How Much Does it REALLY Cost to Start Saltwater Fishing? [Podcast]
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
Hey Salt Strong Nation! Joe Simonds here, like diamonds đź’Ž!
Ever wondered what it really costs to get into saltwater fishing? Do you need that fancy rod, or will a basic setup do the trick?
We’re diving into the essentials every beginner should know – from gear to tips on where to fish without breaking the bank.
Spoiler: you don’t need a boat to catch big fish!
🎣 Curious about the absolute bare minimum gear you need? Or maybe you’re wondering when it’s time to upgrade to lures? Luke and I cover all the bases in our latest podcast. Whether you’re casting with shrimp or thinking about lures, we’ve got you covered.
Trust me – you’ll want to check out this episode before dropping a dime on your next setup. It’s packed with tips that could save you time, money, and frustration out on the water.
➡️ Don’t miss out! Watch the full episode below.
Tight lines,
Joe
How Much Does it REALLY Cost to Start Saltwater Fishing?
Podcast Outline
- Introduction
- Joe and Luke discuss the costs and essentials for starting saltwater fishing.
- Aim: To simplify the entry-level setup and dispel common misconceptions.
- Key Misconceptions
- You don’t need a boat or expensive gear to catch fish.
- Overemphasis on buying high-end equipment can be misleading for beginners.
- Barebones Setup for Beginners
- $50-$60 setup: Rod, reel combo, line, hooks, and live shrimp.
- Tips for fishing from accessible spots like bridges, piers, and docks.
- Moving Up to Lures
- Suggested gear cost for intermediate anglers: $150-$200.
- Recommended lures: Slam Shady 2.0 paddle tail and Prawn USA junior shrimp lure.
- Importance of having a quality rod, reel, and thin braided line for castability and sensitivity.
- Equipment Prioritization
- Invest first in a good rod, then line, and finally, the reel.
- For line: Recommend 10-pound braided line for versatility and durability.
- Access to Fish Without a Boat
- Public spots like jetties, piers, and wading are great for beginners.
- Start simple without committing to a kayak or boat right away.
- Salt Strong’s Interactive Fishing School
- Joe and Luke highlight the school as a resource for beginners to advanced anglers.
- Access to coaches, tips on fish behavior, and community support
- Click here to check out our Interactive Fishing School
- Closing Thoughts
- Emphasis on knowledge over gear.
- Reminder: Focus on understanding fish behavior to improve success more than on equipment upgrades.
Not a member of the Salt Strong Insider Club? Then click here to join the Insider Club today so you can get access to Smart Fishing Spots, discounts on the tackle in our shop, and much more!!
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Not sure watching this podcast is free given a membership cost can range from free to $247, and what’s included changes too.
It was helpful to reveal the many mistakes you guys made wasting money on gear and tackle. Me too! This sport, possibly more than any other, bombards the angler with marketing hype and hundreds (thousands) of spending choices. This podcast will drop down the 5,000+ content articles in a matter of days, and likely unseen again unless someone posts a link. Just a quick look down, and many more to follow, will be content promoting the latest and greatest lure and colors. The fears you guys raised about starting a tackle store have surfaced, and telling new anglers to only buy two lures from today’s many SS choices adds to the complexities a SS member now needs to navigate. I think many anglers have an addictive personality, and make them easy marketing targets. When reading how a different lure can change from catching no fish to having a great day, mixed messaging makes it confusing and easy to understand their decisions.
Many people never consider opportunity costs of how they spend their time. The time involved in going through SS fishing school, reading the articles, game plans, community posts, chapter meetings, and pre-planning trips can be a huge cost. The angler trying to reach a pro/tournament level may view this time as fun and pleasurable. But recreational anglers who prioritize time with loved ones and have other pursuits important to them may not view it the same way. While I have no doubts your intentions are good, I think more self reflection about the simpler is better philosophy SS had in its earlier years might help balance a SS today that seems oriented to complexity and hyper marketing. It’s not an easy road to maneuver when the membership consists of beginners who’ve never fished to anglers with years of experience. Joe’s been saying for a long time that finding some way to organize content so different levels of expertise or a particular focus is able to be found is coming, but never seems to arrive. Instead, tech resources are directed at making wholesale changes to SFT when I can’t recall anyone complaining about it. There was a time Luke talked about eliminating it, and I’m glad that didn’t happen. This is a microcosm of going from a simple presentation to a less user friendly one. SFS changes frequently, and the incremental value of these changes seem to be less. For the new comer, trying to learn SFS and to navigate the site looks onerous for some. If you guys are happy with SS growth and profitability, then change nothing. Otherwise, listen again to your podcast and ask whether the newcomer is going to fall into the same money traps you’re saying to avoid. In a club, and to gain favor, most will tell the founders what they think they want to hear. Please don’t take my critique as personal. It’s not, and I hope you guys continue to prosper and the 2nd ten years brings more great things your way!!
Well said, more contradictions with SS content than keeping it simple as this podcast conveys.
Thank you, Omer. We appreciate you listening in and taking the time to comment.
Great input, Rob. It sounds like we haven’t done a good job of explaining the simplicity of the club. We’ve basically boiled down the “5,000 articles and videos” into the Fishing School. This podcast was based on the beginner level of Fishing School and we urge all new and existing Insiders to go through the Fishing School before they do anything else. We’ve found it answers 90% of the questions we receive, it simplifies the entire game of saltwater fishing, it shows them how simple SFS can be, and it gives a member confidence that they can go out there and catch fish without a ton of pre-trip planning and new gear. We’d love your feedback on the Fishing School in particular – because that is where our focus is for keeping it simple.
Thanks for sharing the candid feedback Rob! The solution we’ve found to make sure members aren’t confused about what they do and don’t need is to continually put a focus on the Fishing School curriculum because it breaks it all down by skill level, and it includes only the core essentials for Beginners and Intermediates because those levels should of course be focused on getting better at finding the fish (vs. buying lures like the rest of the industry is pitching).
And since you’re absolutely correct about helpful posts like this getting lost in the noise after a short amount of time, we’re going to be continually driving focus towards the Fishing School in pretty much all of our videos going forward to make sure as many people as possible go through it before they start buying stuff they don’t need.
Here’s an example of that for a lesson that I created this morning: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/best-lure-for-saltwater-fishing/
If you see anything in the Fishing School that is potentially causing confusion, please let me know because I’ll be sure to address it as quickly as I can.
We greatly appreciate your continued support!