salt water fishing basics
salt water fishing tips here for your fellow sportsmen to read.
First things first the secret to any great fishing trip is preparation.
First is the laws, rules, and saltwater fishing regulations. To get the easiest access to fishing maps, fishing reports and all the state fishing regulations for the 50 united states and the lower canadian providences go to huntnfishregs.com. It is a one stop shop for the stuff that normally takes tons of time to find. want marlin fishing regulations  for texas, or saltwater fishing regulations for florida ? go to the website and all those fishing regulations are available.
 We are glad to have saltwater fishing tips for many types of saltwater fishing including tuna fishing, bill fishing, sport fishing, offshore game fishing, striper fishing and more. Let us and your fellow anglers know about your fishing tips. Please post tips on knot tying, trolling, casting, surf fishing, pier fishing, deep sea wreck fishing, or anything you feel is a good fishing tip or tactic to help other sportsmen catch more fish.
Recreational and sport fishing describe fishing for pleasure or competition. Recreational fishing has conventions, rules, licensing restrictions and laws that limit the way in which fish may be caught; typically, these prohibit the use of nets and the catching of fish with hooks not in the mouth. The most common form of recreational fishing is done with a rod, reel, line, hooks and any one of a wide range of baits or artificial lures such as spinners or 'dry flies'. The practice of catching or attempting to catch fish with a hook is generally known as angling. In angling, it is sometimes expected or required that fish be returned to the water (catch and release). Recreational or sport fishermen may log their catches or participate in fishing competitions.
Big-game fishing describes fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as tuna, sharks and marlin. Sport fishing (sometimes game fishing) describes recreational fishing where the primary reward is the challenge of finding and catching the fish rather than the culinary or financial value of the fish's flesh. Fish sought after include marlin, tuna, tarpon, sailfish, shark and mackerel although the list is endless.
The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is one of the most economically important fish in the world; hundred of thousands of tons are taken by commercial fishermen worldwide every year. If you open a can of tuna, if it's not albacore it's probably yellowfin. This species, also called Allison tuna, has a wide range: it's found in a thick band around the equator throughout the world, inhabiting warm seas from the US-Canada border latitudes in the north to Australia in the south, and frequents depths from the surface down to 100 fathoms – a full 600 feet. Yellowfins are heavy-bodied silvery fish with blue-black backs, white-spotted bellies and bright yellow dorsal and anal fins. They sport saw-toothed rows of yellow fin lets from those fins to the tail on top and bottom, as well as a broad yellow stripe from eye to tail on their sides. They can get up to nine feet long and 400 pounds, and the smaller ones are often confused with a close relative, bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesis). These heavyweights of the deep are eating machines, chowing down squid, skipjack tuna, smaller yellowfins, mackerel, pilchards and crustaceans at a prodigious rate. A yellowfin that is 18 months old can weigh eight pounds; a four-year-old can be as big as 140. Fish in the 90-100 pound range are common.
Yellowfin tuna are some of the most popular game fish in the world, and given their tremendous fight, size, and tastiness, it's easy to see why. Next time you go out on the ocean, why not try for yellowfin? Once you tie into a big one, you may never go back to other game fish. And whether you bring that big yellowfin home to eat or to hang on the wall, you'll have a fish story to be proud of.
There is truly something special about fishing for tuna. These magnificent saltwater game fish are truly gifts from the Lord. Unfortunately, attracting and actually catching tuna is a lot harder than most people imagine.
The first thing you need to consider when fishing for tuna is the season. During the warm summer months, tuna like to stay near the surface of the water. They tend to enjoy the warm surface temperatures of coastal waters. During the winter months, however, tuna tend to dive deep and stay there, making it more difficult to find these incredible fish.

When searching for possible fishing grounds, it is crucial that you pay attention to your environment. Be on the lookout for diving birds. Where there are diving birds, there are schools of fish. Where there are schools of fish, the chances of finding tuna are greater increased.

Additionally, it you see whales or sharks, tuna are likely to be in the area. Continue searching for diving birds or bait fish splashing on the surface of the water.
Tarpon are powerful and have hard rough mouths, sharp gill plates, and abrasive scales. For tarpon fishing leaders we use about 6 to 12 feet of heavy mono filiment or fluorocarbon line from 60 to 125 LB test. Tarpon fishing hooks will vary with the size of the bait and hook brand. A 6/0 live bait hook to an 11/0 circle hook is what we like best. It's important to rig the live baits in the most natural way possible. For tarpon fishing with live bait you should hook a crab in the corner of the shell, pinfish and mullet are hooked through the mouth either vertically or horizontally. When you are fishing with shrimp a good trick is to head or tail hook the shrimp on a hook up jig so it won't spin in the current. In the old days and even today some guides only take a dozen mullet for bait on a tarpon fishing charter. We catch lots of tarpon on crabs and pinfish. We like to have plenty of choices because tarpon are difficult fish to catch. Some days tarpon will only eat small pinfish and other days tarpon eat only crabs. The speed of the tidal current plays a big part in tarpon fishing success. When the current is running fast a mullet will be the best choice for a bait because it won't spin as much in the current. An experienced tarpon guide will use various sizes and types of bait for the conditions. As you can see there are lots of variables to consider for as well as other fish to catch while you're fishing for tarpon. When we are tarpon fishing we like to keep a bait on the bottom and one or two baits free lined at different depths. For the best results we will use 3 or 4 different baits at the same time until we find what the tarpon prefer. If the tarpon don't bite change your bait, change your rigging, change your leader or change the depth you are fishing. If that doesn't work move to a new location.
Tarpon fishing with artificial baits
Although we specialize in live bait tarpon fishing we have had good luck with big top water baits and minnow imitations as well as soft plastic baits. For top water tarpon fishing casting big chuggers and sliders like the Zara Spook can be productive.  You should fish big minnow baits with a fast retrieve and add a pause or stall to make the retrieve more erratic. Some of the best artificial baits for tarpon fishing are big soft plastics that imitate bait fish, eels and sea worms. These can be weighted to fish deep and are versatile substitutes for live bait. We fish these baits slow and like to free line, dead drift them deep or rig them on jigs just like live bait.
Tarpon fishing rods and line

We like light tackle for tarpon fishing. For fishing bridges 20 LB spinning gear or 30 LB conventional gear is required. For open water tarpon fishing and smaller tarpon you could drop down to 12 or 15 LB tackle depending on the size of the tarpon. We have found Ande or Trileen Big Game line to be good choices for cost and performance. Penn, Shimano and Diawa all make good 20 LB spinning reels for tarpon fishing.
Now Marlins are characterized as big game saltwater fish. The average weight of a blue marlin is anywhere from one hundred to five hundred pounds or possibly more. Their bodies can reach ten feet and they are mainly found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.

The blue marlin is known for its ability to fight, so you must be willing to match the marlin's will to live in order to take the sport seriously. Just like any other fish, the importance of learning the habits of the blue marlin is essential before trying to make them submissive to a hook.

When marlin are in their prime habitat they will feed on many things including mullet, cero, whole ballyhoo, dolphin, flying fish, bonito, skipjacks, squid and Spanish mackerel. The reason for understanding the marlin's eating habits is to know what bait will be useful to catch these great fish.
For instance, if you spot a marlin following a school of fish, do not drop your bait in front of the fish because they will scatter and scare the marlin. If the sun is positioned in front of the marlin, he will be oblivious to your bait because he will be unable to see it.

The best way to find marlin is through the use of modern technology. An ultrasound sensor is a tool that is used to spot marlin. However, the gadgets for fishing are not cheap. Unless you are someone who is dedicated to solely fishing for marlin, be careful of the purchases that you make. Often times companies will make products that are specifically designed for a certain type of fishing, in a certain location, or even a region. Make sure that you do your research before you buy any electronic fishing tools.

The one thing to keep in mind about marlin is their will to survive. A fight with a marlin could last for hours without the slightest bit of relief. If at any time you feel like you are becoming exhausted and the fish is still going strong, cut the line. If you land a blue marlin you will feel an exhilarating sense of accomplishment, but there is no achievement that should allow you to put yourself in danger at any time.

Marlin fishing should be a hobby, but it is a hobby that should be approached with intelligence. You should always know the strength of your opponent before you take the challenge of a fight. The marlin is a beautiful fish, that if you become good enough, can make you a lot of money, but it will take a will that matches the fish to beat the fish.
Marlin fishing in Cabo means trolling lures and teasers to entice and casting bait to get bit. Although live bait accounts for more successful hook-ups, hook-ups on lures and dead bait are common. Dead bait is especially effective on blacks. The how and when to present both live and dead baits comes a little later. For starters, let’s set out a spread that does the job. Striper fishing basics
While stripers are native to salt water, they naturally migrate into fresh water streams to spawn. Their eggs must remain in motion in order to hatch so the fresh water rivers and streams which drain into the ocean become the spawning grounds for stripers.
Striped Bass
Morone saxatilis
Once it was known that they could survive in fresh water they were introduced into fresh water impoundments as a test, where they survived and flourished. Often to the extent of eating the local species out of house and home. They will eat anything that moves. As a schooling fish which can grow to enormous size they can deplete a school of baitfish in very short order. When you catch a striper you can rest assured that there are others close by.
Fly fishing for stripers is the most exciting way to catch and land a striper. But you can get plenty of thrill no matter how you catch these big aggressive stripers. Fishing for stripers on medium to heavy tackle with bait or lures is the most common approach.

The striped bass or "striper" is native to most of the East Coast, ranging from the lower St. Lawrence River in Canada to northern Florida, and along portions of the Gulf of Mexico.  Stripers inhabit the whole coast surf, inshore bars, reefs, tide rips, bays and estuaries.  Stripers are particularly active in areas with tidal and current flows and in the wash of breaking waves.
angling after dusk or dawn provides the greatest success most of the season, but night fishing is often best during the midsummer.  Anglers are most successful when fishing the shoreline in areas where tidal rips, strong currents or wave action create turbulent "live" water.
When surf fishing the beaches with swimming plugs and live eels many anglers prefer the 10 to 12 foot surf rod and conventional reel spooled with 30 to 40 pound test monofilament line.  However, a medium to heavy spinning rod with 12 to 20 pound test monofilament line is considered ideal by many anglers for plugging, jigging or offering bottom fished baits to bass.  Lures are attached directly to the line with a snap swivel.  When bait fishing, the preferred rig consists of a pyramid sinker attached to a fish finder and about 2 feet of leader with a brightly colored float attached close to the hook.  The float keeps bait away from bottom dwelling crabs, dogfish and skate.
Live lining of herring, pogies or mackerel can be a very productive means of taking large bass.  A fairly stiff boat rod with a conventional reel is the preferred rig.  Bait fish are hooked through the back or snout using either a single or treble hook.
When trolling for bass adjacent to shoreline areas, the rod should be equipped with a high ratio conventional reel and either carboloy, aluminum oxide or silicon carbide guides to prevent line wear.  By choosing among monofilament, lead core or wire lines, depths from the surface to the bottom can be trolled.  Many lures, including swimming plugs, jigs, tube and worm and umbrella rigs as well as live herring, pogies and eels lend themselves well to trolling for stripers.
Good luck enjoy saltwater fishing and get your fishing rules and regulations at huntnfishregs.com
Happy Saltwater fishing