Ok guys lets try this tread. What is your favorite inshore species you go afte and why?
Mine in order of importance
Seatrout
Flounder
Sheehead
Redfish
Mangrove Snapper
Favorite inshore fish
Re: Favorite inshore fish
spotted bay bass - hard fightin & plenty of 'em, they give me my LMB fix
shortfin corvina - the current holy grail in my neck of the woods, acrobatic fighters & a challenge to keep on the hook
bonefish - wish they got bigger out here, but glad we have 'em
bonito - yea they're pelagic, but they hang out inshore alot & way too much fun on bass gear
halibut - the only thing i'd consider eating in these polluted bay waters
bat/diamond rays - not much else in these bays will pull drag like these guys, always a workout
shortfin corvina - the current holy grail in my neck of the woods, acrobatic fighters & a challenge to keep on the hook
bonefish - wish they got bigger out here, but glad we have 'em
bonito - yea they're pelagic, but they hang out inshore alot & way too much fun on bass gear
halibut - the only thing i'd consider eating in these polluted bay waters
bat/diamond rays - not much else in these bays will pull drag like these guys, always a workout
Re: Favorite inshore fish
No Sturgeon in your area?
I love flounder for the taste and they are finicky at times so it is a challenge and a hunt. But seatrout when they are hot man... I think if I tied my shoelace right and worked it they would hit it, and on 8 lb test a 3 - 4 lb. is great fight.
We get Bonito over here around 5 - 8 lb. and we go after them they are a blast, but the meat sucks. Jack Cravelle same thing great hard fighting fish.
I did get a good recipe for bonito and jacks if you want it.
1) Fill a pot of water, and put the fillet of jack or bonito with two river bed rocks in the pot.
2) add lemon, thyme and brown sugar and boil for 20 minutes.
3) take the river bed rocks out, throw away the fish and water and serve the rocks on a bed of rice.
Enjoy...
Gabe
I love flounder for the taste and they are finicky at times so it is a challenge and a hunt. But seatrout when they are hot man... I think if I tied my shoelace right and worked it they would hit it, and on 8 lb test a 3 - 4 lb. is great fight.
We get Bonito over here around 5 - 8 lb. and we go after them they are a blast, but the meat sucks. Jack Cravelle same thing great hard fighting fish.
I did get a good recipe for bonito and jacks if you want it.
1) Fill a pot of water, and put the fillet of jack or bonito with two river bed rocks in the pot.
2) add lemon, thyme and brown sugar and boil for 20 minutes.
3) take the river bed rocks out, throw away the fish and water and serve the rocks on a bed of rice.
Enjoy...
Gabe
Re: Favorite inshore fish
in Costa Rica, where I've done the majority of my big game fishing, rooster fish are considered inshore... encountered wahoo both in and offshore.. those fish are a lot of fun too.. pure speed.
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Speckled trout (a.k.a. spotted seatrout)
Redfish (dang they taste good blackened or fried!)
Flounder (stuffed with crab. mmmmm!)
Black drum (big ol' shoulders on them bad boys)
Sheepshead (tough critters!)
Redfish (dang they taste good blackened or fried!)
Flounder (stuffed with crab. mmmmm!)
Black drum (big ol' shoulders on them bad boys)
Sheepshead (tough critters!)
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Cal thats cheating... you cant count Costa Rica inshore... well at least not until I go at the end of the month for the first time Crocidile bay lodge. Then I will allow you to cheat... since I can do it then too 
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Doc,
fishing in Costa Rica is wonderful.... first time, i didn't see a single boat on the horizon... second time, only two and one of those two was with us...
fishing in Costa Rica is wonderful.... first time, i didn't see a single boat on the horizon... second time, only two and one of those two was with us...
Cal, Managing Editor
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
"fish with mindfulness : beware the darkside"
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Ive got a question. What do we consider inshore and what do we consider offshore? I think the there is a definition that goes something like: inshore is the region where waves are affected by interaction with the seabed.
But Ive always just thought of inshore as within about 10-15 nautical miles of the shore and offshore everyting beyond that. Regardless of the definition, a lot of the pelagics come in around headlands and inner reefs so this list is very similar to the offshore favourites list.
Its really hard to rank these fish, i really like catching them all. But with combined fight and taste, id probably rank them
1) Fingermark
2) Giant Trevally
3) Mackeral (all types)
3) Queenfish
4) Coral Trout
Fingermark would have to the best fish ive ever eaten and puts up a very good fight aswell. Coral trout are fantastic eating, but the fight is explosive but too short. Either they get back into their hole, or you get them off the bottom and they seem to give up. And pelagics get their position mainly due to the fighting abilities.
But Ive always just thought of inshore as within about 10-15 nautical miles of the shore and offshore everyting beyond that. Regardless of the definition, a lot of the pelagics come in around headlands and inner reefs so this list is very similar to the offshore favourites list.
Its really hard to rank these fish, i really like catching them all. But with combined fight and taste, id probably rank them
1) Fingermark
2) Giant Trevally
3) Mackeral (all types)
3) Queenfish
4) Coral Trout
Fingermark would have to the best fish ive ever eaten and puts up a very good fight aswell. Coral trout are fantastic eating, but the fight is explosive but too short. Either they get back into their hole, or you get them off the bottom and they seem to give up. And pelagics get their position mainly due to the fighting abilities.
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Hammer that is an excellent question. I think the answere is probably regional even in the U.S. Here in Florida we have more like inshore, near shore, and offshore. The area you describe with the wave and the surrounding 10 miles would be considered near shore for us. Inshore is more like the bays, lagoons, and some rivers since we have saltwater rivers here in FL. We have vast estuaries and lagoons that are brackish / salt water usually 2 - 6 feet in depth.
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Well, if inshore is the bays, estuaries and lagoons, then scratch coral trout and i dont target giant trevally in so close, although i have seen them around headlands and rivermouths when ive been spearing. If were talking estuaries, then definitely add mangrove jack, barramundi in at 2nd and 3rd and put flathead after mackeral.
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Hammer what about tarpon? dont you have a small tarpon that is the cousin of our tarpon here?
Just out of curiousity how is the salmon runs in south australia?
Just out of curiousity how is the salmon runs in south australia?
Re: Favorite inshore fish
This is true, but ive only ever caught a small number of them, and only in freshwater. Come to think of it, i dont know anyone whos caught them in salt before.
Yeah, I left salmon off the list. For me, theyre not up there in the best inshore fish list. I couldnt tell you about the salmon runs in south australia, im in the central Queensland which is just starting to be considered the tropics. Im about 1 hour south of the tropic of capricorn. (23 30' south of equator). Around queensland we get a blue and king(threadfin) salmon while around the southern parts of oz i think they also get australian salmon which i think is quite different again.
The salmon runs havent been what they used to be. Particularly this year, the winter has been quite warm and salmon have been patchy around my area. A few years ago, we used to good consistent salmon runs. Just bait fishing off the wharf, youd be shoulder to shoulder with other people. It would be quiet and then the schools of kings would move up the river and suddenly fish where hooking up like a domino effect along the length of the wharf. It was quite amazing. And then as quick as it came on, it was quite again. There were a lot of tangles and dropped fish but the quality was excellent. For those of us livebaiting, the average size would have been around 90cm (i think they came out around the 4-5kg mark).
Yeah, I left salmon off the list. For me, theyre not up there in the best inshore fish list. I couldnt tell you about the salmon runs in south australia, im in the central Queensland which is just starting to be considered the tropics. Im about 1 hour south of the tropic of capricorn. (23 30' south of equator). Around queensland we get a blue and king(threadfin) salmon while around the southern parts of oz i think they also get australian salmon which i think is quite different again.
The salmon runs havent been what they used to be. Particularly this year, the winter has been quite warm and salmon have been patchy around my area. A few years ago, we used to good consistent salmon runs. Just bait fishing off the wharf, youd be shoulder to shoulder with other people. It would be quiet and then the schools of kings would move up the river and suddenly fish where hooking up like a domino effect along the length of the wharf. It was quite amazing. And then as quick as it came on, it was quite again. There were a lot of tangles and dropped fish but the quality was excellent. For those of us livebaiting, the average size would have been around 90cm (i think they came out around the 4-5kg mark).
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Nitroman77
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Re: Favorite inshore fish
Snook Snook and hmm Snook.
Redfish
seatrout
jacks
pompano
All are great to fight and eat, except jacks.
Redfish
seatrout
jacks
pompano
All are great to fight and eat, except jacks.
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Now skeeter that is not true about jacks, I gave a perfectly good recipe for cooking them in this thread. Whats wrong you dont like eating rocks? ...
As far as snook go, yeah I love catching them, but the bag limit (which I agree with) sort of makes it a down if you like to keep your catch. Which I happen to like
Same problem with redfish, only allowed one. Now Louissianna has some rediculous limits though, five redfish per person and 25 sea trout, thats our Florida limit for fresh water crappie...
Oh FYI I have caught snook and reds on my scorpion, you will love it.
...As far as snook go, yeah I love catching them, but the bag limit (which I agree with) sort of makes it a down if you like to keep your catch. Which I happen to like
Same problem with redfish, only allowed one. Now Louissianna has some rediculous limits though, five redfish per person and 25 sea trout, thats our Florida limit for fresh water crappie... Oh FYI I have caught snook and reds on my scorpion, you will love it.
Re: Favorite inshore fish
Now thats what its all about, big fish on light gear. I do dog and spotted mackeral on my conquest, man that feels awesome. But the best fish ive seen (not me, but sure wish it was) on light gear was a 40lb black jew on 7kg line off a road bridge. I was holding the torch on the spool so he could see how much line he had, and three times it took him down to only 5 or 6 wraps. Only the stretch in the mono line saved him. Coming a close second is a large cobia of unkown weight on a calais.