The Ultimate Guide to Fishing Florida's Gulf Coast Part II (more tips, shark fishing and Q&A)

This is the second video in a series designed to help you skip the learning curve and get started catching fish in Gulf coast waters right away! In this video I will cover surf fishing, land-based shark fishing (for manageable sharks!) and answer a whole bunch of questions I received in part 1. Are you ready to go catch some fish?
The Ultimate Guide to Fishing Florida's Gulf Coast Part I link: • The Ultimate DIY Guide...
Gear:
Penn Fierce III 6000 Spinning reel amzn.to/3GoytCf
Ugly Stik 7’ Heavy Spinning rod amzn.to/3a0GpgY
8/0 Shark rig amzn.to/3GktG4M
50 Lb Flourocarbon leader amzn.to/3MSU3RO
50 lb braided line. amzn.to/3NzpEb2
3 oz weights. amzn.to/3NEmkeG
6' Cast net amzn.to/3NGzl7N
The above may contain Amazon affiliate links that pay hookedupwi a small commission if you purchase through the link. Thanks for your support!

[@jamesbult]

Very educational. You should try Alabama sometime.

[@calebwistad]

Thanks! I’d love to try Alabama!

[@adambarrera9704]

Will be in Fort Myers. My 11 yr old wants to get out fishing so going to give it a try.. Being from NM we mainly hunt big game and do a little lake fishing. Was looking at maps of Florida coast line and think I got a spot picked out that doesn't look to busy. Let you know how we do. Good videos.

[@calebwistad]

Oh nice! I was just on an elk hunt in NM a couple years ago near Raton. Good luck down there!

[@Jon-ix3vc]

I'm heading to Cape Coral for 9 days in the beginning of Feb and want to give these tactics a try. I have family there and wondering if it's easier to ship rods/equipment or bring them on the plane? I live in the Milwaukee area.

[@calebwistad]

Great question! I’ve done it both ways. It’s usually free to carry the rods on the plane with you and they’ve always let me just rubber band a couple 2 piece rods together and take them on as a carry on. If you have only 1 piece rods it’s probably going to depend on the airline. Some have extra fees for long/awkward baggage and sometimes it’s cheaper to just ship the rods. In my opinion if you have somewhere to store a couple rods down there I’d just spend the money I would waste shipping rods and go buy a couple decent surf combos there and keep them at your relatives for next time!

[@chrislasala]

You need a 6 foot steel leader for shark

[@calebwistad]

U don’t need one. I can see it helping in some cases but I’ve landed plenty without one.

[@richhandrick3895]

Caleb - I’ve watched your first video on SWFL fishing about 25 times lol! Was down in Sanibel the second week of March. The beach seemed slow, but I got up to Ding and caught some lady fish and my first snook. I loved it down there - what are your thoughts on fishing the beach that time of year? Is the water just too cold?

[@calebwistad]

Haha. Thanks man! The water temps are cooler on the beach in March for sure. It does tend to get better in April into May but there is still fish there. My father in law was down in February and even caught a few then. Sometimes it’s just a slow stretch too. The first two days we were down there in April we basically didn’t catch anything noteworthy but then it was like a switch was flipped and there was fish everywhere.

[@richhandrick3895]

Thank you sir!

[@JoshuaJohnson-m5v]

You watch it because you want to go? Well don't mention this guy. Us islanders hate people like this

[@mikedavisclassiccountry8704]

I'm heading down to fort myers and sanibel March 23 for 2 weeks I'm from Vermont so without your great videos i would be going down without a clue going to put these helpful tips to good use thank you so much

[@calebwistad]

Awesome! Good luck down there! I’ll be back down in about a month.

[@ajparenteau]

Great series! You should put this into an ebook

[@calebwistad]

Hmmm, that’s a good idea!

[@AnsariBaksh]

Is part 3 of this video out as yet? I've been looking for it but can't find it

[@calebwistad]

No part 3 yet. I’m working on it soon though.

[@jonathanmilesii8330]

Barracuda?? I swim with them so I know they’re there! I want to catch them from the shore / surf badly!

[@calebwistad]

Never caught them near shore in this area but offshore is infested with them. Check this video out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJSbnK2CoLB6hKc

[@Mbunchwalleye]

All I am catching is cat fish on fort myers beach, bottom rig with shrimp. Tried brined shrimp and mullet with no luck

[@calebwistad]

Could be time of year, how far you are casting them out, tide phase, etc. if all you are catching is cats it’s time to look for another spot, at least for now.

[@Mbunchwalleye]

@@calebwistad thanks man, these videos are great!!

[@earthyoshi4216]

@@Mbunchwalleyefort Myers beach isn’t to good for using shrimp, and shrimp is only good during the winter months, try lures or catching your own bait. Also you will probably have more luck on Sanibel

[@jeffhawthorn6318]

Both vids are filled with great info, I’ll be on Captiva second week of July. I have one new Diawa BG 4000. I fish Erie regularly wondering about taking a fresh water reel also or do you think the salt water would trash it in a weeks time from the beach. None of it is high end stuff shimanos in the 60+ dollar range, they don’t feel like the Diawa though. You mentioned the Pflueger president in first vid? Pound test on reels? Suggested leader? Odds are I’ll be throwing Jigs, Spoons, and various stick baits. Any suggestion is much appreciated. Thanks Jeff Hawthorn.

[@calebwistad]

I’ve had good luck with freshwater reels. You just don’t want to wash them with freshwater. Wipe them down with WD40 instead. I have used mine many years in a row down there. As far as braid, 30 lb is a great all around mainline and 20 to 40 lb flouro leaders are what I use for most species. It’s amazing how everything seems to be able to cut you off down there.

[@jeffhawthorn6318]

@@calebwistad Awesome thank you for the info. I’ll rewatch both vids a few more times. The WD 40 frees up money for a cast net and circle hooks lol.

[@calebwistad]

@@jeffhawthorn6318 There ya go!