A Beginner’s Guide to Sea Fishing
Newcomers to the joy that is fishing at sea can find themselves baffled at a number of things, especially if they’ve thrown themselves in at the deep end without going through the basics first or doing some sort of preparation.
One particularly common point of confusion is which tackle to choose. It would be no lie to say that there are many types of tackle available, and as each method of sea fishing suits different sorts of tackle, things can get mighty perplexing. If you’re unsure of what tackle you need, you may end up wasting your cash.
Are you hoping for some action-filled sports fishing, or do you prefer a more sedate style, where you can read a book and soak up the rays as you wait for a fish to start nibbling? The tackle you need will differ depending on your chosen style, so sink your teeth into this guide and get educated.
Ways of Catching a Fish
If you really simplify things down to a point, it could be said that there are only two ways to catch a fish – either by scent or by attraction. There are many subtypes of sea fishing, but generally speaking they can all be sorted into one of these two major categories.
Scent
To use scent to catch a fish, you’ll need to find a bait that matches the scent of the fish’s usual food. Sometimes you can use the exact thing – a bit of squid, a lug worm or a morsel of fresh mackerel, for instance.
Attraction
Catching a fish by attraction comes in two flavours – visual and behavioural. This means that your lure has to both mimic the behaviour and the appearance of your target fish’s normal food source. There are loads of lures, from hard wood ones to soft, jelly-like ones, so just ask around and you’ll find the one you need.
Traditional Sea Fishing
Traditional sea fishing is what most people think of when you say the words “sea fishing” – standing on a boat in the ocean just waiting for a bite. It’s classed as fishing by scent, and is still the most common method. You’ll need patience, a 13 foot beach caster rod and a 6oz lead.
You can also get much longer rods, which allow you to cast over a greater distance, but these are not strictly necessary. Although it’s unlikely that your boat will need any modifications, it might be worthwhile looking at Shipserv’s tools to see whether you could benefit from some changes.
Lure Fishing
The other main type is lure fishing, also called spinning. It is rapidly gaining popularity in the fishing world because the UK is finally catching up in making the necessary equipment available.
It is a more dynamic style, as you need to put in more effort to catch a fish – you have to make the lure imitate the actions of the fish’s normal prey. Lure rods are usually about 8 foot long, and are a lot lighter so that you can be more accurate. Speak to someone in your local tackle store to find out what specific lure you need.
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