I'm throwing a CAL jig-head with a 4" DOA plastic paddletail in a variety of colors. I also use DOA fork-tail which is an about 5" plastic. The paddletail looks like this:
CAL 1/8 oz jighead with a 4" DOA paddletail (click to enlarge)
If you enlarge the photo you can see it's tied on a 20" mono-filament leader (20 lb. test) with a non-slip loop knot. The 20" mono leader is attached to 8 lb (standard size) braided line.
Line
The braided line does not stretch and gives you the best direct touch with the jig. You can feel it better and with wind and waves and especially fishing in the the Ocean, the better you can feel the jig the better you can tell if a fish is tapping it.
I started using 20 lb test and once used 30 lb test. The best fisherman here use 6-8 lb line (Mark Nichols of DOA Lures uses 10 lb braid). The thinner line casts farther and is more sensitive to touch. In most cases the fish you catch, like the 25 lb. snook I caught will not break your line.
If all you do fish around piers then you may want to use heavier line but when the snook wraps your line around a piling - it won't matter. In most cases the barnacles on the pier pilings will cut your line or the fish will pull so hard he will break it. When a snook goes under a pier many fisherman simply open the bail and let the fish have line-- then go after the fish and under the pier where the fish went under- if you're lucky it'll still be on there when you check.
Leader
Many of the best fisherman use 20 lb mono leader but there is an argument that a heavier leader (30-40 lb. test), will better prevent the fish's teeth (bluefish, trout, jack) or the snook's sharp gill-plate from cutting the line. That's the reason for the heavier 20 lb mono leader- it doesn't cut as quickly and can be used longer. A clear leader is harder for the fish to see.
After your leader becomes worn and frayed- retie. I've lost several fish because I didn't retie and my leader broke.
Rod
For wading you need a longer rod--a ten foot rod. Right now I'm using a cheap 10 foot rod. The longer rod gives you more distance on your casts.
Reel
You need a good spin casting reel.
Lures
There are a variety of successful lures you can use. I'm using the jig-head with plastic bait. There are a variety of types of jig-heads and plastic baits by different manufacturers, there is also the DOA shrimp which must be slowly fished. For now I'm using the DOA paddletail- because other successful fisherman use it. The paddletail covers more ground and is an excellent search lure.
The other two types of lures that work well are topwaters, and jerk-baits. Topwater lures include Zara Spook and Poppa-gator. Suspending jerkbaits and shallow running crankbaits are the other successful lure types. Eventually I'll experiment more with different lures.
Techniques
I'll just give the jig-head techniques for now. Most of the better fisherman use light jigs; 1/8 oz. or 1/16 oz. If you are casting in the wind or you want the jig to stay down near the bottom, use 1/4 or 3/8 weight jigheads. If you're fishing in rough water or the Ocean you may want to us 1/2 oz or heavier. Some like chartreuse color jigheads some red. My neighbor uses unpainted jigheads.
If the wind is strong you want to cast into or with the wind. The only way you can cast with the wind (wind is at your back) is to fish on different sides of the Lagoon depending on the direction of the wind. If the wind is Easterly you would fish on the East side (near the Ocean) -- then the wind would be at your back and you can cast farther.
If you cast cross-wind, there will be a bow in your line and you won't have much or any feel of the jighead. It's hard to keep the jig near the bottom. If it's not very windy - it doesn't matter which direction you cast.
When you cast with your spinning reel, just before the lure hits the water, with your left hand, flip the bail wire on the top of the spool so that it engages (closes) the reel face (so you can now reel it in). As soon as the jig hits the water you are ready to reel the line in. Lift the tip of the rod slightly so it creates some tension and spools the line on tightly. When you do this you also feel the jig immediately. This is very important because sometimes a fish will take the lure as soon as it hits or on the way down. If you have contact with the jig as soon as it hits you can hook-set immediately and you will catch more fish. Make sure the line is spooling correctly and there is not excess slack in the line which causes back-lashes.
The jig moves more freely with a non-slip loop knot. You can learn how to tie this easily (got to you-tube for examples of how to tie this knot). I feel the lure when it hits the water then I lift it up and twitch it. I may twitch it more than once. It gives the lure more action and holds it in place.
If you are fishing for trout or redfish- slow the retrieve down. You want the jig-head to crawl near the bottom- bouncing off the bottom, structure, and grass. You want it to pull through the top of the grass without getting mired in it. After I learned how to catch trout, I realized that I was previously fishing where the trout were but I was moving the lure too quickly and would only catch an occasional trout.
When you feel a tap or a bump try to stop the lure from moving but gently lifting the rod tip. If the fish is on you can tell and set the hook. Sometimes the fish will have missed the lure or be mouthing it and you'll jerk the lure away from them. When you feel the line get heavy and stop moving- set the hook. It takes time to become sensitive when the trout has the lure.
Wind and Tide
No wind is bad, too much wind is bad. Check the weather report (http://www.tides4fishing.com/us/florida-east-coast/st-lucie) and find out which way the wind will be blowing and about how many mph. If you fish the East shore (Bear Point, Mud Creek) on an Easterly wind, it will be at your back. It will also be at calmer around the Eastern shoreline.
In general the wind is always calmer at sunrise, and sometime as sunset. Usually the wind picks up around 10am and by noon it's really blowing. When a storm blows through the wind picks up, and it will die down some after the storm passes.
Check the tide (http://www.tides4fishing.com/us/florida-east-coast/st-lucie), if it's for the ocean add 3 hours for the Lagoon tide. the tide may determine what type of fish you will be catching. If the tide is high you can fish for snook and redfish around piers and along the mangroves. However the tide may be too high to fish for trout because it will be too deep where they are to reach them (assuming you are wading).
When the tide is slack (between low and high; high and low) the fish don't bite as well. They actively feed better when the water is moving and the baitfish, shrimp and crabs are moving. Figure there's an hour of poor fishing between tides.
Time of year, time of day
Certain fish are in certain places at different times of the year. That's the reason for this blog- to document what the fish are doing. In general the best times of day to fish are dawn and dusk. Some fish (snook) feed mainly at night.
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This is a quick study of what I do to catch fish- I am learning more every day.
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