Thread: first time saltwater shore fishing

I am planning a trip to Dauphin Island Mid November and would like to do some beach and canal fishing. No idea what I need for equipment or what to use for bait. Would greatly appreciate any help I can get and also license requirements.

Haven't fished dauphin island since the early 90's... As advised by Mr. Haywire when I joined , the "search" tab is like a "Google" search to answer most if not all your fishing questions and has proven to be most useful to me.. Nonetheless, medium action rod n spinning reel with 8/12lb mono should suffice to get started. Cut bait,shrimp and even squid ( that'll get you started) on the bottom with a Carolina or fish finder rig or a weighted float to help with casting distance. Smallest hook you can use n still land targeted fish. If using a circle or kahle hook then not as much need to set the hook (lift rod tip and just start reeling) like a "J" hook if you're accustomed to freshwater fishing. Hope this helps you land some fish

You will need a saltwater license:

Alabama License Information | Outdoor Alabama


On the beach, use a light Carolina rig (#4 hook, 1/4 to 1/2 oz egg sinker, short #12# leader) with fresh shrimp chunks or Fishbites to catch whiting & ground mullet.
In the canals, white trout might still be around, hard to say, depends on how cold it gets by then..

Do some searching & digging into past posts, there is a wealth of knowledge here!

Thanks for your help. This is something new as I am used to freshwater fishing in MN.

Thanks for your help. This is a post chemo trip to get away. Used to freshwater fishing in MN.

Originally Posted by fishing65

Thanks for your help. This is a post chemo trip to get away. Used to freshwater fishing in MN.

No worries. I hope you enjoy your time here and fill your freezer in the process. Good luck !

Depending on the type of fishing you do in MN. If you walleye fish or muskie fish your gear will be fine, if you salmon fish, your good. If you fly fish brook trout, leave that gear home, in fact leave all of your fly gear home except your waders, they could come in handy when fishing the Little Lagoon or surf fishing. No need to bring your net, the Pier is about 28' off of the water. If it is a big net, you might be able to use it on the surf, in the Little Lagoon or at the Perdido Pass. You will need a long handled net at the Perdido Pass. Most of the fish on the surf or in the Little Lagoon you will be able to beach. If you have a bait bucket with a air pump, that great! You will need a bait bucket of some type. If you are Pier fishing and someone else is around with a basket net or a gaff they will help but you may have to ask. The local pier people are SUPER nice people and they will help you out, if you ask them politely. They will give you all kinds of help if you are decent to them and demonstrate Pier manners while fishing with them. They like donuts in the mornings.
Bring a good knife and sharpener, the saltwater bones are much tougher than the freshwater bones. Most of the saltwater fish are very good to eat, ask if there is someone around, but keep in mind that those Southern Boys will eat most anything. Bring lots of hooks, mostly Kahle & circle hooks, all sizes. The J & M Sporting Goods should be your first stop, they will get you set up if you need anything, they have it all and at a very reasonable price. Good Luck! If you need any more help just PM me. GS/OB is a great place to be. Where in MN. are you, I'm a MN. boy.

About the only fish you are likely to catch that is not good eating is the hardhead cat fish. They are small 1/2 to 2 pounds on average and have very poisonous fins. be careful.

As far as fishing the island your best bets are going to be sand island(both bay and gulfside)and the east end jetties.
when i fish sand island I normally start on the bay side(pelican bay).it is a bit of a walk so some snacks and water would be a good idea.now on to the tackle.I use 3 rigs when I fish there.two 7 foot medium rods with #12 line and 4000 size reelsrigged with a 1/2 oz sliding egg rig.and one 10 foot heavy surf rod (to get a little more distance) with a 7000 size reel and 25 pound mono line rigged with a 4 oz sliding egg sinker.most of the time the smaller ones tend to catch me more fish.so don't obsess with getting as far out as you can alot of times fish are closer than you think.hook sizes good to start with are in range from a #2-1/0 hook.and live shrimp or fresh dead is your best bet.all of this applies to the gulf side as well.
if you decide to fish the jetties I would use a popping cork with a live shrimp.on the 7 foot rods.and if you need bait stop by jemisons across the bridge from the island great people there.

You have already gotten great advice. I'm mainly just seconding what CarlF said. We were just down a month ago and caught plenty on typical largemouth bass-sized rigs (8 and 10 pound test, all carolina rigged for bait, with a 12 or 15 pound fluoro leader (but in the past have used 10lb mono leaders without much problem unless the spanish or blues were around. I always bring one slightly larger medium-sized catfish rod spooled with 15 or 20lb mono in case we want to chunk bait a bit farther or chase sharks at night.

At this point I have gone enough that I've acquired a couple saltwater reels but still mainly use our freshwater gear. Just rinse it off real good with tap water immediately when each session comes to an end. Then once I get back home I usually strip all the reels down and give them a better rinsing (there's always some sand in there), cleaning, and lube.

Hope you have a great trip.