Grouper on Light Tackle in the Inshore
22 August 2023
Although I was now aware of how much fun surfing was, I believe that over the years I may have lost sight of it. Finally, during my family’s weeklong beach visit last week, I was reminded by a popular bite that included sea trout, flounder, whiting, and other fish. Wow, it was a lot of fun! And while I could recall many of the old games, I also picked up a couple new ones.
Compared to most healthy baits, a piece of fishbites on the wire holds up much better.
Games from the past
- Consider casting both near and far. The seafood can occasionally be just beyond the breakers.
- Usage” doodlebug” rigs with floats when lobsters become a problem. Although they take longer to get it and handle on, crabs will still get some of your fish.
- Hang smaller rods cast for panfish while rigging your largest rod for large fish and placing it in a holder. The large bass may be caught by the large shaft, but the smaller one receives much more action.
New Techniques
- Fishbites should be added to your baited hangers. The Fishbites don’t find nibbled off very frequently, so even if you miss one or two strikes, you’ll also have a good chance of getting bites.
- Avoid attempting to use a search shaft that is too large for your frame. I recently purchased a fresh 13′ sea rod and am 5’10”. It turns out that my old 10-footer allows me to put farther because I can handle it much better.
- Slow down as you reel a good fish up to the breakers and time it so that you pull it in just behind an approaching wave when you’re fishing left and you catch one. By doing this, you can move it as far up the beach as you like without dragging it over sand, which causes the hook to drop out and the fish to spin and flop.
