new to saltwater

[bluecat]

ill be coming to treasure island area in june to get married...will have my 2 teenage boys with me for 5 days then theyll be returning home while we stay on another 10 days...been reading posts on site to try and educate myself but though im pretty knowledgable multispecies freshwater im still lost on saltwater,seems more i read worse it gets lol...the boys are really wanting to fish from shore more than on a boat..oldest wants to catch a grouper of good size and youngest really wants a shark..(all he talks about lol)..id really appreciate any and all advice i can get to make this happen....rod/reel combos,line wieght and type,leaders if needed ect...ive got gear from ultralight to swimbait rods (1 to 6 oz.) for bass and even heavier yet for bluecats and flatheads..all 8ft or shorter though...typically run braid from 10lb to 80lb on bout 3/4 of what i have,rest is mono or flourocarbon. know im asking fer tons of info so thanks in advance.

[austinmay98]

well it might be pretty challenging to catch a grouper with out a boat for one thing. grouper are a more off shore spiecies..... their aree some around the bridges but not big and not many it would be kinda luck to catch one inshore. for sharks you gunna really need to beef up your tackle like 80 lb braid is good and like 200 lb wire leader for the sharks. sharks will take anything that is very bloddy ( spanish mac, bonita, jack crevale .etc) for the sharks i would suggest going to a beach at night time and casting out as far as you can then just waiting a very long time. and for grouper if you really wanna catch one and dont have a boat you can go out on a party boat which is they take you off shore for a half a day

[GROUPER SCOOPER]

Well you'll be in the right are of the state to target grouper with out a boat.Your best bet will more than likely be the skyway piers.There are still plenty of keeper gags caught in june inshore.My biggest from the piers was actually caught in the month of August.

The youngest made it easy for ya.Shark fishing is pretty straight forward.Soak a good size dead bait and wait,kinda like catfishin.


As far as gear.....Line capacity is most important on the gear for sharks from shore.You can fish 50-60 # if ya want,as long as the reel holds a good bit of line.But if you can go heavier that's better.

As far as the grouper you'll want some fairly stout gear also.A good fresh live bait freelined out over the rock piles should get you hooked up.One thing about grouper fishing from the piers though is you gotta stay on the fish and stay on him till he is to the piers.You go easy on him and you'll be stuck in the rock piles.

[bluecat]

thanks..my favorite reels are abu 7000 ics but ive got a couple bigger okumas for baitcasting...what would be optimum for yardage?..grouper sounds like wrestlin big blue or flat outta brush lol....toe ta toe n not give an inch....fresh cut bait the best for sharks or does it matter long as its bloody?..thanks gain

[Pescatoral Pursuit]

300yds is good for your average size bull/ blacktip. With shark, the fresher the bait, the better.

[taymag]

Dont know about treasure island but you can net mullet about anywhere and I literally cant even fish the intracoastal without having 3-4 monster sharks on everytime

[bluecat]

okumas it is...thanks much for info