Saltwater Shore Fishing Strategies

Shore fishing in saltwater requires a different strategy than fishing from a boat. While you can move a little bit from place to place you have nowhere near the same ability to locate fish as you do when fishing from a boat.

Being unable to go to the fish you need to have a way to bring the fish to you. It is definitely an art form that enriches the fishing experience.

Several chum bags are the answer to the problem posed in the previous paragraph. While chumming is thought of by many to be purely a technique to attract sharks, it actually will attract a wide variety of fish. They key concept to remember is that for a chum slick to work it needs to be continuous.

You cannot allow a bag to melt fully and not replace it right away. With a continuous chum slick you will be attracting fish from literally miles away to your area.

Chumming works so well in saltwater due to the current. The current will take your offerings a long way and work for you to attract fish.

You can buy chum bags at most tackle stores that will work for one to two hours depending on the speed of the current and the temperature of the water. I recommend using real chum. Ground bits of fish work much better than processed and palletized chum.

Once you have started the process to attract the fish you next need to determine how you will fish for them. In my opinion shore fishing is best done by live bait fishing. While you can successfully fish with lures, live bait will work best.

If you are chumming the fish will be in a feeding frenzy and will not be as likely to chase artificial bait as they would in times where food was more difficult to locate.

The bait you use depends on the fish you are targeting. A live shrimp is the staple bait that will catch just about any species. I have caught tarpon from shore that were over one hundred pounds on live shrimp. Saltwater fish are different that those in freshwater. Hook the shrimp once in the tail and you are ready to fish with it.

You can either bottom fish the shrimp or suspend it under a bobber. If the current is not very fast I like to use a bobber to let the shrimp cover a wider range of water.

The problem with shrimp is that they will also attract the smallest of fish. If you do not want to deal with large quantities of fish like snappers, sheep head and grunts you will need to switch baits. Live fish are you best bet when interested only in targeting larger species.

There are a variety of fish you can use. Pinfish are perhaps the most popular bait choice. You can also use pilchards, finger mullet and just about any of the small fish you can catch from shore.

Without a doubt the shark is the most exciting fish to be caught from shore. Chumming and sharks go together like peanut butter and jelly. You will need to gear up for these large fish.