What to fish for at sea from the shore

Hello, dear fishermen!

My name is Anton Berbenets, I am an expert of the AKARA brand of fishing products.

Today in our review - how to prepare fishing tackle for sea fishermen in a plumb line.

The end of winter is approaching and the beginning of the season for trips to the sea: to the North Sea, the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Far East. For large sea fish, for deep onboard fishing. Today we’ll look at how to equip a fishing rod for vertical fishing from a boat at sea.

Watch VIDEO review Preparing gear for sea fishing.

Features of fishing in the sea

Fishing in sea water differs in technique from river fishing. The sea has strong currents, ebbs and flows. This creates additional difficulties for the fisherman. When the wind increases, marine life goes deeper and hides in the rocks. For successful fishing, you must adhere to an intensive casting technique.

Principles of shore fishing:

In hot weather there will be no bite.
Using hard rods is effective.
Strong resistance from large fish.
Artificial baits are more suitable.
Marine inhabitants are concentrated in flocks.

The most optimal weather is considered to be calm and clear weather in August and September .
When it's hot, the fish go to the bottom to a cooler habitat.

Fishing in the sea, what gear is the most effective?

The choice of gear must be taken seriously. Properly selected equipment will bring success in fishing. The assortment is very high, it is necessary to take into account the main characteristics.

Gear properties:

durable rod material;
stability in windy weather;
light in weight and easy to use;
possibility of long casting;
withstands currents and water fluctuations.

Type of rod required:

Spinning will allow you to fish from the pier, beach and rocks. The rod is durable and resistant to metal corrosion. You can catch large and small fish with it.
A bottom fishing rod is effective only in calm weather for catching small specimens of perch, eel, and flounder.
A float rod is suitable for small depths of no more than 2 m. With this tackle you can easily catch small and medium mackerel, perch and crucian carp. It is necessary to select the equipment correctly.
A telescopic rod is necessary for casting from rocks. You can use it to catch beluga, anchovy and horse mackerel.
Homemade gear contains rigid reels and is ideal for fishing from the shore. It will help you catch herring, gobies and eels.

Sea fishing accessories

In addition to the gear described above, sea fishing uses hooks, landing nets, catching loops for very large fish, cages, cooers, yawners, extractors, detachments, depth gauges, feeders, stands for rods, lights for night fishing, containers for baits and baits, cases for fishing rods and other accessories and devices that are almost no different from those intended for fishing in inland fresh water bodies. You should dwell in more detail on marine echo sounders and small vessels.

Marine echo sounders

For lovers of fishing from the shore, American and other companies produce coastal echo sounders capable of translucent water thickness to 30–50 m with horizontal beams. Echo sounders differ in the number of functions they perform: the most “advanced” ones use a sound signal to warn of dangerous depths, large objects, underwater reefs and etc.

Small vessels

They use wave-resistant boats, large boats and even small ships. For example, on the Black Sea, during the period of active fishing for horse mackerel or other schooling fish, voyages on passenger pleasure boats are organized especially for fishermen.

At the final stage of fishing, when the shark begins to walk in circles, it’s a good idea to have an assistant who, when lifting the shark on board, will help unhook the sinker and pick up the fish.

Sea float rod

Sea float rod

Catching sea fish with a float rod

Red mullet or red mullet.

A fixed float has good sensitivity and light weight, but it can easily break off, rotates at a depth equal to the length of the rod and is of little use if the depth does not match the length of the rod.

The best bait for red mullet is the nereid, a red-green sea worm. A piece of worm should be placed on the hook. With a good bite, the red mullet will also take an ordinary earthworm or dungworm, which is also planted not entirely, but in small pieces. Sometimes red mullet pecks on a piece of raw shrimp meat and sea fleas.

Scorpionfish (sea ruff).

It is caught from the shore or structures protruding far into the water, at shallow depths with a rocky bottom covered with brown algae. It is well fished from a boat using onboard float rods at depths of up to 30 m.

Tips for fisherman: Sea fishing in Novorossiysk in contact - Choosing the best

Lavrak.

The effectiveness of fishing is increased by bait placed in a bag with small cells, from where food particles will be washed out even with a slight movement of water. The feeder is held at the bottom by a weight. For bait, crumbles of finely chopped fish, shrimp, crab meat, fish marc, etc. are suitable. Scented extracts are also used to serve as additional bait.

Mullet.

Various types of mullet can be caught well using a float rod. It is better to fish from the shore in the early morning, when schools of mullet in search of food sometimes follow near the very edge of the water. When fishing with a fishing rod with a blind rig, it is imperative to camouflage yourself behind cover. This could be some kind of coastal structure or a large boulder. Good places are port berths, hulls of ships, boats, small yachts, where you can remain unnoticed.

Usually, when fishing for mullet, they use tackle designed for long-distance casting. Mullet is a very cautious fish, and catching it requires the finest tackle. Even for catching large specimens (about 1 kg), they often take fishing line with a diameter of 0.1-0.12 mm, because Mullet sees well in clear water. In places where the water is somewhat cloudy, you can use a fishing line with a larger diameter (0.25 mm). The nozzle is placed approximately 10-15 cm from the bottom. In ports, mullet often feed at mid-water, so the descent should be appropriate.

The mullet bite is sharp, sometimes the float immediately goes under the water, and sometimes it jumps. A fishing rod left unattended can be jerked sharply and carried out to sea.

Laskir.

Sea crucian carp are caught both from the shore and from a boat. The fishing rod rig should be thin (line -0.14-0.15 mm, leash - 0.1-0.12 mm) with a sensitive (1-2 g) float. The bait is a piece of shrimp, sea worm or mussel meat.

Goby.

Wrasse or Zelenukha.

Horse mackerel.

Shemaya.

It is caught in the upper layers of water with a fishing rod designed for long-distance casting, equipped with a self-loading float. The main line is 0.2-0.25 mm, the leader line is 0.12-0.18 mm. The bait used is insects, crayfish meat, mussels, shrimp, and sea worm. It likes to feed on extensive shallows, so the bait must be cast at a distance of up to 20 m from the shore. Good places for fishing are where small rivers flow into the sea.

Gorbyl.

Garfish.

In addition, the fishing rod can be equipped with a float with a built-in sinker, which makes it easy to make long casts when fishing from above. A rigging option is also possible when a weighted float is tied to the end of the fishing line, and the leash is located a meter away from it (Fig. 3).

The best bait everywhere is shrimp meat. The Baltic garfish also really likes a strip of freshly caught herring meat. If the bite is sluggish, the hook must be done with a long pause, when the bait is in the corner of the fish’s mouth.

The most productive fishing is in early spring, when small flocks of garfish walk near the shore. Walking fishing: moving along the surf, you periodically repeat casts.

Sea pike perch.

Sometimes it is caught with live bait float rods at depths of 6-10 m. At greater depths it is caught from a boat using an onboard fishing rod. The lead line must have a diameter of at least 0.4 mm. Hooks are nickel-plated or tinned, long-shanked, No. 8-10. Small fish (anchovy, sprat, red mullet, etc.) are used for bait. Good places for fishing are located near the mouths of rivers flowing into the sea, in areas with dense clay soil.

mackerel

Fished with float rods throughout the day. The best bite happens in the morning. You can fish from a boat, coastal rocks, piers, piers and breakwaters, at a depth of 3-10 m. The bait is small fish or pieces of fish. In the Black Sea it appears in the Kerch Strait area in May-June. The equipment is the same as for catching garfish.

polar shark

The sharp sound of a rattle notifies that a bite has occurred. After it becomes monotonous, you should make a fairly powerful hook. The shark’s first jerks are the strongest—they try to restrain them by forcefully releasing the line. Having taken about 100 meters of fishing line, the shark most often stops. This is where you should start fishing.

The best bait is considered to be live herring, and the tail fin should be cut off so that the bait looks helpless, in addition, this prevents excessive twisting of the line (Fig. 4).

Drift fishing often occurs at very great depths with strong currents, so quick-release sinkers weighing from 100 g to 1 kg are used. Take a leash that is soft, but reliably protects against rubbing with teeth, such as “Steel Silk”. In principle, it is permissible to use leashes made of steel wire. For the largest specimens, a hook No. 18/10 (international classification) is required.

At the final stage of fishing, when the shark begins to walk in circles, it’s a good idea to have an assistant who, when lifting the shark on board, will help unhook the sinker and pick up the fish.

sea fox

Places where you can catch sea fox are found everywhere from Taman to Sochi. In Crimea, many stingrays live in the area of Sudak and the New World. There are places here where there are great depths not far from the shore. The best time to catch sea fox on the Black Sea coast and in Crimea is August and September.

"Russian Hunting Newspaper No. 43.44 - 2002"

Attention!

Kaliningrad Fishing Club” was used as source material

Fishing time determines tactics. When fishing light-colored, as a rule, fish with a small mouth bite, so the bait should be small: a worm, a 1.5-inch twister, a small slug. Micro-oscillators, retractable leash, micro-jig, bombards, split-shot and Texas rig with a small hook size are used.

For bottom fishing, I would recommend starting with cranks, a drop shot, a microjig and a retractable leader. For pelagic fishing - microjig, small minnow wobblers, micro-oscillators with silicone twisters, and even better, worms.

Bites often follow the wiring repeatedly. From strong blows like “give back the spinning rod” to light pinching of baits. If there are unconvincing bites, stop the wiring and pause. You can make a slight tremor with the tip of the spinning rod without loosening the tension of the braid. Scorpionfish very often catch up with bait that suits their taste.

Groundbait and bait

The baits also differ - at sea they are almost never caught with baits of plant origin: bread, pearl barley, corn, hominy, peas, etc., since the vast majority of sea fish are predators.

Tips for fisherman: Sea fishing from the shore on the Black Sea - Choosing the best

Groundbait is used very rarely. Most often it is small fish ground in a meat grinder, as well as crushed mussels or other shellfish.

Usually, if the goal is to feed a goby when fishing from a pier, then I crush the mussels with a stone, grind them into small pieces and throw them into the fishing area in small portions. This works best when the bite is weak in cool water, when the gobies sit in holes and it is difficult to lure them out of there.

Ground fish is used for catching bottom fish. If you place it in a special metal feeder (the currently popular metal fish tank can be used) and lower it vertically to the bottom, for example, from a boat or boat, then the food will be quietly washed out by the underwater current and attract fish.

Shellfish meat (most often mussels) - almost all coastal stones, underwater parts of piers, and breakwaters are covered with mussels. In the summer, when the water is warm, stocking up on mussels for fishing is not difficult. I take a snorkeling mask with me and dive into the water, and then pick shells off the rocks.

I clean the mussels either with a penknife, splitting the shells in half, or I break the shell with a stone and take out the meat. Mussel is a favorite dish of the most popular sea fish in Odessa - goby, although neither flounder, nor whiting, nor horse mackerel will neglect it. In addition to mussel meat, you can also use rapan meat, which is tougher, but will also work if the bite is active.

Shrimp (or as they are called in Odessa - crustaceans) . In the warm season, it is not difficult to get this bait and even a child can do it - just walk with a net through shallow water and hold it underwater in the area of large stones or the pier wall. Shrimp can also be caught with a spider (spider) by lowering it vertically from the pier and lifting it close to the wall.

If you don’t have the time or opportunity to catch shrimp, you can buy them at the market or in a store. Local fresh seafood is best suited - at the famous Odessa Privoz. You can also use frozen ocean fish, which are available in abundance in supermarkets, but the bite will be worse.

Most often, a goby is caught using shrimp. Fresh, boiled shrimp, which are littered with the counters of many coastal trays in the summer, work best; they are not suitable, although in the complete absence of other baits they can be used.

There are several ways to place a shrimp on a hook: whole, without the head, or by first peeling off the skin and tearing off the head. The last method is a little labor-intensive, but with a weak bite it gives an excellent result. Gobies are most often caught with shrimp, but whiting, horse mackerel, flounder and other fish will not pass by.

The sea worm (Nereis) is perhaps the most versatile bait in sea fishing; almost all types of fish are caught with it. However, getting Nereis is not so easy. It lives in the coastal soil of the sea or some estuaries at shallow depths, but not everywhere. You need to dig it with a shovel, removing the worms from the soil. At Privoz it is sold in boxes. For full fishing, I usually take 2-3 boxes of worms.

This is bait that spoils very quickly in the heat, and it cannot be stored for a long time. Nereis is the only bait that sea mullet bite in Odessa, as well as one of the favorite delicacies of kalkan and glossa.

Small fish. Typically, Odessa fishermen use ferine (siberian), which can be caught with a small fish directly from the pier or pier, as well as with a miniature tyrant or a float rod. When fishing for garfish, I use live ferina, and when fishing for flounder, goby or whiting, I use whole or pieces of fresh or salted ferina.

I mainly use squid meat Frozen squid can be bought in almost any supermarket or market. I cut it into small pieces and put it on the hook. Squid is a hard bait that, with an active bite, will not often come off the hook.

This is not the entire list of baits that you can use to catch fish in the sea. Some fish can be caught using crab meat, dung worms, etc. I think you shouldn’t worry about bait before leaving for the resort; everything you need can be obtained or bought on the spot.

Tackle

Tackle for sea fishing should also differ from its freshwater counterparts primarily in security and durability. Sea salt water causes much more corrosion of metal than fresh water. Therefore, rod rings, reel components, hooks, carabiners, etc. must be made of stainless materials.

This is not a necessary condition, but extremely desirable, since the service life of the gear can be significantly reduced. I have had cases where cheap Chinese reels lasted no more than 1 season and were almost completely destroyed at sea.

The quality and protection from sea water of the hooks is crucial, since they can be dulled during one fishing trip on the rocks, and they can also simply rust. Modern manufacturers of hooks have series designed specifically for fishing in salt water (labeled “salt water”), and you need to pay attention to them.

The fishing line also has certain requirements. It must be resistant to abrasion from stones, piers, etc. Nowadays, you can find on sale a large selection of specialized fishing lines that have such properties due to several protective layers. And the more such layers, the better, naturally.

Of course, you can also use regular freshwater fishing line. I have tried many different options and found that some models develop a white coating of salt that, when dried, stains the reel spool. In addition, after 1–2 months of use, when fishing from piers or the shore, the fishing line wears out and loses its strength in these places. The fishing line has to be changed at least once a season, or even more often.

Another feature when catching sea fish is that they are not so picky about the thickness of the fishing line. Of course, there is some relationship, but still not as significant as when fishing in fresh water.

Hooks are a common occurrence when fishing from piers, since the bottom here is strewn with stones in many places, and the goby most often stays in them. Therefore, the supply of hooks and sinkers you take with you on a fishing trip should be sufficient.

It is best to take with you on a trip a compact telescopic rod 2.7–3.5 m with a spinning reel equipped with a 0.3–0.4 mm fishing line. Several floats with a carrying capacity of 10–15 g, a set of sinkers of various weights, hooks, carabiners, spare skeins of fishing line of various diameters. That's probably the whole set. In any case, in Odessa we have many fishing stores where you can buy everything you need. The main thing is to decide in advance what time you will be in Odessa and what kind of fish you will catch.

What are the most effective baits for shore fishing?

There may be live or artificial bait. Each fish has its own “delicacies” for which the bite will be more effective.

Popular lures for sea fishing:

You can collect worms along the shore. They are suitable for any fish. The bite is usually good.
Young fish are suitable for live bait fishing. Only predatory fish bite.
Shrimp without shell can become bait for sea crucian carp, beluga, horse mackerel and perch.
Mussels are caught from the sea, cleaned and used as bait.
An artificial twister and vibrotail are suitable for fishing for large predatory fish.

How is fishing from the shore different?

At sea, it is more effective to fish at depth, but if you don’t have a boat, you can catch large specimens using a spinning rod and a bottom fishing rod.

Ideal time is at night. At this time, the fish comes closer to the shore in a school. It is better to use live bait: mussels, shrimp and worms.

In bad weather and in a storm, surfcasting is suitable. The principle is that during strong fluctuations in water, many small organisms are thrown ashore. They are bait for large specimens.

Cliff fishing requires experience. Of the gear, the most effective is a telescopic fishing rod up to 5 m.

Choosing gear

Tackle for sea fishing is similar to spinning rods designed for fishing in freshwater bodies. But marine gear is larger in size and has protection against the corrosion caused by salt water. Reels that come into contact with water must also be protected from its effects.

Large varieties of fish such as tuna, sea bass and cod are found in the sea. For this reason, only rigid rods with a specified length and test are used. It is best to use a spinning rod with a length of 1.5 to 2.5 m.

This indicator should depend on the conditions in which fishing takes place. For fishing from a boat or other vessel, you won’t need too long a spinning rod. The rod test can be 200-500 g. This figure will depend on the weight of the baits used and the fish you are going to catch. Spinning rods with a dough of more than 500 g are rarely found on sale because there is no demand for them.

Spinning rods for sea fishing can be equipped with guide rings or rollers. Most anglers prefer roller rods because they reduce friction and extend the life of the braided line.

But modern spinning rods already have rings installed that do not spoil the fishing line.

What do experienced fishermen advise?

In the Black Sea you can catch a wide variety of fish and other marine life. There are several tips that will help beginners get a good catch.

It is necessary to choose gear from quality materials.
You need to have a variety of baits with you, because... The fish always bite differently.
A purchased “tyrant” is more effective; when using homemade gear, you need to take different types with you.
It is more effective to hang a bell on the base of the rod.
To improve the bite, you can use chemical additives.
A lot of seagulls indicate the presence of polyamide in the sea.
You can catch more fish at night.

Boat and its equipment

In order to fish from a boat, you need... the boat itself! And preferably with a motor, for mobility. Of course, you can also row, but the sea with a motor is somehow calmer, believe me! The sea is the sea, weather conditions here can change so dramatically that you will have to quickly turn around and taxi to the shore. The boat must have an echo sounder - without it, fishing in the open sea is adventurous, although most local fishermen know the “secret points” and find them by landmarks on the shore. The echo sounder clearly shows how the depth increases as you move away from the shore, and the bottom topography at a depth of 40-50 m is a flat table. When the echo sounder produces a picture that shows that, against the backdrop of 50-meter depths, a sharp rise suddenly begins to the level of 18-20 m, and the bottom topography is uneven, you can anchor and start fishing. And if you manage to find a jar, then fishing is guaranteed. A bank is an underwater elevation, a kind of mountain, the top of which does not reach the surface of the water. Wherever you go for sea fishing, along the entire Black Sea coast there are a huge number of cans of different sizes, located at different distances from the shore. As a rule, fish accumulate on banks, since for them such places are not only a natural shelter, but also a kind of dining room. There is a lot of food for a wide variety of fish, so you never know in advance which one will bite. The ichthyofauna of the Black Sea is considered more scarce compared to the Mediterranean or Red Sea, but even at the same time, the variety of fish that can grab your hook can make extremely vivid and indelible impressions. Almost along the entire Black Sea coast, paid fishing services are provided. A variety of ships go to sea, from a small boat to almost a cruise liner. But still, it is on your own boat that you will experience complete fishing freedom, which, as they say, no amount of money can buy. I agree, there are certain inconveniences with transporting the boat, so, in my opinion, the best option is a set of inflatable boats with a small 15-horsepower engine. By the way, many fishermen who already have experience in sea fishing give preference to “cylinders” rather than various duralumin or wooden boats, explaining this by the fact that inflatable ones are more maneuverable and safer, they hold the wave better and there is less hassle with them when launching and exiting from water. Let me remind you that there are certain rules for the use of small vessels. Of course, law-abiding shipowners are aware, however, I will dwell on some important points, neglect of which can ultimately ruin fishing.

So, the boat and the motor must have the appropriate documents, a ship’s ticket, a license, and, if necessary, a power of attorney; there should be numbers on the sides of the boat, etc. According to the rules, the boat must have the following items: an anchor, a bailer or bucket, an Alexandrov's end (a rope with a foam cap and a loop for rescuing drowning people), life jackets for each crew member, a first aid kit, signal lights in case the engine breaks down and you are carried away to the open sea (just don’t even think of using fireworks to mark the first fish you catch, otherwise you’ll have to share your joy with the border guards), whistles (probably to scare away sharks), a rope and a lantern. By the way, it is better to have two anchors, since “dead” hooks often happen, and so as not to have to end fishing for such a trifling reason, you need a spare one. For local serious fishermen, the anchor resembles a cat, its core is heavy, and the hooks are made of unhardened steel wire, which simply unbends when caught strongly. I recommend that you take with you a sealed waterproof bag, in which I would recommend placing documents, mobile phones, a camera and other things that should remain dry. The procedure for going to sea on your own boat is quite complicated, but if you come for a few days or a week, it is better to go through it to avoid unnecessary conversations with representatives of the law. In any locality there is a pier, a boat cooperative, etc., the location of which can be found out from local residents. There, an application is written to the chairman of this boat cooperative to register your vessel at this pier, a kind of temporary registration. With a signed application, you are sent to the local state inspection for small boats (GIMS), where the boat will be temporarily registered. And at the end of this bureaucratic journey, the inspectorate will give you the address of the border post, to which you must go and register, since the waters of the Black Sea are border waters and are controlled by the military. They will also give you a phone number to call whenever you decide to go out to sea, and tell you how far you can swim (I think it's 2 nautical miles, or about 3.6 km). And a few more tips for those who don’t want to spend the entire fishing trip as a “little green man.” You shouldn’t rely too much on your vestibular system, and if you don’t feel sick on a plane or bus, this is not an argument at all. The open sea is rarely perfectly calm, so even seemingly harmless ripples can play a cruel joke on you. Complete calm is extremely rare, and the sea, even seemingly calm, is constantly “breathing”. I’m not at all trying to intimidate you, and it’s not a fact that you will necessarily feel bad and have to “call the Snow Maiden.” I just want to warn you against the most common mistakes that inexperienced sailors make. You should absolutely not look at the bottom of the boat or look at small objects in front of your nose for a long time. So if you break your tackle or decide to change the bait or bait, try to do it as quickly as possible, and if you feel unwell, look up at the horizon more often. Breathe deeply and hope for the best, because real lovers, I would even say, connoisseurs of fishing should not be frightened by any difficulties. I hope that the further narrative will smooth out such a frightening beginning and instill more optimism in readers.