Ok so I'm going out on the boat tomorrow. I live in SW FL and we're going out to Key Waden. It's saltwater, and I have fake bait (shiny rubber fish, stuff like that) and some frozen bait(shrimp/squid). The total amt of fish I've caught is about 10 catfish, and 1 ladyfish. I'm getting sick of going out and not catching anything...tips? I'm also pretty inexperienced when it comes to fishing (with tying knots, putting on hook,etc) so any help would be appreciated!!!
If your fishing shallow areas (flats) use poloraized glasses and try to spot the fish (a learned art) then cast about 30 feet in front of them and wait for them to get close before your strip in your lures. if your not fishing areas where u can see the fish, look for STRUCTURE. what i mean is spots where tidal currents flow around points and create areas called seems (fast water next to slow water) areas with some current where it drops from shallow to deep as well. for knots, use an clinch knot, its easy to learn and strong. always test ur knot before u fish to make sure it holds. with hooks, debard them or dont hook urself. hooking yourself with a big barded saltwater hook is not worth it.
Bring some REAL bait too, in case you cant get anything to hit the lures. Zoom brush hogs and Super flukes work great in saltwater! Here in cali we use this stuff called unibutter-- it's got sea urchin eggs in it, you dip your soft plastic lures in it, and the fish love it. You could get a big snook that way! As knots go, learn how to tie the palomar knot-- very powerful knot. In fact, it's so strong, you're not supposed to use it to tie riggings on boats, because they are really hard to undo! It's also simple and quick! Some plain normal raw market shrimp will catch all sorts of fish. Snook love shrimp