Deep sea fishing is one of the most popular leisure activities of Americans and thousands of other nations every year. To date, there are over fifty million registered fishers in the United States alone, and all of these individuals have fishing licenses. This figure should give you a pointer as to how widespread this hobby really is. Compared to other types of angling, deep sea fishing is thought of as complicated business. Some species of fish are unavailable in mainly shallow waters, and these range from marlin to swordfish and tuna, too. Unless you have a boat, you will need to charter one, and that’s because the depths at which you will do your angling at will be at least 100 feet.
What should you wear?
One thing’s clear if you want to go on a deep fishing trip, and it’s that you’re going to get wet. So, you have several ways of going about things. You can either purchase fishing-specific apparel and wear it when you’re on the boat, or just wear something comfortable and probably used enough so that it doesn’t bother you if you get it wet. Seeing how you are going to spend a whole day angling on the boat, you need to bring several extra layers. Do not forget your sunscreen at home, especially as the rate of skin cancer these days is downright alarming.
Bait and equipment
Another mention that must be made when it comes to this type of fishing is that you will not be able to use your traditional artificial lures, at least not those that you might utilize in the stream or river you typically fish in. The types of bait that are most commonly used are shrimp, squid, minnows, and mackerels. You can use live ones, but cut up bait attracts predators like sharks — you know they’re into bleeding and slightly rotten bait. As for the gear, you need a decent rod, GPS fishfinder and the most important feature you should focus on when picking one is that you are comfortable with it. Deep sea reels are far sturdier compared to their regular counterparts, and that’s because you will have to reel in catches that are particularly heavy.
Several methods
There are some ways of targeting your dream catches, and we’ll do our best at detailing them in the following lines. One thing we have to make clear, though. Your technique will vary in accordance with the species you want to catch. The two most common methods are trolling and chumming. With trolling, you’ll have to drag your line down to the floor of the ocean. This technique is particularly effective when you are targeting smaller fish. Chumming is different, in that you place your baited lines in the water and then throw lots of chunks of bait to attract a couple of fish at once. In the end, you need to know that deep sea fishing involves a lot of patience and flexibility. You ought to trust your instincts and go with your gut, but you also have to try all of the methods and baits you have available. If you see that your regular one doesn’t work, switch to a different one.
