Top 5 Florida Saltwater Fishing Gear Necessities

Fishing, like any hobby, can get expensive. Have you looked at some new reels lately? Prices are outrageous. Some folks are able to go out and buy whatever they want, but I tend to buy the "budget friendly" items and still catch as many fish as them! Let me share with you my top 5 budget tackle items needed for saltwater fishing.

Rod & Reel:

(1) Penn 750SSm Reel on a 7' Penn Rod from BaitnHook.net ($129.95): You don't need a $700 Van Staal to catch nice fish. Sure they are pretty, but do the fish care what setup you have? No. A Penn 750SSm combo usually comes on a 7' Penn medium-heavy rod. This setup is an inexpensive versatile combo that can be used inshore and offshore for redfish, jacks, mackerels, snapper, grouper, triggers, and more. It is lightweight and holds 250 yards of 20 pound test. Ours have been used on many fishing trips and they are still holding up very well.

Tackle:

(2) Jig Heads and (3) Gulp from your local tackle store: If you are fishing inshore, nearshore, surf, all you need to catch most species of resident fish is a jig head and a Gulp bait. Jig heads are sold in packages of 2 to over 20 and prices range from $3 to $10. I prefer at least 1/4oz red, round jig heads like the ones HERE.

Gulp claims it can outfish live bait because of its movement, smell, and taste. Gulp costs right around $7 and comes in different bait fish varieties. Slide on a Gulp shrimp to your jig head and you are good to go for redfish, trout, flounder, and others. Forget spending tons of money on plastics, hooks, sinkers, and live bait for a day of fishing; all you need are durable jig heads and Gulp, for under $20 total!

(4) Sabiki Rigs: Every offshore fisherman should carry sabiki rigs because letting out or trolling live baits out there can sometimes be the difference between a successful day or getting skunked. The cheaper sabiki rigs made my Chaeil, seen HERE, cost around $1 each and they catch just as many fish as- and hold up just as well as the $4 Hayabusa brand. Believe me, when you get into a school of blue runners when getting bait, you will lose a few sabiki rigs due to tangles. So, for those prices, you can buy 4 Chaeil's to 1 Hayabusa. Most tackle and major retail stores have these available.

Equipment:

(5) Fish Ruler: A cheap fish ruler can save you hundreds of dollars! Think about those tickets you may get for keeping an undersized fish. That $5 ruler doesn't sound so expensive then, does it? There are sticker rulers that tend to peel off and fade after awhile, and then there is the Florida Lawstick. This is an actual foldout ruler. It also lists the common fish of Florida and their current size regulations and daily limits. It costs $4.95 and can be found in most all tackle stores around the Sunshine State.