like I have 2 heads..

Is there some kind of match up between line, reel, and pole size that I'm supposed to know/be using?

All the information I've gained from books, internet, and youtube are essentially just rehashing of the same basic information on specs, locations, and specifics such as lure and bait types.. none of which help at all.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Without going into a lot of detail. The Reel you get has a few capacity stamped on it related to line size and how much fits on the reel per the manufacture.


The type of fishing your gonna do has a lot to do with the gear.....Gulf fishing, lake fishing and river fishing.


Know this doesn't probably help....The heat can completely ruin your fishing..so don't get discouraged...getting skunked fishing is a normal thing....difference is you keep trying.

hope it helps...

Thank you for your reply.

I own three spinner reels and each have completely different numbers on them. Which numbers would I use to line up with the pole? The pole itself has the type of line to use but the reels don't seem to have that information on them.

I fish at Port Mansfield and South Padre Island from the piers as I dint own a boat or anything.. I use whatever bait I see the locals using but other than that, I don't have any clue what rig, line, setup, etc to use.

I generally just catch those tiny slimy catfish since they'll eat anything but it's obvious that I'm doing something wrong or missing a large chunk of information that I can't seem to attain. I only fish for food, never for sport if that makes a difference.

Stay off bottom and you might stop getting the nasty catfish.........

fishing report for padre.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fis...latest&yearcat=current&Submit=Go

check this out
https://www.onthewater.com/three-surf-rigs-every-surfcaster-should-know-about

www.troutsupport.com

Interesting read, thanks

Thank you, not sure what to do with that but I appreciate the feedback

Lots of good questions.

Basics on line, most rods have a line rating written on them. Start there.
I will tell you there's nothing you're going to catch that would need heavier than 15 mono or 20 # braid. We use 20# power pro braid on all of the spinning rods, they're main purpose in life is using jig heads with plastics. You can fool around with a leader if you like, we don't and nobody has ever shown me it makes a difference, but to each his own.

Get off the pier and start wading. You've got hundreds of miles of very wadeable water at your access.
Want to quit catching hardheads? Stop using bait, learn to use artificials, your garbage fish ratio will go to zero.

I know hiring a guide can be expensive, but the information you can gain in a 1/2 day trip will go a long way toward answering your questions... Welcome to the forum.

Welcome Andrew. I’m new too but not to fishing. Far from an expert but hopefully I can help based on what I have learned and my experiences.

Because you said you are fishing for food you are probably fishing for Speckled Trout, Redfish, and Flounder. All great for dinner and found all over the Tx coast and bays.

Also I don’t want to waste your time if you are only fishing the pier or rocks. Nothing wrong with that and you can catch the same things but it is a whole different animal and has limitations. There are those that have that style of fishing down pat and are good at it. I’m not one of them, not even on a novice level.

If you decide to wade, as has been suggested, then it opens up many options, both on the surf and in the bays. What I learned early on was if you want fish you have to go find them. Hunting under the water so to speak. It saves time and aggravation going to them rathervthan waiting for them to come to you, if they ever do.

So as to your questions the reel you have will most likely be fine using 12 lb monofilament line(thats the clear line). You can use braid but I would not bother at this stage. 12 lb is fine for both the surf and bay. In the bay i would not even use a leader. Don’t worry about what a leader is for now. A leader is nice for the surf but to be honest, (assuming you are not using wire), you will get broken off regardless if you snag a small shark or other toothy fish. You are going to lose a few so don’t worry about it. Again I am giving you advise for catching the above 3 fish. And again 12 lb mono with lure or live bait tied to end will work just fine without a leader. As far as why the lightest line you want to keep things as simple as possible and without practicing overkill. To explain, you have a bait you hope to place in front of a fish. A real bait fish swimming freely obviously does not have a hook running through it or a thick line attached to the hook. You want to put that bait in front of the fish and you want it to look and move as close to real as possible. So that is the rationale for using only that which is necessary.

Baits. Live baits are fine but as has been already stated you will spend a lot of time dealing with unwanted fish and putting new bait on the same hook after smaller fish continually steal your bait. Still it does work and sounds like you already know how to use live bait and a bobber. If you still want to use that setup I would try different depths or try something like a gulp shrimp(fake shrimp).

If you want to try using soft plastics and lures while wading I would say go with that gulp shrimp under a cork or on a jighead and bounce off the bottom. A silver or gold johnson sprite spoon will catch about anything. All of these are tied directly to your line.

As far as knots all you need is Rapala knot and Improved Clinch knot. When you get to leaders there is one more.

https://www.rapala.com/content/rapala-product-info/sufix-knots.html


https://www.netknots.com/fishing_knots/improved-clinch-knot

Lots of frustration getting started and that's understandable. There is good info. Here that you have been given. The rod/reel combo is the best place to start. If you match those together you'll be fine for most of what swims inshore. A medium action rod at least 7 ft. A Medium/Heavy action as well should cover you for most every inshore application.
Reels- 3000--6000 series will cover you. Salt strong has a subscription for around a $100 bucks a year. Lots of great information on a Lot of questions it seems like you are having and access to talk and ask specific question per species. Yes, Gulp is your friend to get away from the slimy hardheads. Other plastics with attractant will work as well.
Live bait with a cast net would be next. I throw a 7-8 foot 3/8 inch net and catch plenty of bait this time of year. Invest in a rechargeable aerator online at Amazon. Just look up rechargeable aerator and get. a 5 gallon bucket with a lid at Academy. The ones that have an opening for bait and a hole for an aerator hose. Get a fishing app like Nautide on your phone to tell you the best fishing/tide times. Learning to read the water, looking for bait and bait movent are next. Moving water/ tides are better to fish. Time on the water is irreplaceable. If you don't make the time you won't learn the nuances that people seem to not want to tell you about. Wade fishing will open doors to you too. Make friends on the forum where you live that have boats and chip in for gas and that will open even more doors to ease your frustrations. Don't give up. Fishing is fishing and not always catching.

The above gives you lots of free knowledge. Match your line with your rod and reel. Depending on your type of fishing with a designated rod and reel tells you what line to use.

Many people also have numerous set ups across the range, you’ll get there one day.

Yes, the line people use is so relatively unimportant and isn’t generally keeping people from catching fish, within reason.

Pier fishing can be tough. If you see people having success on the pier, my plan would be to try to mimic what they are doing with terminal tackle and anything else you can copy or glean from the successful approach they might have.

I do a little shoreline scouting and fishing from shorelines. I’ve fished from a few piers. Some places are seasonal. They might all have unique approaches based on the particulars of the site.

One way to look at fishing without boats is to pull up satellite images of your area and then look for access points to the water.

Look at each one of those and then try to understand or imagine what the bottom looks like. The structure, the bars, the drop offs, the rocks, the depth, how water moves. Predator fish look to exploit structure to ambush prey. Drop offs, reefs, hard structure, grass, other structures focus the action. Much of the water is a desert, most of the fish are oriented to structure.

Mimic the approaches of people that catch fish. Mimic how they fish, where they fish, what they fish with, anything you see or can pick up on.

People are successfully catching the fish you want to catch. Fake what they do until you make it.