My oldest son will be attending TAMUG starting this fall. One of the things he is most excited about is getting to do some regular saltwater fishing. We've been to Galveston a couple of times from here in Dallas and fished off the Texas City Dike & the pier at Seawolf park, but nothing very serious and always with my (limited) gear.

So now that he is going to be there for at least a year I would like to set him up with some more appropriate gear of his own. He will be living in the dorm so we can't get too extravagant or anything, but he will need some gear.

Any suggestions? I figure a good spinning rig and some lures/tackle, but not being a saltwater regular I'm not sure what all he needs for fishing based out of a dorm living situation. Should we look at a wade fishing setup and/or surf gear? Should we look at keeping it simple with a live bait bucket and a budget for pier fishing fees? Anybody who attended TAMUG have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance. Our budget is $200 - $300 but could certainly adjust that figure based on suggestions.

It seemed that most of the guys who were wade fishing always had good luck. I'm not a saltwater regular either, but that seemed to be the popular choice.

You can wade the bay and fish the surf with the same gear. A good spinning reel/rod combo can be purchased for well under $100.

If using bait in the surf may occasionally hook something you won't land but it will be fun until they strip the line off the reel.

Use the rest of the money slowly to accumulate tackle. As said a few spoons, a few top water lures, some jig heads with plastics, some popping corks and bottom rigs.
Maybe a wading belt and a bait bucket if going to use live bait much.

Stingrays are always a concern. Some people use the Ray-Guard boots for wading.

A Basic wadefishing setup will serve him best. Here's my recommendation: Shimano Citica baitcaster, All Star classic PRM. 12 pound Trilene. 20 pound flourocarbon leader. Wading belt, stringer, booties, net, stainless needle nose pliers, tackle pack with waterproof lure box. Lures: Saltwater Assassins in light, dark and medium colors with plenty of jig heads in 1/8 and 1/4 oz size. A few topwaters in light and dark colors, Spook juniors are good. A few Mirro Lures are useful. Also, swivels, hooks, and sinkers in a small waterproof box of their own.

IMHO the best possible, all-around kit for a saltwater noob is to go with a spinning rig. I use baitcasters too but prefer spinning rigs when I'm wading the surf and find them better all around when you've got to deal with trying to cast light baits into the wind (but then probably 90% of the fishing I do is in water that's barely more than knee-deep.

Shimano Sahara 2500: http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_11373_-1?N=273169066+4294962838

All Star Classic 7' medium action: http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_161465_-1?N=101394134+4294967135

Spool it with 20# PowerPro and get small spool of 20# flouro to use as leader material.

With a set-up like this you're set for trout & smacks in the surf and pretty much anything you'll encounter in the bays. A big jack will sorely test this gear but having a lot of line and a good drag (the reason I spool with braid & use Shimano reels) will handle them if you've got some skill.

You can probably fill your tackle box for less than $50 too- a couple medium-sized topwaters (i.e.- saltwater spook or she-dog), a couple spoons (silver & bronze/copper), jig-heads in the 1/8-1/4oz size, a couple bags of soft-plastic tails, package of hooks, a couple poppin' corks. All of this can fit in one large wading box or a couple medium sized ones that will fit in a wading belt.

Get a belt-kit from Academy similar to this: http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_14003_-1?color=Medium&N=845454887

Some guys like the RayGuards but I've always just worn the booties similar to these: http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_14438_-1?color=Tan&N=83518989

edit: one tip- if you're not using a waterproof tackle box when you wade, drill a few holes in it at various points so it will drain. Then be sure to rinse it out thoroughly with freshwater after a trip.

[This message has been edited by Finn Maccumhail (edited 6/12/2012 10:08a).]

What are some good spots to wade around Galveston for somebody who does not have a boat? I picked up one of the maps from Academy but would like to know what are some good areas to access by wading.

True enough on the coffee grinder, but he will need to learn bait cast if he wants to be most effective.

Thanks for all of the tips/suggestions! Very, very helpful.

Looks like wade fishing is the ticket. Been looking at stingray protection and wasn't impressed with reviews of the Ray-Guards. Found these:

http://dev.itechlabs.com/windriver/StingRayGaiters.asp

Looks like they would work with a good pair of wading boots. Any experiences with these?

Also, does anybody wade near SLP? I'm aware of the dangerous currents so I would be curious as to what people are doing for protection (inflatable life preserver + ?)

Sportsman road, end of 7 mile road
West End-San Luis Pass bay side
State Park just past Pirates Cove

Exactly what Finn said

Maybe a cast net, a flow troll, and some bait hooks as well. that should run you another 25-$30

He'd be good to get a good bait caster combo, old curado on an All Star will be a winner. You can find a greenie(old curado) for about $80 in good condition. It's a tough as nails reel, and not too hard to cast as far as backlashing. Then goto Academy and get some artificials if he's up to it, or a few popping cork rigs and hit the surf. If he's really looking to get involved with saltwater fishing more, the forum on 2coolfishing.com could be a big help

If you do go with a spinning rig, topwaters like a saltwater skitter-pop (Rapala) or chug bug (Storm) are excellent lures because their concave face doesn't require "walking the dog" and creates a wake & action on its own.

And when I first started fishing around Galveston I was in FTU and picked up a book called "Wade & Kayak Fishing on the Upper Coast of Texas" by Ray Crawford. It was highly recommended and I recommend it as well.

It's well worth the $20 or so as it points out in detail walk-in spots, where to park, where you can launch a yak, etc.

It really flattened the learning curve for me.

http://www.texascoastalfishingbooks.com/uppercoastbook.html

Here's a few spots I hit:

Eckert Bayou (if you have a kayak it's excellent access to Starvation Cove)


Sportsman Road


San Luis Pass (everybody seems to go right past this gut but when the tide is moving it's always full of trout & flounder, reds will work the grass lines too)

Somebody mentioned it earlier, but I would second the recommendation for a cast net. When you spend all your money on beer, it's nice to be able to provide yourself with bait.

What Trident said..can't go wrong.

Thanks again for all the posts! You guys are giving some great info