Tips for a newbie

[Dog Daze]

I just bought a boat (23' Welcraft w/ 225 Yamaha) and would like to do some fishing out of charleston, sc. I do not have the $$$ to afford the gear to troll for the big boys, but i would like to target dolphin, tuna, sea bass, grouper mackeral, flounder ect. The only offshore fishing I have done up to this point in my life is trolling off of a Helms 24. Any help ya'll could give me would be greatly appreciated.
This site is awesome, ya'll have done a wonderful job. I have been a member for a few weeks now and have already learned more than I would have in probably a life time if not for this amazing resource.

p.s. the advice about getting your wife involved was probably the best of all. I think she is actually more excited than me to go fishing.

[shoefish]

Dog Daze-
Welcome to SFC! There should be plenty of folks who can weigh in with some suggestions for the waters down there. One thing that I would suggest being that you are relatively new to the offshore thing would be to charter a boat somewhere around your area. You could watch what they do and see what they use, and would probably pick up some other tricks too. It might cost some money, but would no doubt save you some time in learning the ropes for your waters. Again, welcome to the site, and post on up when you finally do get out there!
Shoefish

[Tom Kidwell]

Spend some time getting to know your boat; recognize limitations, fuel burn, range, etc.

Start off near shore; flounder, spanish macs, bluefish, croakers, etc.

Whenever possible, bring along an experienced buddy.

Learn all safety aspects first.... fishing stuff can come later.

Don't buy tackle on impulse.... get some learned recommendations first.

Learn the fishing regulations, limits, etc.

It'll all come together, but not overnite.

Learn to lie with a straight face

Good luck bro!

[clt_capt]

Get high quality safety gear - Radio(s), epirb - know how they work

You can certainly look on ebay for great deals on fancy rods and reels, but the fact is you don't need gold reels to catch most fish within the range of your boat. Good quality graphite frame lever drags (like tld-25) will handle most mahi, tuna and wahoo you are likely to see. They can also do a great job on the kings. There is certainly no reason you can't bottom fish with them as well. You can find good quality rods - or even matched combos often at great prices.

Learn how to rig your own rigs - that $6.00 king rig will cost you $.40 to make yourself. For offshore rigs, you don't need $20.00 lures - Naked Ballys and Sea Witches work every bit as good (maybe better) most days

Take a buddy who knows what they are doing along - maybe you won't have to clean the whole boat yourself.

It is a heck of a lot of fun to do it yourself - It takes time, so find a respected charter boat and go with them. You will be amazed how much you can learn - Just make sure that the boat you go on is on that will let you participate - and maybe even teach you a bit.

Be safe and have fun

[Dog Daze]

I appreciate the tips so far. Please keep'm coming

I am saving money in the pickle jar for an offshore trip. I am also trying to arrange a offshore trip as a company retreat. I am a vp for a bridge const. company out of orangeburg, sc and would like to take all of my superintendents out there will be 8 of us if any body has any one to recommend.

Having a power boat is new to me. This will be the first time I have had to worry about running out of gas and not wind. Does any one have an idea as to the fuel consumption on this boat.

Inshore fishing is definately where I want to start first.

I am going to lamenate the dnr book so I can carry it on the boat.

[jayjysmth]

You will learn a ton just from this site.

As for the fuel, I just sold an older Wellcraft 21 CCF(23 ft.)w/ 225 Yami SWS II.
She held 100 gallons of fuel and cruised around 30 buring 12-13 gph.
What type of electronics do you have?
I had Lowrance and the additional fuel gauge connected to the Lowrance network saved me tons of gas $$$. Might want to look into something like that if you are planning long trips to the stream.

[clt_capt]

Most of the trolling charters are going to have a limit of 6 people - But often times you can charter 2 boats and have a little tournament among your folks.

Fuel burn is going to differ a bit from boat to boat, but you are going to want to be a bit cautions until you figure out yours - If the boat is not new, DO NOT trust the fuel gauge until you've actually fueled up a few times and understand how much fuel translates to what reading on the gauge. The gauge on my boat is intended to work with the boat on plane with the bow slightly up - it is not accurate in the slip.

It would be great if the boat had a flowscan (fuel flow monitor) - you will always know what your burn rate is and how much you've burned today. If you do not have one, you need to fill your tank and run at cruise for a few hours and then fill up again - this will give you a starting place.

[Dog Daze]

What type of electronics do you have?
.

I have a garmin gps/fishfinder. It came with the boat

[Brad]

What's up El cid 01- I am class of '94 and fish out of Dolphin Cove Marina on a 290 Wellcraft. If you want to cath tuna you are fishing with the big boys. They have been hit and miss around here for a good while it seems, but the Wahoo and Dolphin are definitely residents. For trolling rods, its hard to beat the Shimano Tiagra 30LRS or Penn 30TW, I fish the Shimanos when trolling and use a short 5'6" Star rod w/ tips and have caught really nice fish and they are easy enough to handle to play w/ peanuts.

Haven't been fishing too much lately but had a real good spring dolphin bite. I am planning on hitting it hard again in the fall if we can dodge the storms that will start brewing shortly.

[Brad]

If you want to take more than 6 on a charter- the Teaser out of Shem Creek is the way to go, 8-10 is no problem for him- he will put you on the fish.