The wife wants to start fishing

[lonesouth]

I have never been a serious fisherman, just a casual fisherman. So, now the wife has expressed an interest in going fishing. I am certain that she is only interested in fish that are tasty. To that end, what are the fish to chase that puts me not more than 5 miles off shore. We'll be using the Glastron, and I'm just not comfortable going 10+ in a 17' boat right now. Also, what are the basics I'll need to acquire in order to chase said fishes?

Boat has a chartplotter, but not sonar.

[WolfeMan]

Depending on how much water that boat drafts I'm thinking you could have endless amounts of fun on the flats within a mile of shore. Trout, Redfish, Flounder...even Spanish Macks and Cobia in less than 10 feet of water - and all VERY tasty!

I'll let somebody else handle the gear question in great detail, but a couple spinning reels in the 3000/4000 class on 6.6 or 7 foot rods with poppin' corks and gulp shrimp on 1/8 ounce jib heads can get you started.

[Rainman]

I can tell you, I've not had a chick yet that didn't like catching pins on the ultra light... Its a place to start to get them interested, and passes the time when nothing else is biting. Let her catch a few pins, then throw them back out on a float or if need an oyster bar on the bottom.

[big bend gyrene]

Lonesouth, from which landing/launch site do you plan on fishing? WolfeMan's right on the species but you'll probably get even more useful detailed advice if folks know what specific area you plan on fishing. Folks on here from Pensacola to Jacksonville (plus a few even overseas! ), so narrowing down a bit where you plan on fishing will be big help.

[WolfeMan]

He smells like St. Marks or Panacea to me...

[lonesouth]

He smells like St. Marks or Panacea to me...

I dunno if that is a good thing, but the location is accurate.

Draft on the boat is about 12". I measured distance to the bottom of the skeg as one scallop bag tall last time(that being ~24").

[fishinfool]

Go into East River and pick an oyster bar(there are plenty to choose from). Anchor in a place that allows you to place your cork and shrimp or pinfish near the end of the bar that is down current and wait. Probably want to set your bait at around 14-18 inches under the cork.
FF

[onefishtwofish]

Also, my wife likes to catch, she does not really like to fish that much. Gets bored fast. I don't take her on long Redfishing trips where I cast for a couple of hours to catch a few. A big red puts up a tussle and most beginners want success, fish pulled over the gunnel is success to a new fisherman-theycan get frustrated with 26" reds in current, cause they can lose them. With that in mind, I tend to take her trout fishing a lot. Floating a pinfish behind, I have her often using a Cajun Thunder on the flats. She does not really care what hits, just action. She has talked about a little 2 foot shark she caught for a year - she seemed to think it was cool. I tend to think trout, mack and blues and when I know they are active (and where) those are the spots I take her. You can handle all that on bass fishing stuff and if you add a decent baitcaster with braid on it, you can have her catching sharks too. A 3 foot blacktip is excellent eating.

[big bend gyrene]

A 3 foot blacktip is excellent eating.

I concur!