new to the salt...

I am planning a trip to Glaveston,Tx next fall and I am planning on doing some wade fishing while I am there. My understanding is that they catch redfish, speckled trout, adn even a few small bonefish in the bays and on the flats in the area. I have never fished these areas before, and will be getting directions ad fishing spots from a local friend. I have no Idea what type of equipment i need to take with me. What i am looking for is advice on rods (lenght and weight), reels, line, flies, tippet/leader types, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Your help is greatly appriciated.

You'll do fine with an 8wt, a reel that holds a good 200 yards of backing, not that you'll need that much, but if you do you'll be glad you have it. I'd suggest a mid to large arbor reel with a decent drag. Take, if you can, two spools, one lined with a weight forward floating line, and the other either a sink tip, or a full sinking line. I used me floating line almost exclusively, but there were a few time when the sinking line made the difference.

As for rod length, I wouldn't go with anything less than a 9ft rod. One INVALUABLE piece of equipment is some sort of stripping basket if you're going to be surf casting. I made mine for about $5. If you look around on this sight you should be able to find a few different methods for making one that won't break the bank.

As for flies, how many do you want to take??? LOL. Some good go to flies for me are clousers, some with heavy lead eyes, some with beadchain eyes. Spoon flies are pretty popular down there too, they say red for redfish. I used them, but my trip there was less than stellar. Clousers though, in pretty much any color combination. Blue over white, was good, as was orange over white, as was chartruese over white. Pink over white might be a good combination too.

I'd take a spool of 50lb floro for a shock tippet too. It may seem excessive, but trust me, you'll be glad you have it.

Good luck,
TT

TT gave you most of the good advice. I doubt if you will find bonefish in Galveston though. 8wt, 9' rod is the standard, with a WF floating line. Stripping basket for wading or surf.

Two flies I would would add are gurglers on 1 and 1/0 hooks for trout and kwans for redfish.
I never use any shock tippet over 30# fluorocarbon. For trout and reds you don't really need over 20# fluorocarbon.

I like a nine ft leader and something with a heavier butt as most trout leaders are too light there. The leaders packaged for Bonefish also make great Redfish tools. Most usually I drop down to a 12 lb tippet and let it go at that. If there's a chance for snook in the area, go with a light 20-30lb FC shock. Should you get into really big Reds or Trout, a light shock can help a bit but usually I get more hookups without the shock.

As for flies google "top Redfish flies" then the same for sea trout. Check out the two or three top sites that come up for some great ideas, an excellent matching bait to fly section and more. One of those sites, Dans has but super info packed section on fishing the flats and shorelines for Reds and Trout. Dan's Wiggler is a great fly and most of the Bendbacks are also. one of my favorites is an easy tie in that it's a silver bodied, yellow on top, brown underneath bucktail. Imitates many small baitfish with a hint of yellow, brown. White brown is a close second.

Looks like you've received some good advice already. Here's a site you might want to check out for info from the "locals":
http://www.texasflats.net/index.php?...7&action=forum

Regards,
Scott