FS Digest

As the title states, I need some advice on what gear to use for inshore fishing in the state of Florida if anyone is interested. I've lived here for many years but never really had the chance to fish for prized game fish like Snook, Redfish, Seatrout, etc... in the Indian River Lagoon until now with my schools angling club. Now with the chance to compete in tournaments, its imperative that I have the right gear as I do not want to lose the fish of a lifetime. However, I do own a few bass setups spooled with 30lb test braid and a new setup with a Shimano Sedona 2500 spooled with 15lb Suffix 832 on a 6,6 rod as a lighter combo. Should this be enough to land most of what swims the IRL? If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them

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by XM-5

FS Digest

I grew up in st Augustine fishing tournaments all of my life. Redfish trout and flounder mainly. We used many combos over the years, started out with some abu Garcia bait casters and ugly sticks, we upgraded to some penn spinners and ugly sticks for catching trout and flounder. They combo we used for the longest was the penn international 965 bait caster with at croix blanks that we made into custom rods. The pens were discontinued and I moved on to a shimano baitrunner 4000d and a Star rod 7’ medium action with sic guides. The sic guides are great for braised line it’s a titanium frame with silica carbide insert which lasts a long time and non abrasive. The reels work awesome with the clicker function for live bait and I have set up 6 combos like this now for tournament fishing. It works great for inshore tournament fishing. The only one off rod I have now is a shimano 7’6” fast action rod with the baitrunner and that’s mainly for fishing trout with a top water flipping around docks and such.

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by Texas250

FS Digest

Well here are my four setups that I have currently rigged for inshore fishing, I'd like to get your opinion of them if you don't mind. So I've got so far...

- An Abu Garcia Ambassadeur High Speed USA 500 spooled with 30lb braid on a St. Croix Pro Glass 7'6 rod

- Another Abu Garcia, but the Silver Max baitcasting combo spooled with 30lb braid

- A 4000 sized spinning reel spooled with the same 30lb test braid on a 7'6 Star rod

- And lastly a Shimano Sedona 2500 spooled with 15lb Suffix 832 on a 6'6 Abu Garcia Cardinal 400 rod

Do most of these sound like they can work for most inshore fish to you?

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by XM-5

FS Digest

Those could absolutely work. If any of those reels have a live bait/ free spool with clicker function it would be even better for redfish. Atleast the larger ones. When fishing with live bait like mullet I allow 5 second for the fish to run with the bait in its mouth to give it a chance to swallow it. If not you typically pull a scaled mullet out of its mouth and lose the fish. Make sure you use fluorocarbon liters as well 15lb for flounder, 20 lb for redfish and 10-15 lb for trout. I mainly use a Carolina rig with khal hooks.

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by Texas250

FS Digest

Wow, thank you for the advice. I have 20lb flurocarbon on all my setups currently tied to the braid using an FG knot. But what I'm concerned about is Snook as their gill plates are like razor blades as far as I've heard and fishing around docks can be a bit sketchy if you don't have the gear to yank them out as soon as you hook them. What would you suggest for snook then?

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by XM-5

FS Digest

I think 20lb would do the trick. It’s been pretty rugged from my experience as far as redfish running me up into the oyster beds and even a couple Goliath grouper while only maybe 10 lbs they will still rub up against piling a and rocks that can break you off pretty easily. The way I look at it is start with the lightest line you can so that the fish isn’t spooked, if you can’t land a fish on that then step it up some. It’s all about finding that happy medium. As far as I can tell if I’m hooking fish and can’t land them then it’s a good problem to have. It’s the days you are using 25 lb test and not catching fish that suck. But any day in the water beats a day in the office.

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by Texas250

FS Digest

Heck yeah, thanks again for the help. Breaking off on big fish is a good problem to have and just in case that happens, I've got 40lb flurocarbon leader as a backup. And your right about the being on the water; a bad day fishing still better than any day at work or school

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by XM-5

FS Digest

Not a lot wrong in there, though if it were me I'd go a tad lighter/shorter (personal preference is all). I fish mainly round Merritt Island/Port Canaveral, all inshore. I fish two set ups - 7' Loomis EX6 paired with a Stradic 3000 with 30lb braid, 20lb leader, and an old (1960s) whippy 6' Shakespeare freshwater trout rod with a Daiwa BG 2500, 10lb braid, 10lb leader. I've had the rod since I was a kid and amazingly, it keeps on going. It's a great "flingin" rod. Texas250 is right though, start with the lightest line.

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by Clodhoppa81

FS Digest

My suggestion is to go with lighter reels. Spinning reels in 2500 or 3000. Low profile baitcasters. If you are going to fish mainly with artificial, you want the lightest setups you can get. I like a 20-30# fluorocarbon leader.

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by Penguintx

FS Digest

One notable difference might be if you’re planning to fish bait (where a 2-drag system can be beneficial) or lures (where casting, line lay etc are more important).

I fish lures unless I’m out with people using bait. I like a 7’ish fast medium rod, 2500 spinner, 10# braid (which is generally underrated), 15-30# leader depending on cover. My system works great on the mudflats and bank cover but would be too light to pull an overslot snook off a dock.

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by corndogge