Is it jet drive or prop? If jet be mindful of walmart bags and other trash.

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Yes sir… will do. These new models have clean out ports that are easily accessed should that occur… but it’s better to avoid altogether.

 

For kings you can freeline a cigar minnow or troll a rapala magnum 25 in mahi color.

For snapper drop squid on a bottom rig

For ling a large plastic on a jig head

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Perfect - thank you! What about when I encounter a weed line? Do I troll the king setup or something different for mahi?

 

Pick a good day and keep an eye on the weather. It can become feroucis real quick real easy

Get a compass heading on your way out

 

I assume that boat has a self-bailing cockpit. That would be a must for offshore in case of rain or if you take a wave over the bow or stern.

 

might want to consider slightly heavier line--- 25 or 30--- wire leader for kings-do not recommend wire leader for cobia or mahi-----good luck

 

A better bet would be to post on the Crew Wanted section for a few people with serious offshore experience. You'll learn more from an experienced captain in one trip than you will several trips on your own.

 

Nice boat! I love the Yamaha 1.8L engines and jet drive. It's self-bailing and should be as seaworthy as any other 24-25 foot center console. The only thing you may want to do is get some trim tabs at some point. The engine trim probably just isn't enough to get the bow down in any decent chop, but you probably want to take it out and get a feel for it first.

For the VHF, just make sure you get a 6 watt handheld--don't get a 3 or 5 watt or anything cheap. I'd recommend an onboard 20-25 watt with a good antenna, but I understand that can be a pain and you may not want to do it for your first few trips.

You may want to limit your focus to kings for your first few trips offshore if you're planning on staying closer in. Your Penn Battles will be fine. I'd go up to 30-40 lb braid for your main line, then make up some wire stinger rigs (or just buy some and use them as a model to build your own), and rig as live bait whatever you can jig up with a sabiki from a nearby platform (blue runners, spanish sardines, etc.). Drift near the rigs or bump troll if your bait wants to hang out underneath the boat. You won't be looking for sharks, but the sharks will find you. If you get a couple of shark hits, I'd move to a different location rather than fight with them.

Your real limitation is going to be the weather. Just wait for some good days, 2 feet or less, if you're just starting offshore.

 

This is all great info everyone - I really appreciate it! What resource do y’all use for weather planning? From what I’ve read- favorable sea conditions are 2’ and less with a 1:3 heighteriod ratio, correct? Obviously everyone and every boat handles conditions differently, but that’s what I’ve read I should be shooting for. I’m going to soon be adding the XM weather module to overlay on my chart plotter so that will help me keep an eye on weather…. but for now I’ll stay close and keep a vigilant eye on the horizon. But for general “week-out” planning, what sea conditions forecast tool do y’all prefer?

 

Matagorda Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Matagorda surf forecast - surf report and surfing conditions for the next 12 days with swell components, wave heights, wave energy, wave periods, weather forecast and tide times

www.surf-forecast.com

National Weather Service click the 3 bars by marine zone forecast

Also download the windfinder app

I look at all 3 I like 3 feet or less at 6 seconds or longer but I run a 19' boat

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