fishing from shore

Question
I always went fishing on a boat. I also have some exprience fresh water fishing of shore. But I never went Salt water fishing of shore. I will be fishing by the Whihtestone Bridge in New York City.  I want to know what kind of bait, lure or rig I should use without getting stuck on the rocks and what test wait line I should get for a beginner. Please help us were are going on 09/26/05

Thank you
Jerry  

Answer
Hi Jerry;

 I have not fished there in over 40 years, but in my youth, did do some fishing under the Whitestone Bridge from the Queens side.  Rocks are a big problem.  In those days, we used to rig a top from a tin can a couple of feet above the sinker and bait in such a way that it acted like a planing board when reeling in.  Tricky, to get it right, and I really would not advise you doing that.  A more practical way to fish would be to use enough weight to hold bottom and then reel in quickly keeping your rod tip up high.  A light weight would probably roll and eventually get stuck.  Keep your rig very simple.  One hook and a sinker.  This way you reduce the chance of snagging bottom.  But be prepared to loose a few rigs.  It is just part of the game, especially in that area.  A few years back I fished off the jetty to the east of the Throgs Neck Bridge and found the bottom to be cleaner.  But the rocks and rubble are part of what attracts fish to the area near the Whitestone Bridge.  

Late September should see Striped Bass, Bluefish, porgies, seabass, and several other species as possibilites.  Of course using the right size hook and proper bait for each species is needed if you want a good shot at catching.  Large hooks with wire leaders and chunks of fish like bunker for bluefish, large hooks without the wire and whole skimmer clams or fish chunks for striped bass, and small hooks with pieces of clam, sandworm, or squid for porgies and other smaller fish.  

One way to avoid being stuck on bottom is to fish with artificial lures.  Surface poppers, shallow swimming plugs, and even bucktails could be used.  The plugs will not get to the bottom and though the bucktails will bounce the bottom, because of how the hook and leadhead are designed, should avoid getting suck, but no guarantees.

You say you fish from shore at lakes.  There is really no big difference in the salt.  One thing I do when fishing lakes with biat that have lots of structure, is to use a fine wire light weight hook and fish with a light setting on the drag.  If I am simply fighting a fish, then I expect to eventually land it.  But if the hook gets snagged, then I can tighten the drag and straighten out the hook and thus save my rig.  The hook can then be bent back to its original shape and rebaited.  I try to use a hook that will bend just before the line would break.  The only drawback is that if you get a really good fish and tighten up the drag to the strength of the line instead of the strength of the hook, you can loose the fish as the hook might bend open.  It is really hard to keep from tightening the drag when a big fish seems to be taking all the line off your reel.  

As with any casting, the heavier the line, the less distance you will get.  So, the choice is up to you as to what strength line to use.  Some of the new micro fiber lines like Fireline or Power Pro will give you greater casting distince since they are considerably thinner than mono of the same strenght, but they do not do well if they rub against anything rough or sharp.  If you do go with one of these synthetics, then by all means tie in several yards of mono at the end to take the bumps and scrapes that happen when fishing from shore in a rocky area.

Good Luck

-Rich