Need advice/gear list for saltwater fishing

[Nlover]

The wife gave me the go ahead to buy everything we'll need for pier and/or surf fishing for our vacation in late April. We'll be in Destin, FL for about a week and rather than renting gear I would like to purchase it so that I have it for future trips. I've never fished saltwater and I'm not a very experienced freshwater fisherman. But I enjoy fishing immensely. So I need advice from you fine folks on where to get started AND if you have any gear recommendations for someone starting from scratch that would be fantastic. I have a budget of roughly $400 for everything. Also I have some gift cards for Cabelas so if you have any recommendations from there that would be helpful as well.

Thank you in advance!

[MiStarMan]

what you are fishing for and where...how deep...still fishing..trolling, all enter into equation. look for local fishing group out of Destin or bait shops. a local guide trip helps emensly for good info...money well spent for entering into salt water fishing. fresh water gear will not survive in salt water environment...

[Hi_c]

Spend $300 on a 1/2 day fishing guide in Florida and $100 on a basic fishing rod and tackle setup. You'll catch more fish, less frustration, and probably own a boat within the year!

[dellalove]

It depends on how you prefer to fish. If you're going to just throw a line out and soak bait, a 10-12' surf rod with a spinning reel in about the 6000 size range would be ideal. It would also have enough backbone to pull a decent size fish up on to a pier. The tackle you would need amounts to a few weighted leader setups (which you can find premade at any decent tackle shop) plus the bait itself. If that's the kind of fishing you're looking at I can give you some more detail. If you'd rather throw lures then that would require a completely different setup.

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