Salt Strategies with Spinning Gear

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IT’S AN AGE-OLD DEBATE among anglers but in many ways, it is a useless argument. Both have their advantages and in the bass world this is clearly understood.

Sometimes you simply need spinning gear to get the job done.

In saltwater, there are still diehards who prefer one or the other with a majority in the casting column on the Texas Coast. A growing number of anglers are however learning the advantage of using spinning equipment for specific tasks.

Here are seven ways it can give you an edge in catching fish along the coast.

 

Coastal Finesse Fishing: Spinning reels only need to pull the weight of the fishing line, so they are perfect for casting light lures.

Throwing a tiny curl tail with a 1/16-ounce jig head is difficult on casting gear but works perfectly on spinning gear. There are numerous times when tiny lures get the job done when nothing else will for flounder, especially during spring months when their preferred baitfish is tiny menhaden.

A great choice for this is the 7-foot Light/Fast Mojo Inshore Spinning Rod from St. Croix. Standard flounder rods are medium/heavy but when the bite is soft you need something that allows for working tiny lures and while you might lose some at the boat, you will get far more bites this way than staying with the typical approach that doesn’t work when the fish aren’t feeding aggressively.

Wind Casting: Let’s face it, few anglers can throw in the heavy wind all day with casting gear and not get a backlash.

The presence of strong wind does not mean the fish will not bite but it certainly makes things more difficult in the casting department. 

Since backlashes are few and far between on spinning gear they are perfect for those prefrontal days when winds are blowing in the bay but the barometer is dropping and the fish are on a strong feed.

Skipping: Docks in bays and channels are great places to pick up on flounder, sheepshead, and snook (on the Lower Coast). Skipping lures under docks is a great way to pick up on fish that target in saltwater and there is no better way to do this than with spinning gear.

The casting is more forgiving and keeps you in the action, instead of pulling out backlashes. Another advantage here is spinning reels typically have a slower gear ratio than casting rods. It’s best to work a few feet under a dock slowly than to pull out with a crank or two before the fish get a good look.

A 6’6 Medium/Fast Avid Series Inshore Spinning Rod from St. Croix is a great choice for skipping. You can technically skip with any but shorter is better and having the action to work a bait while the backbone to get a strong hookset is paramount.

Left Or Right Doesn’t Matter: Nearly all spinning reels come with the ability to adjust for right or left-handed anglers. 

That gives guides a very practical reason to keep them on the boat as they never know what preference their clients might have in that department.

And it’s also a reason for you to keep a few handy as guests on your dock or boat might be not only beginners but lefties that have a hard time with right-handed setup.

Big Fish Battles: One of the beauties of saltwater fishing is you never know what you might catch. Instead of a speckled trout at the jetties, you might end up with a king mackerel. And the slot-sized red you’re seeking might end up being a 40- incher.

Either one of those scenarios will require some drag adjustment. Drags are much easier to access and tweak on the spinning gear in the heat of battle.

Many fish are lost because a drag adjustment could not be made quickly and with spinning reels, you can do it quickly and without fumbling around too much.

A 7-foot Medium-Heavy/Fast Mojo Inshore Spinning Rod is a great choice when you’re fishing areas where the catch could be regular-sized or jumbo.

Vertical Fishing: Working a big jig for snapper around an oil rig or targeting a drum over a deep drop-off in the channel requires fishing vertically.

This is a huge advantage for anglers fishing spinning gear.

Baitcasters have somewhat of a “pendulum effect” when a lure encounters resistance from pulling against the round, rotating spool. The line on spinning reels falls freely and has much less resistance. This can make a difference on spooky fish who want lures to fall straight down, or when fishing down certain kinds like the aforementioned rigs and drop-offs.

Fishing straight up and down is much easier with spinning gear and allows you to keep closer contact with your lure or bait in deeper water. That means you will “feel” the bite better and have a better chance of hooking fish when they’re in the finicky mode.

The 6’ 6” Medium RIFT Jig Spinning Rod is perfect for tackling snapper, grouper and other fish up to 35 pounds.”

Popping Corks: There are more redfish and speckled trout caught on the Gulf Coast on popping corks than with any other method. Some use live shrimp while others prefer soft plastics but either way popping corks are undeniably effective.

The best popping cork fishing is done with braided line and the last thing you want on a braid is a backlash. That usually means scissor time.

Braided line with a fluorocarbon leader is a deadly combo for bay-dwelling species and the ability to deliver it confidently hundreds of times a day gives spinning the nod over casting tackle.

The St Croix Medium/Heavy Fast Legend Tournament Inshore Spinning is a perfect rod for this practice with both the backbone for hookset and action for working the cork.

 

—story by TFG STAFF

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