Basic knowledge of sea fishing

•                  There are many ways to fish at sea, and the fishing grounds are divided into deep and shallow. In deep fields with a water depth of more than 50 meters, boat fishing is used. In shallow fields with a water depth of less than 50 meters, both boat fishing and shore fishing are possible, and there are several types of fishing grounds: Island rock reef fishing ground: fishing in the sea or on the rocks at the seaside, also known as rock fishing, all use casting rods, the rod length is more than 4.5 meters, and people with good skills and strong strength can cast 8-10 meters. Seaweed plants grow on the seabed reefs, and sea insects, mollusks and various small fish and shrimps also like to live here, so they can attract many fish to feed and reproduce. The water depth at the seaside reefs is generally about 10 meters, and various sea fish of different sizes live in groups. Once the fish swim over, they will grab the food and the hook rate is very high. However, fishing on the sea reefs is windy and rough, consumes a lot of physical energy, and is very dangerous. Beach fishing grounds refer to fishing on the beach or slope by the sea and the bay. Fishing on the beach is safer, but you must pay close attention to the rise and fall of the tide. When the tide rises, sea fish flock to the shore with the tide and eat the food on the shore. This is the ideal time for sea fishing. When fishing on the beach, you can also use a casting rod. The method is to cast it out 4-5 meters. On the one hand, you must always pay attention to the sea fish snatching food, and lift the rod, reel in the line, and catch the fish in time; on the other hand, you should always pay attention to the rise and fall of the tide. If there are strong winds and waves, or the tide rises rapidly, you must retreat at any time, otherwise you will be in danger of being swept away by the waves.

There are many varieties of sea fish, and more than 70 kinds are common, but not all sea fish are suitable for fishing. The main target fish for sea fishing are flower fish (ray), sea bass, threadfin mullet, sea mullet, grouper, eel, basin fish, tiger head fish, sixteen pieces, flower sea bream, etc. Seawater fish are more ferocious than freshwater fish, and they bite the bait as soon as they see it, so it is easier to harvest than freshwater fishing. Moreover, the ocean area is vast, and the fishing targets include warm water, warm water and cold water fish; the water body is deep, and there are fish in the upper, middle and lower layers of water. The fish species are diverse, making fishing more exciting and fun.

Basic equipment for boat fishing

            A hard-tuned sea fishing rod of about 2 meters or a special boat fishing rod; 2) A large reel; 3) A connector or a special fishing scale for sea fishing; 4) A scoop net and a hook; 5) Fishing bait; 6) Sub-lines, hooks, and small accessories. Precautions for sea fishing:

The characteristics of sea fishing are deep water, fast current, long distance, and long time. Sometimes you often need to cross a large sea surface. This requires attention to the following five issues:

1. First, when setting out for sea fishing, you must carry all the fishing gear, including fish hooks and fishing lines. It is best to bring more sets. Especially when setting the hook in the cave at the bottom of the reef, it is inevitable to hook the hook and break the line. If you estimate that the distance is long and the time is long, you must bring enough food and utensils.
2. Second, the ocean is much deeper than the river, usually tens or hundreds of meters, and the fish at the bottom of the deep water are under great pressure. Once the fish is caught on the surface, it will die quickly if the pressure is quickly reduced. To keep it fresh and alive, it must be deflated. The method is to pierce the fish’s belly with a deflation needle (usually an injection needle) and gently press the fish’s belly to expel the gas from the body. The fish can adapt to the surface environment and live longer.
3. Third, the ocean is generally deep and the current is large, so it is difficult to keep the fishing line straight. Therefore, once you find fish signals, you should move big and have enough force when lifting the rod. If the water is shallow, it doesn’t matter if you lift the rod slowly; if the water is deep, if you lift the rod too steadily and too slowly, and the force is too small, the fish is likely to run away.
4. Fourth, as the saying goes, “Water and fire are merciless.” When fishing in the sea, you must pay great attention to safety. When fishing on a boat or on a rock, you must wear a life jacket to prevent accidents. In addition, when fishing on the rocks, you should not only wear special nail shoes for rock fishing, but also go with a companion. You should not act alone to prevent each other from being unable to rescue each other in case of accidents. The land rocks that are generally considered safer are not safe, so you must not take it lightly. Sea rocks are easy to pass through by waves, but land rocks cannot pass through. Under this situation, the sea water continues to rise, and the rising sea water on the left and right often surrounds the land rocks from behind, posing a great threat to anglers. Once you encounter wind and waves or tsunamis, you must remain calm and retreat to a safe area in a planned and prepared manner.
5. Fifth, there are big fish in deep water. There are all kinds of ferocious fish in the sea, and some fish can bite off the oars in one bite. When fishing at sea, once you catch a very large fish, it will pull the hook and bait away like a ship, and after the line in the reel is released, it will still pull as before. At this time, if you think it is difficult to make it surrender, you can make a quick decision and cut the fishing line to save the fishing rod. This is “sacrificing pawns to protect the general.” If you encounter this situation on a sampan, be careful not to let it overturn the boat to avoid casualties.

Sea fishing position:

After choosing the fishing ground, you need to determine the specific fishing position. The natural environment of the ocean is more complex, and fishing should be considered based on a variety of factors, but there are several generally applicable principles.

1. First, try to choose sea fishing and avoid shallows. Shallows have plenty of sunlight, and most fish are photophobic, generally only active in shallows at night and in the morning and evening.
2. Second, choose stagnant water areas when fishing in the bay. Stagnant water areas in the inland sea include river estuaries, living docks, breakwaters, etc. These places have more silt or sand and gravel on the bottom of the water, slow water flow, rich bait, and generally more fish.
3. Third, reef fishing should choose the side facing the impact of the tide, which is usually called the tide surface. The tide surface brings abundant plankton, and when it collides with rocks, it will produce abundant oxygen, so the tide surface is also an ideal fishing spot.
4. Finding a fishing spot during the peak season of sea fishing:
   

1. First of all, it is a good thing to find a fishing spot that can catch fish during sea fishing. The rapid current and many reefs are also the fundamental reason for the large number of fish, and it is inevitable for anchor hooks. If you don’t anchor the hook, the rapid current will carry the connecting line with the half float and the sinker to a place more than ten meters away in a few seconds, far away from the place where you catch fish, but you can’t catch fish. The anchored hook here plays the role of positioning the entire set of bait hooks.

2. If the diameter of the main line and the connecting line is set at more than 0.5 mm in diameter, then the brain line (or bottom hook line and sinker line) connecting the bottom hook and the lead sinker to the connecting line should be replaced with a thinner line with a diameter of 0.3-0.35 mm. In this way, when the anchor hook is pulled back, it will be disconnected from here, which will not affect the catching of fish. For fish under 1 kg, a line with a diameter of 0.3-0.35 mm is fully competent. Sometimes when pulling back, other hooks that don’t catch fish also get stuck on the bottom. In this case, you might as well replace all the brain lines with lines thinner than the main line and the connecting line, and adopt the strategy of dropping the hook to save the fish.

3. Change the way the lead sinker is directly connected to the connecting line to the way it is connected by a thin brain line with a diameter of 0.3 mm, so that after the sinker is stuck, it can be treated as a result of dropping the sinker to save the fish and the whole set of bait hooks. You just need to replace the lead sinker with mud or cement sinker, so that it is worthwhile to exchange a mud lump for a fish.

4. Use a lighter to burn the bottom hook for annealing, turn the hard hook into a soft hook, and when it is hung on the bottom anchor hook, it will be straight when pulled, and the purpose of catching fish can be achieved smoothly.

5. If you don’t want to use any of the above methods, then change the half float to full float, and change the bottom fishing to floating fishing. When throwing the hook, it needs to be put into the water about 15 meters upstream of the fish position so that the whole set of bait flows to the fish area. When fishing with full float and floating, the length of the connecting line should be properly handled, and it should also be determined according to the distribution of the streamer and reef.

In short, the opportunity to catch fish at the fishing position should not be easily missed. Although the anchor hook is used, as long as you keep calm and don’t be impatient, and take reasonable measures in an orderly manner, you will definitely have a good time fishing and get better results.

Special features of sea fishing tools:

1.  The difference in rods is one of the main differences between sea fishing and freshwater fishing. Sea rods have been introduced in detail in sea fishing equipment, so I won’t repeat them here. However, sea rods are also widely used in freshwater fishing. Regardless of the texture of sea rods, they should have strong hardness and must be equipped with a winding wheel.
2. Sea fishing lines should be slightly thicker, with a diameter of more than 0.5 mm, a line length of 60 meters to 70 meters, and a denominator (main) line and a sub (brain) line. Due to the strong winds and waves at sea, the information transmission of the float is not very effective. The float can be omitted in sea fishing (generally referring to bottom fishing), and the judgment can be made directly by the vibration in the hand or vision.
3.  Multiple hooks should be prepared for sea fishing to meet the needs of different fish species.
4. Most sea fishing rods have movable sinkers. After the fish swallows the hook, the line freely pulls the rod tip, so the fish sinker should be heavier. There are also dead sinkers used in sea fishing rods. Various fish attractants are generally dead sinkers.
5.  Generally speaking, it is better to have a difference between the tip of a sea fishing rod and the rod body. Because the difference in color between the tip and the rod body is more conducive to visual observation. Sea fishing rods without color do not have this advantage. They are easy to dazzle the eyes under sunlight. Generally, the tip of the rod is yellow or white.
6.  Sea fishing rod casting method: Sea fishing rods are mainly used for sea fishing, but can also be used for freshwater fishing. According to the characteristics of sea fishing rods, there are several casting methods:

(1) Upward casting: Stand with your feet apart and your feet forward. The center of gravity of the body is shifted to the left foot. Hold the line and sinker with your left hand. At an angle of 40-50 degrees, swing the rod with your right hand and throw the line and sinker with your left hand. This method has a small swing range for the sinker and line, accurate landing point, and is simple and easy to learn.

(2) Oblique casting: Take a half step back with your left foot, tilt your left shoulder backward, and hold the fishing rod with both hands at the same time, with the rod at a 45-degree angle to the horizontal plane. Press the fishing line with your left index finger, place your center of gravity on your right foot, and swing the rod tip forward from your right hand. When the fish sinker passes over your head, release the fishing line and let the hook sinker fall naturally into the water. This method is not easy to master and requires repeated practice. Once you are proficient in it, you can cast far, accurately target, and operate easily, which is especially suitable for sea fishing.

In addition, there are many other methods such as side casting (the center line of the casting line is between the upper casting and oblique casting), single-arm casting, sitting casting, kneeling casting, etc.

The role of the reel:

The ocean area is large and the water is deep, requiring a longer fishing line. In order to facilitate anglers to equip and adjust the length of the fishing line, the reel came into being. At present, the reel is an essential tool for sea fishing and sea fishing, and its use is becoming more and more widespread. Reels can be divided into electric reels, sealed reels, spinning reels, disc reels and pocket reels. Electric reels are operated by motors, which are convenient and accurate. They automatically reel in the fish after the fish is hooked. However, electric reels are large and inconvenient to carry. Spinning reels are also very simple to operate, with fast reeling speed and moderate size. They are currently widely used.

Let’s take a look at what kind of tides are suitable for fishing.

First, “Second and eighth tides, grab the time to fish.” About twelve minutes after the flat tide, it is the period when the tide begins to recede. The second half of the tide recedes, about 1 hour and 15 minutes after the tide begins to recede. The eighth half of the tide rises, which is about 4 hours and 58 minutes from the beginning of the tide. The former is the stage of tidal movement from slow to fast decline, while the latter is the stage of rapid to slow rise. These two stages are the active feeding periods of fish. Fish that feed on small fish, shrimps and plankton shuttle back and forth to grab food and bait. For anglers, this is a “good time and beautiful scenery” that they are looking for. Therefore, when you seize the “2nd and 8th” tidal period, whether you are fishing from a boat or from the shore, you must accurately choose the fishing spot and seize the opportunity to achieve “three quicks” (bait hanging quickly, fish picking quickly, sinking sinker quickly into the water) and “one accuracy” (accurate timing of lifting the rod), so that anglers can enjoy the fun of hand stimulation while maximizing the harvest results.

Second, “half tide, leisurely fishing”. When the tide recedes by half or rises to half, the tide gradually slows down from rapid rise and fall to a period of rapid decline and rise. This is the second small “climax” of foraging for fish affected by the tide.

Let’s talk about the problem of wind. Different winds throughout the year also have an impact on fishing. I don’t know much about it, so I dare not say anything. Generally speaking, east wind is not good, and north wind is best. The wind should not be too strong, and level 3 to 4 wind is appropriate. When the wind is strong, the sea water is turbid, and the fish cannot see the bait clearly. It is also not possible without wind. The wind can drive the waves and increase the oxygen content of the sea water, so that the fish can actively seek food. Otherwise, there is less oxygen in the sea water and the fish do not want to move.

If you are fishing at night, you must also observe the situation of the moon and stars. This problem is very complicated. If there is no moon and stars, don’t go fishing, because when you throw the bait into the water, due to the lack of light refraction, some blue light will appear on the sea surface, which will scare the fish. This is a very noteworthy problem for night fishing. Here is a reminder: try not to turn on the lights when fishing at night, and even if you turn on the lights, don’t let the lights shine on the sea surface. Fish are extremely sensitive to light at night. Experienced anglers can complete all operations such as bait loading and fish picking by moonlight.

So when is the right time to fish and what kind of fish in a day? I dare not say this question. Some fish eat bait all day long, such as sand cones, standing fish (bream), etc. Some fish are relatively concentrated in the morning when the tide recedes, such as flower bass. These all depend on everyone to ask and try.

When putting bait on the fishing, you also need to pay attention to the skills. For example, when putting sea worms on the sand cones, the hook head should be exposed. When fishing standing fish, the hook head cannot be exposed. When fishing in the sea, just put a piece of sea worms to wrap the fish. When fishing in the sea, it is best to put the whole sea worm on the hook (folded). For example, it is also very particular to put live mud shrimps. If the shrimps are well put, they can live for a long time. If they are not well put, the shrimp brains will be caught and the shrimps will die before they are put into the water. Experts can put shrimps in the water and make them jump around. Some experts do not turn on the lights at night. The ability to put shrimps and heavy-shelled crabs in the dark is really admirable.

When sea fishing, it is also very important to choose the weight of the sinker and the size of the fish hook. If the sinker is not heavy enough, the flowing sea water will push the sinker up, and the bait will not sink to the bottom, so the fish cannot eat it (of course, there are also fish such as sea bass and young scales that forage about one meter and a half underwater). Especially at the gate of Bao, the water flow is strong, and it will not work if you don’t control it well. Regarding fish hooks, many people think that big hooks are good, thinking that big hooks can catch big fish. In fact, this is a cognitive deviation. There are so many big fish in the sea for you to catch. I advocate using small hooks, because small hooks can catch big fish, and big hooks can’t catch small fish. Of course, it takes some time and skills to catch medium and large fish with small hooks. I used a hook for fishing sand cones to catch a six-jin sea bass in Yingzai.

Here I want to talk about the leg line. I recommend using thinner leg lines, especially for fishing for yellowtails under 1.5 kg. I always use 1 to 1.5 silk as leg lines. If the leg line is too big, yellowtails will not eat you. It is better to have a longer leg line. Don’t be stingy with the fish thread. I usually use 0.8-1 meter (if the seabed environment is complex, it can be shortened appropriately).

Things to pay attention to when fishing in the sea:

Do it within your ability. Sea fishing is very hard and requires sufficient physical strength. It is not as leisurely as freshwater fishing. Friends who are afraid of sun exposure should not go sea fishing. Even if it is cloudy, it will be very dark if you go to the beach and get blown by the sea breeze for a day. When fishing in the sea, pay attention to preventing heatstroke. When there is no wind and the sun is strong, you should take shelter quickly. When you encounter thunder and lightning, you should avoid it. Don’t think that it will not rain or drizzle and insist on fishing, because the fishing rod in your hand (especially those carbon rods) is a lightning rod. When fishing, fish hooks often get hooked into your fingers. At this time, don’t pull them out by yourself. Go to the hospital for surgery to remove the hooks. When you go fishing, you must go in groups, help each other, and pay more attention to your companions to prevent accidents.

When fishing at sea, you should also pay attention to two small issues. First, you must be quick with your hands. Whether it is baiting or untying the fish, you must be quick. Especially when fishing for sand cones in a bag, everyone sits in a row and fishes. Why do others catch a few pounds more than you? It’s because others are faster than you in baiting and untying fish. Don’t underestimate this problem. Second, what should you do if you encounter entangled wire? Don’t spend your mind on untying the wire. Pick up the scissors, cut the foot wire with a knife, keep the main wire and the sinker, and replace it with a new one immediately. If cutting the foot wire does not solve the problem, cut the main wire. It will take less time to reinstall the fishing group than to slowly untie the entangled wire.