South East Fishing Meets

I caught a 36 incher in 2016 off the kayak with fluke rod... talk about a blast!

@dan0mite Looks like my plans has changed some, I'll be in OBX (not Hatteras unless the fish are biting then I'll drive down there) the weekend of April 27th and another weekend trip set in stone for May 18th. I plan on buying a annual driving pass soon so I'll be driving up and down the beaches looking for fish

 

As of now, I'm off May 19th & 20th. So, I may be joining you for that one if you don't mind.

 

Absolutely, I know that Saturday I'll be cruising the beaches. I'll have a couple friends and my wife with me, so I guess my fishing will depend on how long she wants to be at the beach. That completely depends on the weather. Nice 75 degree sunny day I'll be there all day, cold and raining...best fishing... I'll probably only get a few hours.

 

Word. I'll probably only have my dog. Maybe a friend of mine and his son, but probably just me and the hound. I usually come down Friday nights after work and head back late afternoon on Sundays, so I'm sure if I make it we can at least meet up and wet some lines for a little bit.

 

Sounds like a plan. I've been getting real excited the last few days about surf fishing. Made about 25 rigs on Saturday from fish finders to drop loop rigs.

 

Updated the first post!

 

Got a little over a dozen each of 7/0, 8/0, and 9/0 bite leaders made up myself over the last few nights. My hands were killing me after all that hook snelling.




(Excuse the disaster of a coffee table. My ex girlfriend's son... long story... has taken it over and that's all the room I get. )

 

I run 3/0-6/0 circles with 20 or 30 lb mono leaders... I need to get some more 50lb line but if the blues or sharks are biting it fairly easy to swap on a steel leader. Those look like some nice rigs, certainly beats spending $5+ for each one at a store.

 

For my rigs I get 1 inch pipe isolation and cut it to the size I want and wrap the rigs around it. I'll keep those in a old plastic coffee can. Keeps the sand out and floats if you flip a kayak

 

Yeah, next step for me is picking up some 3/0-6/0 circles to make a few more. Definitely better than buying the pre-made ones. And after the initial buy in, much cheaper too. My usual fishing buddy finally started leaving me a few bucks in my tackle box when we go fishing and he raids it, cause I told him he was either going to have to start buying the supplies, or learn how to make his own.

Been working on organizing all my stuff here lately. After a couple years of just throwing stuff where it fits, my boxes and bag have gotten to be a mess.

I fish out of my truck, so it's not as big a deal for me. But if I do have to pack in to a spot, I keep it all in a Toyota backpack (I'll have to snap a picture). Right now, I have a deep Plano box that holds all my packaged small store bought snelled hooks, wire over/under rigs, knives, reel oil, rod tip kit, beads, crimps, swivels, and tape measures, then I have that box in the pictures. Stuff a couple spools of line in the outside pocket, and I'm pretty much set for everything.

 

I like the 3/0 and 4/0 because they are small enough where you can catch mullet and croaker but still big enough where it can still hook a decent sized red. I'll run two rods with 3/0-4/0 and my two larger rods with 6/0 fish finders. I don't use crimps or anything like that just tie the hook with a leader and swivel. Yeah I have a friend who does that too! He isn't really set up for saltwater besides his catfish rods so i just make a few extra rigs whenever we go fishing. What kills me is loosing weights! Those are the most expensive part. I have been wanting to make my own weights but haven't made the investment yet.

 

I've got waaaaay more freshwater stuff than one person should have. Like, I'm starting to rival some of the YouTube guys I subscribe to. I had a ton, then me and my brother split up my grandfather's stuff when he passed. And he had way too much too. My brother prefers hard baits, and I prefer soft plastics, so we split it fairly down the middle. I ended up with probably close to 5 gallon size Ziploc bags full of soft plastics, and almost 4 big Plano boxes full of crank baits, chatter baits, and buzz baits.

I keep a few small snack size Ziploc bags in my boat and tackle bags, and I'll usually toss a bag or two to kids when I see them out fishing. I'll never use them all before they dry up, and I'd rather they get passed on and make a kid happy. I loaded up the ex's son with a bunch of them and he was super excited. He can't wait to go throw them in the water.

Yeah, my problem is I've fished myself out of any kind of "medium" sized hooks. I've got tiny ones or giant ones.

And yes... 100% agree on the loosing weights. I've never understood why a chunk of lead costs so much. Every time I have one break off, I cry a little inside as I watch it sail off towards the horizon.

I've been thinking about doing the same. You got any tips and trips for us? Other than get some lead, get some molds, and go make some weights?

 

Might have to give it a shot. The molds are pricey, but I guess if you make enough of them the mold pays for itself. I'm going to have to start selling this stuff to my friends to pay for it all.

Ebay it... the ex girlfriend has her own ebay store, hits the Goodwill, and makes a decent amount flipping stuff. Nothing to live on, but enough to take the kids out to have fun once or twice a month. As you can probably tell, we're still living together (I know... I'm ... Again, long story), and she's been teaching me little tips and tricks about ebay. There's money to be made there for sure.

 

What do you use as a kiln? I saw the youtube video of the guy that made one out of plaster of paris and a metal bucket.

 

I know what I'll be investing in this summer! I literally just spent about $60 on new weights a few weeks ago gearing up for this spring.

 

That's insane. And I'm jealous.

 

Apparently there's a market on eBay for sinkers too. Might have to do some cost analysis on this stuff. Couple hours of work a week might make me some more fishing money.

Saw that. Definitely looks like the easiest way to go. I might have to go begging for lead wheel weights at a few shops I know though... lead shot is looking more like $2 a pound on eBay.

I bet that took hours.

 

I looked into making custom bucktails and the money seemed reasonable. I had everything out on a spreadsheet to the penny, but I never went through with it. The money would have come from eBay or online stores. Localish shops couldn't come anywhere near $3 a piece. They get China stuff for half that and mark it up. I was going to get shops to buy say 100 at a time at a flat rate then they take all the risk. Like I said never went through with it but you would have to turn and burn a lot to make money. For a hobby though, it saves you about $2 a bucktail.

 

Yeah, funny thing is, I took my truck to my buddy who works at Toyota on the weekends to get an inspection. He was mounting tires when I showed up and I asked him what they did with all the old weights besides throw them on the floor. Told him why, and he was like, "They're mostly steel these days." I was kinda bummed.

I never thought about plumbers or roofers. I did think about going and digging in the berms at the range I usually go to. Watched a dude on YouTube build a screen box to sift it out, and he got a 5 gallon bucket full in just a few minutes.

 

Yeah. Friend of mine belongs to a private rod & gun club. I don't know how they'd like us digging up in the berms, but then again, never hurts to ask.