# Speck gear



## slimpickings (Aug 20, 2009)

I need a very detailed list of every piece of gear, (size, brand, etc.) I need to wade fish for specks. I saw many people this weekend between Surside and SLP fishing in neck deep water and I want to do it. Bad.......Semper Fi:texasflag


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## Sisco Kid (Mar 19, 2008)

I'll start it, a good wade rod, 6'6" ml, and a reel. My choice is a Core 50mg7 , back it up with a Mettle from Academy. Wade box , few tops and tails and Spoons. Good luck


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## mlinger (Jun 21, 2007)

Buy one of those wade belts from Academy with the stringer, pliers, tackle box etc. It's a great set-up. Then if you're gonna fish live bait you will need a floating bait bucket, and an aerated transport bucket. The above mentioned rod/reel combo (or similar) and some lures/ hooks& weights.


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

Fishing the surf for specks less is more. I take a small plastic box with four or five lures in it,that will fit in my shirt pocket, and a couple packages of B a's in the other shirt pock. I usually start a dawn or earlier with a black topwater and fish it until it quits producing, then I go to a bone topwater. If the fish aren't in the top water column, try a mirrors lures, spoon's and when all else fails, try some plastic's. I use BA's Red Shad in 5". If that doesn't produce, move to another location. I wear a wade belt with a stringer and pliers. and I don't carry a net in the surf. After the action slows down and I have a few fish on the stringer, I wade in and put them on ice. I just don't like to losing them to Sharks.


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## Brine Jake (Aug 12, 2005)

slimpickings said:


> I need a very detailed list of every piece of gear, (size, brand, etc.) I need to wade fish for specks. I saw many people this weekend between Surside and SLP fishing in neck deep water and I want to do it. Bad.......Semper Fi:texasflag


First, Thank you for your service to this country, Marine.

Second--Methinks you putting us on.

Well, we will tell ya, but if you saw people fishing neck deep in that nasty surf and you wanna do it Bad, then they must have been sackin' 'em up--so you gotta PM me and say 'zactly where they were fishing first. (Don't tell anybody else.)


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

slimpickings said:


> I need a very detailed list of every piece of gear, (size, brand, etc.) I need to wade fish for specks. I saw many people this weekend between Surside and SLP *fishing in neck deep water* and I want to do it. Bad.......Semper Fi:texasflag


Item #1: Life Jacket


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Item #2, a good fishing buddy. Anything above waist deep in the surf by yourself is risky. It's certainly fish-able, but your accident potential goes up the further out you go.

As for gear, as I get older, I am cutting way back. Middle age, increasing girth and work instead of fishing, has left me increasingly clumsy. When I was young, I used to tie all of that stuff to me. Not anymore. I park the 5 gal bait bucket with the bubbler and the cooler at the water's edge and wade out to fish from there. It is more work wading back and forth, but I make up for it in gear that doesn't get dropped, tangles that don't happen and fewer bloody fish wrapped around me. I don't like to remind critters that I am only marginally at the top of the food chain out there.

Sorry, battling a summer cold today so I am grumpy.


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## reelfast (Aug 25, 2011)

Watch that neck deep water at San Luis Pass. You might end up in the Gulf in the food chain if you're not careful... the tide starts moving through there and it doesnt stop!! The drop offs can be nasty! Take histprof's advice - bring a friend or a good rope to keep you from having a "bad trip"


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## Drewtk (Aug 22, 2011)

Need:

Life jacket (also useful for holding gear)
Pliers (preferably tethered to your life jacket, so you don't drop them)
Fishing pole / reel

Extras to consider:

Wading belt
Bait bucket, if using live bait
Net
Wading boots and Ray Guards. There are stingrays in the surf, and I hardly notice the Ray Guards.
Stringer or do-net to hold your catch.


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## reelfast (Aug 25, 2011)

Equipment - I would bring a bait bucket that floats and a stringer with a net around it so the sharks dont get your trout - happened before... Pliers and a small tackle box. As little as possible! Or you can drop $200 and a get an awesome wade kit with all that cr*p included. 

I would go with stingray boots as well... dont want to end up like Erwin - 

P.S. - i caught 10 stingrays in West Bay over the last week - biggest went 28" across -- that would hurt just a little if you stepped on that S.O.B.


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## slimpickings (Aug 20, 2009)

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I WILL be wearing a life jacket from now on. I'm going to get some gear and hit it as soon as it stops raining. Watching Youtube videos on retrieval techniques. I am very excited about this new venture. :biggrin:


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## jettycowboy47 (Jun 17, 2012)

histprof said:


> Item #2, a good fishing buddy. Anything above waist deep in the surf by yourself is risky. It's certainly fish-able, but your accident potential goes up the further out you go.
> 
> As for gear, as I get older, I am cutting way back. Middle age, increasing girth and work instead of fishing, has left me increasingly clumsy. When I was young, I used to tie all of that stuff to me. Not anymore. I park the 5 gal bait bucket with the bubbler and the cooler at the water's edge and wade out to fish from there. It is more work wading back and forth, but I make up for it in gear that doesn't get dropped, tangles that don't happen and fewer bloody fish wrapped around me. I don't like to remind critters that I am only marginally at the top of the food chain out there.
> 
> Sorry, battling a summer cold today so I am grumpy.


I second what youre saying. As they say. KISS.
I was wondering however if it was ok to fish alongside of others (keeping appropriate distance of course.)Safety in numbers so to speak. it helps to keep an eye for the "greyfin express" or rescuing someone. Bad form? Bad manners?


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## redspeck (Jul 3, 2012)

i take a donut to place my fish in. Works great plus it saved my life a few years ago. I thought a was on the 2nd sand bar, so a tried to swim to the third but after 15 -20 yrd. still could not touch the bottom. So i turned around to swim back and started to panick. I could not do it any more so i grabbed onto my donut luckilly it held my weight and I live to tell the tale. Never again! and I was by my self out there. Almost lost my fish LOL. MY LIFE. I respeck the gulf much more now. I will always love being out there. Im just more careful now.


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## Brine Jake (Aug 12, 2005)

slimpickings said:


> Thanks for all the great info everyone. I WILL be wearing a life jacket from now on. I'm going to get some gear and hit it as soon as it stops raining. Watching Youtube videos on retrieval techniques. I am very excited about this new venture. :biggrin:


I guess you were serious after all.

Just a How I do it List. (To each his own. I'm not a gear hound, just a hard corps surf plug chunker for 40+ years.
I assume you are good at casting already, and that you can land your fish by hand or want to learn how to land your fish by hand.)

Keep it simple: It ain't rocket science.
--light weight snug-fitting shoes or surf socks, with thin but very durable 
calf length socks that won't drag low or take on water.
--Long pants--no exceptions--not baggy; light, non-water retentive--no 
bluejeans.
--needlenose pliers
--stringer
--pfd your choice, can ride on your stringer if yu don't like to wear--I use a ski belt.
--Any good saltwater rod (6.5-7')
--Any good saltwater reel* 12-20# test mono bout 200 yd, w/2-3' fluorocarbon leader, 25-30# test, extra leader and steel leader in pocket.
--reliable terminal lure snap or coil, no swivel (unless you never change 
baits or just like to tie a lot
--lure retainer--I use a hat, most use a box either on a belt, or shoulder strap
--lures--floaters, sinkers, suspenders, tails, spoons with swivels attached. 
Ask the youngsters about lures.
It ain't the meat, it's the motion, most of the time through August, but 
some of these new plugs are pretty hot. I still like Spooks, Ghosts, Top 
Dogs, Skitterwalks, 7MR's, Old Jumpin Minnows (not new ones) and Corkies on 
top, 51 and 52 Mirrolures. All my young buds drag bottom with soft 
plastics--works great, not my style except as a last resort.

In a rough surf, you can get your lure box dumped. The most you can lose 
with a hat is the lure loose in your hand. (If you lose your whole hat, you 
prolly drowned.)

A lot of guys like the belts with all the acoutrements. I'm slick. I don't 
use one in the surf. I put the nn pliers in my pants pocket and either tie 
my stringer to my nylon pant belt or stick it in my rubber ski belt which 
now has many holes on both sides and needs changing out.

No landing net. Do-net only if you get fish bit off your stringer. If they 
tear up your Do-net, trail an Igloo with a secure snap or a bungee. A trout 
can easily pop the top on a pressure lid Igloo. In a rough surf, a Do-Net is an unnecessary drag and you will hate being tied to it.

Get the rod and reel rig that feels good to you, that you can cast into the 
wind.

Wear clothes you can swim in--baggy clothes and heavy clothes are dangerous in the surf.

*Your reel will get dunked, no matter how good a fisherperson you are.
Unless you like servicing your reel after every trip, Replace metal ball 
bearing axle rides with ceramics, or replace them with brass non-bearing, 
depending on your price range. I use different reels in the surf than the 
bays because some are more dunkproof than others.

Maybe someone will give you exact brands, spec's, etc. -- not I. If you 
really want to do it like that, find someone coming out with a good string, 
take pics, and tape a brief interview.


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## Brine Jake (Aug 12, 2005)

One other thing:
Carry one spare car key, secured inside a pocket with some sort of safety pin. I wear swim trunks with a pocket beneath my wading pants, and pin my key in there. Lock your main key set out of sight in your vehicle.

Expect to lose anything you take into the surf. When you're new, carry an pair of pliers. Unless your pliers are tethered, that's the first thing you will lose. (Obviously, if you go the lure hat route, use a stampede string aka chin strap. Mine straps front and rear.)

Expect everything you take into the surf to be drenched in salt water, no matter how calm it looks and no matter how waterproof you think you got it packed.

(Heheh--when I first got home, I tried wading the surf with cigarettes. One of my addict buds still does.)


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## slimpickings (Aug 20, 2009)

Thank ya' Brine Jake for the info. Much appreciated. :flag:


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## medgecko (Apr 21, 2012)

slimpickings said:


> Thank ya' Brine Jake for the info. Much appreciated. :flag:


Indeed, the pickings were definitely not slim with Brine's detailed offering.


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## jettycowboy47 (Jun 17, 2012)

Thanks! great advice and definitely gives me a perspective as to what to expect in the surf. Good insight and this newbie has a lot to learn.


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