# First Timer Interested in Surf Fishing



## HunterTN (Sep 9, 2013)

I am headed down on the 21st to Destin for a week. Going with the wife and another couple, who have a baby. Needless to say, we need an activity to distance ourselves from the womenfolk. We are staying at Silver Shells right by Henderson Beach. We are definitely going to do a charter at some point because my buddy has never gone and I've only been to Destin during March so I'm looking forward to see what's running this time of year. But since we can't afford (read: not allowed) to charter all week, I'm interested in surf fishing in front of our place. I'm not looking to hook a shark or land some monster, just fish for something that will give us a break from the beer drinking. I've read the posts about sand fleas, I did enough of that as a kid to remember how to dig them up. I've also read the sticky on surf reading, so I now know slightly more than nothing but hopefully I can get the hang of it. My question is what gear do we need? I've got a 7ft ugly stick, the reel on it will take 120yds of 10#. Is that enough for what we're planning to do? If not, what test and size reel do I need? If I need different gear it's not a big deal, I'd like to make this a standard vacation so it would get used again. Plus I'm in TN so it can be used for catfish anyways. Any help you guys can offer would be really appreciated. This site is very helpful and I've learned a lot in a very short period of time.


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## BrakeTurnAccelerate (Jul 1, 2012)

120yds of 10# isn't really going to be sufficient for a surf setup. The first bar is about 80-120 yds out. If you hook something a little larger and need some extra, you'd be screwed.

I would personally grab a $20 Quantum Optix 60 and a $25 Shakespeare Tidewater 10' rod and have a reliable surf oriented setup for minimal investment. You might be able to use your current 7'/120yd setup to sight cast jigs or spoons.


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## Chris Gatorfan (Apr 8, 2012)

Thumbs up on the Quantum Optix. Killer reel for the low cost, i had one till it got pulled in but still use an optix 40. A big plus is it will make for a great catfish reel for you back home also.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

BrakeTurnAccelerate said:


> 120yds of 10# isn't really going to be sufficient for a surf setup. The first bar is about 80-120 yds out. If you hook something a little larger and need some extra, you'd be screwed.
> 
> I would personally grab a $20 Quantum Optix 60 and a $25 Shakespeare Tidewater 10' rod and have a reliable surf oriented setup for minimal investment. You might be able to use your current 7'/120yd setup to sight cast jigs or spoons.


I agree here. I used Optix 60's for about 10 years for my 2 trips a year. My friend still uses them. They last about 2-3 years with a good hosedown after each day and a GOOD cleaning at the end of the trip. I used them on the Berkely Gig Game 8ft spinning rods at walmart. I still have the rods and still love them. Especially for the $20 that they cost. After 15 years, the all-metal rod tips are corroding. I'm about to replace the tips and put them back in action.

The rods/reels that I use now are my standard catfish rods.
8ft star Ariel Rods
Reels are 2 Pfleuger President 50's and a Penn Fierce 5000

I'm in the process of rebuilding/customizing 4 Mitchell 302/402 setups to replace it all. I've tried the 10ft and bigger rods for more distance, but the line speed coming off the reel cuts my fingers on the release. I can get 100-120yds out on an 8 footer.

You'll need something to hold 250+ yards of 15-20lb line. I use 15 and 17lb.
I like the hi-vis green so that beach walkers don't walk through your line as often. Then I tie on a 10-15ft fluorocarbon leader (10-20lb). Surf fish are very sight oriented. Then tie on a standard dropper style rig with 2-4oz of weight, depending on surf conditions. 2 or 3oz is usually plenty. You will get more hits if you tie your own dropper rigs out of fluorocarbon leader with no "hardware" in it. Just a small swivel at the top to tie to, and a snap swivel at the bottom to clip on your weight. I even lightly spray paint my swivels light tan several weeks before my trips. That way the paint "smell" will be gone. The store bought rigs have silver crimps and orange beads, etc. I use hand tied and my friend uses store bought. I usually outfish him 3:1. He doesn't know how to tie them and refuses to use mine... Oh well...  For standard surf fishing, I use 1/0 circle hooks. If going for reds or small sharks you'll need something bigger.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

This looks like a good deal too! I don't know the seller, but I have talked to him on the forum many times. Seems like a straightforward guy and really knows his stuff on surf fishing.

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f52/surf-rod-reels-spinning-%24110-178250/


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## HunterTN (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks to all for the responses. I am going to check out Academy or Sportsmans Warehouse and see if they've got those rigs in stock. Your comment about high vis line got me thinking. What is the etiquette for setting up rods? I want to make sure I'm not crowding folks fishing around me, and don't want to interfere too much with people walking the beach. I've see those rod stakes, they look like a piece of 2" PVC cut at 30 degrees to make a point. How deep do those need to be planted? Can you just muscle those in or would I need a plastic mallet?

What kind of knots do you use on those leader loops? I think I'd use a improved cinch to attach the sinker swivel at the end of the line. Would pyramid sinkers be the standard for what I'm wanting to do?

Thanks in advance for any answers.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Etiquette is a ting of great discussion. To big to cover here. Look for thread in General Discussion about crowded beaches. Been in the past day or so.

I make my own spikes. 2inch pvc, 3ft each, cut at about 30ish degree angle on tablesaw. Then I gently heat one end with a heatgun and then ram a wine bottle in to flare the opening. Don't heat to fast or you will burn the lip and make it bubble. They can be pushed into moist sand by hand then pack more wet sand around it with your foot. Takes 30 seconds. You can buy them for 7 or 8 dollars apiece or you can make three for about 3 to 5 dollars... If you have a saw and a heatgun. Or while your wife is not watching, sneak in the kitchen and use the gas stove. Find the Febreeze FIRST! It does smell.

You can buy those rigs at any gas station or tackle shop near the beach for about $2 each. If you tie your own, use your knot of choice on swivels at top and bottom. I use Imp Clinch. For the loops tie a dropper loop knot with a tag end about 2-3 inches long. Plenty of slow motion videos on the internet. My friend likes double rigs, I prefer single.

And yes, pyramid sinkers.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

For the most part you don't have to worry about fishermen, they will let you know when you're too close. If their spot isn't great they'll move when you get too close to them.  I usually keep 30-40 yards from anyone else. Obviously don't fish in crowds of swimmers, but they are stupid and will walk right into your line. I come down there every year for a week or two here's what I bring.

Mitchell ultralight with 10# braid on a 4' ultra light pole. I use this with jigs and small hooks to catch bait fish. Anything that will bite is fun on that pole.

Penn Sargus 3000 with @275 yard of 10# braid on a 7ft ugly stick pro-graphite light. That's for casting lures and jigs into the surf. Kastmasters, spoons, rattle traps, berkley shrimp and mullets on jigs ect 

Cabelas Salt Striker 4000 spooled with @300 yards of 30# braid on a 9' Ugly stick M action. This is for bait fishing with shrimp, fishbites and cut bait. This would be good for just about anything but sharks over 4'.

Then I've got a shark pole too, but if you aren't interested in that I won't go into detail.

For sand spikes I use 5' of 1 1/4" pvc. I heated up one end with a torch and pounded a wine bottle down it to form a cone for my rod. I pound that in about 2 feet. 

If you want a really cheap shark pole get a Daiwa DF100A and spool it with as much 30# test as you can get and put it on one of academy's 8' heavy action fiberglass broomstick poles. It won't last forever but it will be a blast if you catch one. You could probably use one of the wire king mackerel leaders they have there and a 6 oz pyramid weight. If you happen to catch a ladyfish a 2-4" chunk could catch you a shark at night, or if you catch anything else besides a catfish cut it in half and put the head end on the hook and sling it out about sundown. Make sure you put a big swivel on though between the leader and your line.

Not the best setup in the world, but cheap and functional.


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## BrakeTurnAccelerate (Jul 1, 2012)

HunterTN said:


> Thanks to all for the responses. I am going to check out Academy or Sportsmans Warehouse and see if they've got those rigs in stock. Your comment about high vis line got me thinking. What is the etiquette for setting up rods? I want to make sure I'm not crowding folks fishing around me, and don't want to interfere too much with people walking the beach. I've see those rod stakes, they look like a piece of 2" PVC cut at 30 degrees to make a point. How deep do those need to be planted? Can you just muscle those in or would I need a plastic mallet?
> 
> What kind of knots do you use on those leader loops? I think I'd use a improved cinch to attach the sinker swivel at the end of the line. Would pyramid sinkers be the standard for what I'm wanting to do?
> 
> Thanks in advance for any answers.


 Based on experience, if there are people swimming within 100yds in either direction, you probably aren't going to get a bite anyhow. So stay at least a football field away from people. If you're there first, most people won't come very close. But, there's always an exception. 

I use a palomar knot for the upper swivel, and a non-slip loop knot for the lower swivel. I prefer a double drop (twice as many baits). Mustad #1 circle hooks. Orange beads and/or yellow float for pompano, and green beads for whiting. 2, 3 or 4oz pyramids depending on surf conditions. If you need more than 4oz, pack it in, IMHO.


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## Yellowrivermudder (Dec 22, 2012)

I'll come back to this post in a little bit to give some objective advice and not try to recommend any particular rods or reels. I've learned, for surf fishing just about anything will do. Do with what you have and make a day of it. If something big grabs your line, well, you'll be praying you had more, but you'll have fun in the process. There is no need for fancy surf fishing. Take any rod you'd like, and give it a whirl. I'll post more later as I mentioned...tight lines!!!! YRM


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

I agree with YRM, but the first couple years down there I brought the cheap Shakespeare reels that come on the ugly stick combo. They lasted about 3 days and that's with rinsing them off. I went with penn and the salt striker because of their reviews. I was going to get the Fierce, but found the sargus on sale for the same price. My cheap little mitchell ultralight has held up.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Yep. I agree with pretty much everything said above. With one exception. You can, but I would not use braid on your rods that you are going to soak bait on. The surf action will move the line back and forth across the sand. Braid has nowhere near the abrasion resistance of mono and it will weaken your line. I have used it, but after a couple of days, about 20-30ft of your line will be very obviously fuzzy looking. So I try to spool with mono for a week's trip. if just going for a day, I'll use whatever I already have spooled.

A lot of reels today come with 2 spools. I'll spool one with braid for freshwater fishing back home and drop fishing out in the gulf. I'll spool the other with mono for surf.


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## HunterTN (Sep 9, 2013)

Do we need to make any sort of plans for what tides are occurring while we're there? Looks like high tide will be anywhere from 1200-0400 the week we're there. I would think any break in the sandbars as the tide is going out would be a choke point for predator fish to hit bait fish.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

HunterTN said:


> Do we need to make any sort of plans for what tides are occurring while we're there? Looks like high tide will be anywhere from 1200-0400 the week we're there. I would think any break in the sandbars as the tide is going out would be a choke point for predator fish to hit bait fish.


I mostly fish early in the morning and late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds. I know that the tide makes a difference, but it's hard to fish when there are swimmers everywhere and you can't assume that you'll have a 50 yard chunk of beach to yourself when the tide is right.


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## Yellowrivermudder (Dec 22, 2012)

Here I am. Returning to this thread. Alright, there are a great deal of variables to consider for surf fishing...but the greatest is location. If you are casting lines where the fish will be searching for food, you'll catch fish. But if you read the beach incorrectly, you'll have an extremely unexciting day waiting for fish to grab your hooks. 

I have discovered through my extensive experience that if you wait on the tide, or current to be right to fish off the beach you're gonna be waiting for a very rare day. Just go fishing. Simple. A little drizzle, or Neap Tides never noticeably effected my fishing results. I've limited out on Pompano from the beach during Neap tides numerous times. I've caught them in turbid water and clear water. I've caught them in the early am, high noon, and just before dusk. Again....just get out there and get your lines wet.

I make my own triple bottom dropper rigs with a peg board, and I vary my rig setups between varying colors of floats, beads, (sometimes none), and I use either a size 1, 1/0, or 2/0 circle hook. My favorites are Owner, and Gamakatsu for their larger eyes. I use 20-30lb flourocarbon for the leader. I DO use braid on most of my surf rods, and if you keep your line taunt as you're supposed to, with an adequate weighted pyramid weight at the bottom of your dropper rig, you'll notice barely any abrasion. I usually use 3oz pyramids, for better cast distance. I also wade out to cast a couple of my rods so I can check different distances, and locations in the troughs and sand bars. (If you try heaving your lines out from the beach to reach greater distances you will watch in disdain as your bait goes flying off your hooks) I DO use 12' rods, but I also have 10', 9', and I'll also use some of my 7' rods closer in to the beach. I've caught fish on all of them. 

Remember to try different things, distances, and bait. I've caught pomps, (and MANY OTHER species using shrimp and/or sand fleas) at almost every distance from the beach. Once you find a place where they're striking, keep casting to the same place. 

If you're shark fishing, well, you don't really need to try to catch them, from my experience. I accidentally catch more sharks than I care to. 

As far as tourists/beach squaters go, if they're near your lines, politely ask them to avoid them, and to give them a wide berth. Most fish that will take your bait out near the beach are very easily spooked. You're going to love it when a Jet-Skier or a trolling boat comes in and runs right over where your lines are set...just reset your wait time to another 30 minutes, because they've scared off your fish.

You're gonna catch many hard head catfish, as it is just that time of year (ALL YEAR LONG) and you may want a pair of pliers or gloves for those...I use my bare hands, and sometimes get a barb, but I've survived.

When you cast your rod, you can improve your cast distance by limiting out your reel drag. I call it exercising it. As soon as you are able to reset the drag, take it down to around 5lbs, and take any slack out of your line. It doesn't take very much force to set a sharp circle hook. If you forget to set your drag and a shark or Bull Red decide they want what you're offering, you'll probably lose your rod. I've had 3lb+ Pomps take rods out to sea, because I didn't have the drag set low enough.

I don't know if there is anything else to add....but I hope you have an enjoyable retreat on the Emerald Coast. good luck to you! Oh, and I've caught a couple of Pomps in the last week. Tight LInes!!! YRM


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Yep. What he said ^^^^


Just get your lines wet, have fun and watch those catfish!

Remember, even if you don't catch much... Still beats being at home!


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## HunterTN (Sep 9, 2013)

So we've gotten down here and am sort of set up. The june grass is really bad, I fished Sunday and today and my line is some sort of magnet for it. I am still getting used to casting into the surf, is there a general rule about how far up from the weight the loop needs to be? I have been throwing 2 or 3oz weights, but both seem to get picked up by the surf and carried down the beach. Do I need to work on throwing it farther out?


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

If the grass is that bad you may as well find out where there's no grass. You'll have a hard time fishing with any amount of weight.


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## Yellowrivermudder (Dec 22, 2012)

HunterTN said:


> So we've gotten down here and am sort of set up. The june grass is really bad, I fished Sunday and today and my line is some sort of magnet for it. I am still getting used to casting into the surf, is there a general rule about how far up from the weight the loop needs to be? I have been throwing 2 or 3oz weights, but both seem to get picked up by the surf and carried down the beach. Do I need to work on throwing it farther out?


HunterTN, I'm sorry to read of your plight, but it is the same for most surf anglers right now. There are several options to improve your chances.

First, increase your pyramid weight to 5ozs, if you continue to fish the surf. When the June Grass starts to load-up on your leader/line (everything) it WILL drag it down the beach, especially if there is any substantial wave strength. When in these conditions, you CAN still catch fish, but it's a lot more work, and will require more patience. 

Bring your lines in and remove the grass more often, and recast more frequently. 

Other options:
Move to a different section of beach, where the grass might be lighter, or not present. 

Move to inshore fishing and fish grass flats, docks, or structure with knocker rigs, carolina rigs, or popping corks. Live shrimp will get you plenty of attention.

Don't give up, and let me know if you have any other questions.

Tight Lines!!! YRM


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## OfcRob (Sep 12, 2013)

HunterTN, hit me, i am going out tomorrow evening, went this morning, the surf sucked, grass was light. 

jimmy

850-368-7966


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