Saltwater Fishing Basics
Saltwater Trolling & Surfcasting
A host of saltwater gamefish - from snapper and bluefish to 40-pound yellowtails, to bluefin tuna weighing nearly half a ton - draw millions of fishermen to the sea each year. They stand in crashing surf and on jetties and piers, and they sail for deeper waters aboard boats of almost every description.
Because of the great differences in weights of saltwater fish, it is important for the fisherman to be armed with balanced tackle that is suited for the particular quarry he is after. Just as the freshwater muskie angler wouldn’t use bluegill tackle, the person who’s trolling for, say, blue marlin wouldn’t use a jetty outfit designed for striped bass.
Balanced tackle- in which rod, reel, line, and other items are all in reasonable proportion to one another- is important for a number of reasons.
For one, a properly balanced outfit - for example, a 9-foot surf rod with a good casting reel and 15 to 25 pound test line is a joy to use. Conversely, if you substituted a 5-foot boat rod for the 9-footer in the above outfit and tried to cast, you would soon be turning the air blue. Besides the casting advantage, properly balanced gear makes hooking and playing a fish easier and more effective.
There is still another reason for using balanced tackle. Every fisherman, beginner and expert alike, who tosses or trolls lure or bait int he salt has a chance to sink a hook into record-size gamefish. The rules of the International game Fish Association, keeper of the official records of marine gamefish, require that any fish submitted for a record be caught on tackle that is “in reasonable proportion ... to the line size.”
You can find detailed information about trolling and surfcasting rods and reels, line capacities, tackle, drag and techniques in the Complete Outdoors Encyclopedia. To order an autographed copy of this 830-page comprehensive volume , contact Vin T. Sparano, the author, at: [email protected]
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