The Equipment Priority List For Inshore Saltwater Anglers
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Inshore Fishing, Insider Only, Tackle & Gear
We don’t want you to make the same mistakes we did when we started getting serious about saltwater fishing.
We bought all the wrong things based on recommendations from untrustworthy sources, such as sponsored TV shows and magazines, and much of it actually hurt our ability to get better at catching fish.
The problem was that these recommendations didn’t come with our best interests in mind, and they didn’t offer a full solution (rod, reel, line, and lures all syncing with one another).
So, we’re sharing this video that we made for our newer members, because it’s a great reminder for all of us to stay focused on what’s important. This will help you all save hundreds of dollars by not wasting money in the wrong places.
Top Rods:
- Exceptional: Slot Machine (click here for combo)
- Great [Most Popular]: Slam Stick (click here for combo)
- Good: TFO Pro S
Note: If you fish while on travel or if you have issues with full length rods, then this Slam Stick Travel combo should be a great fit for you.
Line Recommendation: For line, the key is to use a thin and smooth braid because it allows for very long casts while it gives off very little vibration in the water to help spook less fish. Daiwa’s J-Braid 8 Grand in 10 lb test has been the overall winner in our testing so far.
Reel Recommendations:
- Exceptional: Saltist 2500
- Great: Otis 2500 [Most Popular]
- Good: Fuego 2500
Lure Recommendations:
As mentioned in this video, you can get great results simply using The 2.0 paddletail as it has logged the most catches of all across the fishing club members.
For the most bang for your buck, I recommend starting with the Inshore Slammer Core Essentials bundle because it contains our most popular baitfish imitation (The 2.0) and shrimp imitation (Prawn USA Jr.) lures.
Plus, it includes the top rigging for shallow zones and deeper zones that work great for both lures.
Boat, Kayak, SUP Recommendations:
One of the best things about saltwater fishing is that many saltwater fish feed in the shallows which makes them extremely accessible to anyone who has the desire to catch them.
In fact, many of our members who wade fish are catching just as many (in many cases even more) fish than those with fancy boats.
So for that reason, the most expensive piece of equipment of all (the vessel), is at the bottom of the priority list.
As for recommendations here, the answer is dependent on the style of fishing you like best… before making that investment, make sure to try out several different styles of fishing. And then make sure to find a vessel that is designed to suite your favorite style…there are way too many variations to even attempt to make a recommendation for in this post.
Conclusion
As you get better and better at predicting where your target fish will be holding based on tides & weather, you’ll start seeing improvements in fish catching results.
Just please make sure to be taking the right gear so that you can make the most of your time on the water with proper rod, line, reel, and lures that’ll help you catch fish faster and easier than you ever thought possible.
Please know that you are more than welcome to reach out to us at any time for questions on equipment or finding fish by using the comment feeds at the bottom of posts like this or by posting in The Community platform (our private online forum for members).
Tight lines,
Luke Simonds
Chief Fishing Addict
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish ever trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Great info.
Ok guys, I’ve been a bait casting fisherman for 40 years…don’t and haven’t owned a spinner in those 40. Are you guys gonna set up some combos and set-ups for us “casters”??? Would love to see more in this field.
Also, been a member and love ALL the content and even as a 40 year fisherman, still learning!!
Tight lines.
The best advice I can give is to not make the mistake I did for far too many years in thinking that spinning gear was only for rookies. I looked down on anyone using spinning tackle thinking that they were only using it because they aren’t skilled enough to use casting gear.
Then, I finally fished with someone who was using a good spinning setup for inshore saltwater fishing, and I was shocked at how much more distance he was getting on each cast while we had to be throwing lightweight baits to spooky fish… I simply could not get the distance needed for success in spite of having a more expensive casting setup with 15+ years of exclusive casting gear usage under my belt.
So I finally had the push to get a nice spinning setup and quickly realized how wrong I was about spinning gear being for newbies. And I soon realized that I was catching way more fish with my spinning setup than all of the casting rods. The difference was so extreme that I was using spinning gear 90% of the time soon afterwards.
Seeing that you appear to be like I was, I highly recommend giving one of our recommended spinning combos a shot and spool it up with 8 lb braid for using on the open water flats where distance is crucial… you’ll undoubtedly be shocked with how far it casts with minimal effort.
Here are the best choices:
1) Value – Slam Stick & Otis Combo: https://fishstrong.com/collections/bundles/products/most-popular-rod-reel-line-combo
2) Premium – Slot Machine (which is Made in TX) & Otis Combo: https://fishstrong.com/collections/bundles/products/premium-performance-rod-reel-line-combo-slot-machine
Luke, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to put that much into a reply. You know us older folks are just stubborn sometimes, lol. I might just give a shot to one of your combos and see what I think. I do some shallow water flats in a skiff and some inshore IC deeper water I’ll definitely be keeping my casters busy, but I think I’ll give you a shot. Again, I love you guys content. I absolutely find the fishing app to be priceless and will continue to purchase and use all the schooling. You guys put out there Tight Line’s brother and stay wet.
A Floating Rod is great. Is something added to the blank or does it just float due to lots of cork & light weight reel?
It floats due to it being a (1) lightweight rod, (2) with a full cork butt section, and (3) it’s paired with a lightweight reel.
Thanks for the reply.
Great info I have down sized on my reels
Sorry – Luke not Jake – my bad
I’m somewhat new to all this. Luke mentions the best line to use (10lb braided), but no mention of a leader. Is a leader recommended? Or not needed with Jake’s line recommendation? Thank you.
Yes, a leader line is definitely recommended for inshore saltwater fishing since the line near the lure/bait is highly likely to contact sharp teeth and/or bottom structure. See the Fishing School linked here for recommended line sizes and knots we recommend based on skill level: https://www.saltstrong.com/fishing-school/
You’re last weekly newsletter was in March?
Our last weekly newsletter was last Sunday (we have created newsletters every Sunday for the past 8+ years).
The March link that you saw, which I assume is what triggered your question, was the newsletter in which this particular post was featured when it was created.
Glad you mentioned the fishing school. In the off time check it out!
Where was this school mentioned? Am I blind?
Here’s a link to the school: https://www.saltstrong.com/fishing-school/
I have the Slam Stick rods, medium and medium-light, paired with Daiwa Fuego 2500s. I’ve had the Fuegos for a while and love them. The Slam Sticks are still getting broken in but feel solid and cast baits very well. I have used several braid brands and the Daiwa is my favorite. For anyone looking for quality braid at a great price, the Reaction Tackle braid is excellent.
I like the rod and reel combo but 7’6” for in close around docks for me is too crowed . 6’6” with a fast tip I have more control or a 7’ .. I like the rod and floating rod .
Although shorter rods can allow for better accuracy all else being equal, the different is nominal… and I think it is overcome by the benefits a longer rod carries such as: 1) better control of lure retrievals to move the lure closer to pilings 2) more control of hooked fish in terms of moving it away from pilings, 3) better ability to skip lures from longer distances due to increased tip speed.
For those reasons, I stick with 7’6″ rods when dock fishing.