Just learning the ropes

[mattyb]

I just bought a 195cc and am trying to learn as much as possble about fishing before the season heats up. Any advice for a newcomer??

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by mattyb

I just bought a 195cc and am trying to learn as much as possble about fishing before the season heats up. Any advice for a newcomer??

Where are you located and where will you be fishing? What will you be fishing for?

[mattyb]

I'm located in San Diego and am fishing for just about anything.

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by mattyb

I'm located in San Diego and am fishing for just about anything.

Maybe we can get some of the "Left Coasters" to weigh in on the subject. Anyone???

[MolarBoater]

Get on the internet and search, search, search! Decide on a fish to target and go to the book store etc and there will be some decent but usually more basic books on set ups. I purchased most of my rod & reels as "combos"(usually cheaper)and stuck with the time tested Penns but did get some BoatersWorld/OutterBanks rods which seem good. The graphite Penns are decent and economical as well as the Senator line which I use the 114H's for grouper digging but can easily be used with swordfish, sails, marlin, yellowtail etc just by varying the line wt. Once you decide what you want to do and get more intense you can upgrade to your $500-$1,000 set ups .....especially if you fish almost every weekend etc.
Start with a couple of rods/reels that you could use for trolling or bottom fishing like the Penn 320's to 345's. Add a spinning rod to the mix like a 7500 or 5500 etc. so you can cast easily if you see a fish to target on the surface. Keep an eye out for "closeouts" and extra discounted specials/combos. Most will spool free line onto your reel so don't think that's real special but could be if it's not offered. You will eventually do that anyway or on maybe a yearly basis and you can upgrade the fishing line at that time. I have found myself going back to Berkley Big Game since it works well and is economical. I will use wire or flurocarbon sometimes as a leader.
Bait and artificial lures and combination of both. Well, first off, buy two Manns Stretch 25's. One in "Mahi" color and the other in whatever. You want to troll one and make sure your rod and reel can handle the pressure cause they will pull on your tackle, so maybe the 345 Penns would be good to start with spooled with 30lbs line(put on at least 100lbs stainless steel braided leader to reduce your chances of loosing your lure. Next, with your other rod, pull a top water lure say, an Illander 6" in blue and white. You can rig a ballyhoo or cigar minnow etc on there (dead) just make sure the lure and bait don't spin when testing in the water beside the boat(mono leader say 100-150lbs). Drop them back 150', turn up the tunes, pop a cold one water and troll at the slowest idle you can make the boat go in gear. After a while, if no action, check your baited rod and make sure it is ok, change it out if it looks bad (always use copper rigging wire to "tie" the mouth of the bait closed and keep it in the proper position under the lure). Change the Manns lure if you what to try another color. Troll again maybe vary your speed up to 5 knts for some variety.
Look for anything. Weeds, birds diving, water color changes, water temp changes, debris, troll over sunken boats/reefs/rocks/upswellings, just anything to increase the bite chances.
Keep a eye on the weather, don't let something bad sneak up on you, have rainwear, goog life jackets (orange ocean type), vhf radio, EPIRB, cell phone, gps/sounder and good to have back ups cause something always goes haywire on the water...that's boatin' Can't go wronge with lots of ice and water and let someone on land know what you're up to.
Good luck and once you start catchin, posts some pics and tell us how you do it.
Molar