Help! I keep getting skunked!

DragScreamer

alright ive been to anclote river twice and ive had nothing but bad luck i just wanna catch some saltwater fish anyone know anyplace i can go fish in and catch some fish on shore or pier(dont have a flats boat)? doesnt matter what species i just wanna catch something anyone wanna give me a spot? and advice on what to use on the place? thanks

Pipefitter

DragScreamer wrote: »

alright ive been to anclote river twice and ive had nothing but bad luck i just wanna catch some saltwater fish anyone know anyplace i can go fish in and catch some fish on shore or pier(dont have a flats boat)? doesnt matter what species i just wanna catch something anyone wanna give me a spot? and advice on what to use on the place? thanks

This will be the best bit of free info you can get. First and foremost, get away from the tourist spots or the shore gang spots. Piers are ok sometimes, but to me, fishing in such an organized fashion with limited directional approach is not only chancy, but boring. Get used to the idea of wade fishing. Generally, any spot with 3-8 ft of water with a decent tidal flow and good grass on it will at least hold trout. It's going to take a bit of scouting, but it will pay off in the long run. I have a boat and I still wade at least half of the time.

You will learn more by wade fishing than just about any other style.

A lot of the flats off of either side of any of the causeways that lead up to the intracoastal are a pretty good bet. Pay attention to where boats are fishing and find a way to get to that general area or something similar from shore. If you are about waist deep and surrounded by grass with sandy spots in between, you should do well. Pay attention to the tides,

DragScreamer

thanks i will try again this weekend

landlubber

Moving tides are always best. Whether incoming or outgoing is best often depends on the location and I have never fished there. Unless you have live bait under a cork, keep out of the actual grass. Fishing the edges of grass is usually best. If you're fishing lures then the grass is not such a problem because you can control the depth. As with anywhere, deep pockets are good to try. Although I wouldn't do it all the time, one good way to see what's out there is using a chicken rig with cut bait for medium sized fish like reds and trout with stingrays and catfish being most common. This is just an easy way to survey the place so you can learn what to target specifically. Dont overestimate the power of live bait. Using shrimp pieces to catch pinfish or even grunts is a semi entertaining way to kill time while waiting for that chicken rig to get hit.

barrynfla

And if you're not a wade fisherman and you decide to do it, get a good pair of wading shoes. They won't prevent rays from getting you if you're unlucky (do the stingray shuffle) but they will protect your feet from very sharp objects, like oysters!

DragScreamer

cool but can anyone give me a specific spot with an abondant supply of any kind of gamefish near the new port richey area?

Moondawg

DragScreamer wrote: »

alright ive been to anclote river twice and ive had nothing but bad luck i just wanna catch some saltwater fish anyone know anyplace i can go fish in and catch some fish on shore or pier(dont have a flats boat)? doesnt matter what species i just wanna catch something anyone wanna give me a spot? and advice on what to use on the place? thanks

Where about's on the river are you fishing? I fish Holiday and Tarpon areas at least a dew times a week and know the area well..

DragScreamer

Moondawg wrote: »

Where about's on the river are you fishing? I fish Holiday and Tarpon areas at least a dew times a week and know the area well..

i went to the beach on the trail with the popping cork and shrimp then tried the pier with grubs jerkbait shrimp and the popping cork ...then i tried the river itself with everything i got lol even my freshwater stuff i just bought a silver and chartreuse spoon might try it their

duckmanJR

Pipefitter wrote: »

This will be the best bit of free info you can get. First and foremost, get away from the tourist spots or the shore gang spots. Piers are ok sometimes, but to me, fishing in such an organized fashion with limited directional approach is not only chancy, but boring. Get used to the idea of wade fishing. Generally, any spot with 3-8 ft of water with a decent tidal flow and good grass on it will at least hold trout. It's going to take a bit of scouting, but it will pay off in the long run. I have a boat and I still wade at least half of the time.

You will learn more by wade fishing than just about any other style.

A lot of the flats off of either side of any of the causeways that lead up to the intracoastal are a pretty good bet. Pay attention to where boats are fishing and find a way to get to that general area or something similar from shore. If you are about waist deep and surrounded by grass with sandy spots in between, you should do well. Pay attention to the tides,

Good advice...now couple that with this:

It's high summer here in FL...you need to be on/in the water in the dark just as it's getting light in the east....the cooler water will have predators more active.

Moondawg

duckmanJR wrote: »

Good advice...now couple that with this:

It's high summer here in FL...you need to be on/in the water in the dark just as it's getting light in the east....the cooler water will have predators more active.

Also great advice..

I went out to my spot yesterday which almost never lets me down and got skunked, so don't feel bad.. Duckmanjr offered good advice but don't be hesitant to try during the day when you have a good strong tide and good moon phase. I know some don't believe in solunar forcasts, I do and it helps me out a lot. I always check www.tides4fishing.com before heading out. Anclote pier is probably at it's best in the colder months due to the warm outflow from the power plant. Green Key is an excellent spot for wading, you just have to explore. I have a friend that fished green key a lot with live shrimp and has good results. Good luck..

DragScreamer

Moondawg wrote: »

Also great advice..

I went out to my spot yesterday which almost never lets me down and got skunked, so don't feel bad.. Duckmanjr offered good advice but don't be hesitant to try during the day when you have a good strong tide and good moon phase. I know some don't believe in solunar forcasts, I do and it helps me out a lot. I always check www.tides4fishing.com before heading out. Anclote pier is probably at it's best in the colder months due to the warm outflow from the power plant. Green Key is an excellent spot for wading, you just have to explore. I have a friend that fished green key a lot with live shrimp and has good results. Good luck..

hey what do you catch their? and what do you catch them on? oh and that spot looks good thanks for not being greedy and telling me one of your spots i appreciate it alot!

DragScreamer

Moondawg wrote: »

Also great advice..

I went out to my spot yesterday which almost never lets me down and got skunked, so don't feel bad.. Duckmanjr offered good advice but don't be hesitant to try during the day when you have a good strong tide and good moon phase. I know some don't believe in solunar forcasts, I do and it helps me out a lot. I always check www.tides4fishing.com before heading out. Anclote pier is probably at it's best in the colder months due to the warm outflow from the power plant. Green Key is an excellent spot for wading, you just have to explore. I have a friend that fished green key a lot with live shrimp and has good results. Good luck..

hey what do you catch their? and what do you catch them on? oh and that spot looks good thanks for not being greedy and telling me one of your spots i appreciate it alot!

Moondawg

DragScreamer wrote: »

hey what do you catch their? and what do you catch them on? oh and that spot looks good thanks for not being greedy and telling me one of your spots i appreciate it alot!

I fish topwater most of the time. If I'm not fishing on top I use jig heads with paddle tails, gulp shrimp and sometimes live shrimp. I always start with topwater and if that doesn't work then I start switching up. There are spots that I fish that topwater just doesn't seem to be effective so I will use jigs etc on those places. There's a thread that was posted last week about using google earth to find spots, definitely check that out if you haven't already done so. It's an excellent tool for finding new places to fish, there may even be a spot posted on there that you might be interested in:)

nick

DragScreamer wrote: »

thanks i will try again this weekend

You catch anything?

Hopittyhop

DragScreamer

wow this was so long ago haha yeah i got a small redfish to bite but i set the hook to fast and pulled off but that was it