Differences between freshwater fishing gear and saltwater fishing gear?
Posted on May 28, 2011 under Saltwater Fishing | 7 CommentsI’m moving to texas soon, and will be pretty close to the gulf, and was wondering if it would be worth it to buy some saltwater tackle for shore fishing. Is there any huge differences in bait/rigging/tackle that i should know about? In freshwater I fish for mostly bass, catfish, and panfish, and have never fished saltwater before.
May 28th, 2011 at 2:40 am
Everything you have will work for salt water fishing. The only concern is salt water in your real. Rinse it with fresh water as soon as possible after fishing. You could also buy a real made for salt water. Can’t really say what types of fish you will catch but it is worth a try.
May 28th, 2011 at 3:22 am
The tackle that is used for freshwater fishing, will usually be sufficient for most saltwater bay fishing, unless you plan on targeting large ( over 15# ) fish
May 28th, 2011 at 3:37 am
saltwater gear is usually made bigger, stronger, and more durable for numerous reasons. a good quality freshwater set-up will work in the salt as well if you keep it thoroughly cleansed/rinsed off.
May 28th, 2011 at 3:58 am
The biggest difference (untill you get into the really big stuff) is that a lot of saltwater reels are mostly stainless or other corrosion resistant stuff.
That need can be avoided for shore fishing by just rinsing your gear off afterwards. It becomes a paing if you’re doing a lot of offshore boat fishing, but in your case, just rinse stuff off and be happy.
May 28th, 2011 at 4:03 am
Rusty and Robert are mostly right. You can use Freshwater rods and reels to Inshore fish for Reds, Spec Trout, Flounder, Etc.
However, problems arise if your Bass tackle is of “cheap” quality. If you own higher-end Freshwater rods and reels, (like Shimano Symetre’s, Shimano Citica, Abu Revo’s, Abu C3 or C4′s, Etc) they can easily translate from Flats fishing to Bass/Catfishing.
If you own lower end freshwater tackle,($50 baitcaster’s, Walmart-branded Spinning reels & rods) the odds that it will corrode the first time you forget to wash down your outfit’s is fairly high.
Typically, saltwater-grade tackle will have stainless steel, anodized aluminum, and exotic “non-corroding” components. Those components allow you a certain degree of protection Freshwater gear doesn’t support. (Some saltwater reels even have enclosed water-proof gearing and drag systems!) If you plan to fish predominantly in the bays, bayou’s, and salt creeks, eventually, it would be a good idea to slowly start accumulating saltwater-grade reels and rods.
Huge differences in bait/rigging/tackle? Well, yeah! Of course! Live Shrimp and Mud-minnows are the most common bait, (although, at times, you CAN use cut Mullet and squid with mediocre success).
Rigging is somewhat similar- IE: Carolina Rigging is a common rig used for Flounder fishing; Crankbaiting; larger “walk the dog” Topwaters and Texas-rigged, Soft Plastic Jerk baits are all usable Redfish/Trout tactics.
Tackle should be as corrosion resistant as possible. This means stainless hooks, (not bronze!).
Hope this helps ya?
May 28th, 2011 at 4:36 am
most of your nicer reels are usable in salt or freshwater.
May 28th, 2011 at 4:37 am
Pretty much freshwater reels dont have to have CRBB (Corrosion resistant ball bearings) because they are not put through the abuse as saltwater reeels