I got a bigger boat that can handle offshore but I'm new to offshore boating I'm going to limit my first trips to closer to shore. What fishing methods do y'all like for 2-10 miles from shore? I'm fishing on the East Coast (NC), but I'm interested in the general approach as much as location specific.

Can't speak for NC..... but nearshore Gulf of America in State waters off of the Texas coast.....

-We spot lock, bait, and chum for bull reds and sharks within 2 to 5 miles.
-troll around clay piles and reefs for kingfish, Spanish mackerel, mahi mahi.
-rigs and stand pipes for kingfish, ling, mahi mahi.
-drift from 2 to 5 miles for sharks.
-work the beachfront for tarpon and tripletail about 1 to 4 miles.
-bottom drop on structure for red snapper, mangrove snapper, trigger fish, spadefish, lane snapper
-drift behind shrimpboats.
-work the jetties. Galveston jetties go out 4.5 miles. Have sight casted a Sailfish off of the POC jetties.

Read an article about this just a few months ago in Sport Fishing mag i believe, let me see if i can find it or online version of it. Not sure if it will help or not.

https://www.sportfishingmag.com/travel/north-carolina-fall-fishing/


Not sure how much help if any, but that is what I had read.

Trailer to hatteras and you can be in the gulf stream in 10 miles!

I know a little about fishing in that range…I think perhaps a good place to start would be to hire a guide for your first trip or two and also to focus on safety alone for a couple of inlet runs…those inlets can get real tricky real fast. That said, there are several good websites…a shop called Oceans East on the Outer Banks can get you all set up on tackle and species. Lastly, I would check, re-check, and verify your GPS lines on the way out and in.

SGrem said:

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Have sight casted a Sailfish off of the POC jetties.

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these are the kind of fish stories I come to Texags for.

Yes POC has some interesting weird catches.

Wade fisherman caught a 3 ft ling on a topwater wade fishing in knee deep water in Pats bay. 25 miles in both directions from the nearest pass to the Gulf.

Had a pompano jump in the boat running across San Antonio Bay in waste deep water. Again 25 miles from the Gulf.

Interesting catches.....
During the floods of Harvey a fisherman at the Sea Wolf Park fishing pier caught a green sunfish. Water body record. Lol

Caught mahi mahi off the rocks at the Texas City Dike.

Again caught pompano in thigh deep water wading in baffin.

Caught red snapper in the Galveston channel by the Coast Guard Station...

Fun stuff. Always fascinating what those fish do.

Do you have a guide you've gone out with in the past that you like? I saw NC State does a four day fishing school every summer out of Hatteras and I'm strongly considering doing that.

What I'd really like to sort is hiring a guide to go out with me on my boat. I'm sure they'd love to not have to use their boat or gas. Has anyone heard of folks hiring a guide like that?

Some guides here in Texas will do a teaching trip on your boat. I do not think it is as attractive to them as you are thinking, as theirs is tuned to how they like to fish, they know it has all the required safety gear, and probably very well maintained. Yours is a mystery, in all those regards. But, some here are happy to do it for a fee. Can't speak to out there. Call around and ask them. Ask at local bait or tackle shops.

Fishermen are by and large, friendly and talkative.

I do a lot of learning and navigation style trips in customer boats so they can learn how best to run it.....and see how a shallow water boat will react to different things. Also so they can get a good safe track around the bay. Some of our bays here are fairly treacherous. I give them a safe track around and point out hull wreckers.....areas to avoid for that hull.....areas to come back and learn on your own etc. Usually we cover about 120 miles in a day and never touch a rod. Most find it very valuable. Its an expensive trip because essentially you only hire me once and you have a lifetime of exploring from there.

Never done that offshore. Most people wanting to learn will hire a trip or otherwise get on another vessel with a friend or open boat share expenses.

The above poster is correct. Coast Guard requirements for a charter for hire are very different than for a recreational boater. Different safety equipment....documentation etc. Additionally there is always the chance we could hit a submerged log or a bilge pump fail or a spun prop and I get blamed for that. Or a GPS fail before, during, or after our trip and you lose the information we worked on all day. Then you stay upset about that. Has to be the right mentality and the right customer.

Additionally if you do find a guide to teach you on your boat for the day respect what you are asking him to do. It is a product he is selling to YOU. Dont fill your boat with 5 other biscuit head pilgrims. That is 5 more trips that he can sell that you are stealing from him. Take your biscuit head pilgrim buddies another day on your own. Let the guide focus on you and your boat and your full digestion of the information.