# New to surf fishing!



## FishnGator (May 1, 2008)

Howdy all,

I recently came down with a severe case of the fishing fever and am planning on hitting the surf Friday afternoon with a couple of guys from work. I plan on fishing two rods; one with a double drop leader that I'm going to try and make myself (#20 line sound okay?)and with the other I will cast a spoon or jig. I think I have most of it down but was wondering where you guys suggest that I start out. I was planning on either trying Fort Pickens Rd as far down as we can get or maybe near Portofino. What do you guys think?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Maybe I'll see some of you guys out there. 

Chris


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Either place will be fine.

Call the bait shops and try to find some live sand fleas before you go. Or at least some fresh shrimp. Sand fleas are hard to come by out there.


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## Shiznik (Feb 24, 2008)

Maybe the wind hasn't kicked up yet over there. If it were me and I was going to be fishing off the beach, I would not mess with the spoon and jig due to the wind. Haven't been out to check the H2O, but I bet you might have to change out and go to a 3 or 4 oz this weekend. JMO. Could be wrong, but I always have'm with me. Just a thought. I bet you'll get a lot of the Ladys with that set up though. Good luck! Hope to see some pics!


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## FishnGator (May 1, 2008)

Shiznik and Willdoya,

Thanks for the advice. I really hate Ladyfish so I hope they stay away. Just out of curiosity, what would you recommend? I would really love to luck into a nice redfish or two and I have never caught a Pompano so a few of those would be nice too. I was going to try and find some sandfleas as willdoya suggested but I do understand that they are hard to come by these days.If I can't find them I guess I'll get some live shrimp.Thanks again, any help will be greatly appreciated. 

Chris


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## j_purdy (Oct 9, 2007)

Fishn,

With the strong SSE wind we're going to have, you'll want to look for a shallow area of sandbar to break up the incoming waves. A good place to look with conditions like what Friday seems to be would be from 500 yards or so past "the Cross" to a 1/4 mile past Peg Leg's. On this stretch of beach the sandbar holds 45-60 yards from shore. It far enough out to knock down the waves and a hole will develop on the nearshore side of it. Fish in that hole and you should manage a pomp or red. Also, peeled fresh(not frozen)shrimp are just fine when it's rough-skip buying the live ones. And if you catch a ladyfish, they make great cutbait for bluefish, sharks, and reds. Good luck and let us know how you do.

-Jason


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## Sailor50 (Nov 8, 2007)

New to the surf fishing too, but have had some luck lately. My recommendation would be to put 2 Pompano rigs outwith pieces of fresh dead shrimp out. I use the Walmart prerigged ones. I was told by an old Destinfishing captain to peel the shrimp. And don't put the whole shrimp out, maybe half or a third, depending on the size. 

Get your shrimp from a seafood store, dont get the frozen bait shrimp. Live sand fleas are good too, butif you dont find them, dont worry.


You want to aim for between the inner and outer sandbar. Don't worry about distance. If you throw it hard, your bait will come off. As you get better, your distance does too. 

I have found that a lot of the pompano make a run for the shore when they get hooked and you think you have lost the fish. Keep reeling. 

Again, not an expert, but this has worked for me. Good luck,


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

Sailor is right about the mad dash to the shore. I was fishing at Navarre last week and noticed one of my rods was slack. I thought the current had done it so I reeled tight. Went slack again so I started reeling. It was a 16" pomp. I never saw a strike.

Be sure and use circle hooks.


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## FishnGator (May 1, 2008)

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Went and picked up supplies today. New line for both rigs, some jigs, plastics and a Krocodile Spoon. Probably not going to have time tonight to make any DD Leaders so I'll pick a few up from Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle. I got Gulp sand fleas and 3" shrimp just for the heck of it. I bought a sand flea rake at Dizzie's so I'll give it a shot but I'll try to get some from GBB&T just in case, in addition to some shrimp, maybe from Joe Patty. Thanks for all the help. We'll start out down Ft. Pickens Rd to start if anyone wants to stop by and say hello. Wish us luck. 

Chris


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## FishnGator (May 1, 2008)

Well, went out and gave it a shot yesterday. We went to the parking area just before Chicken Bone beach. We didn't make it to the beach until after 3:30 and as you can probably guess, no luck. The waves were whitecapping 100 years out or more, felt like we were fishing in a hurricane. It definitely wasn't a wasted day though because we weren't at work and we sat on the beach with a few beers. I will be back though, like maybe Sunday early AM. See you guys out there.

P.S. I would stay far away from Chicken Bone Beach Sunday.


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## FishnGator (May 1, 2008)

Okay, here is my report. I've been out 4 times. The first time was in a terrible wind and really didn't expect much and I was right. Was nice just being out there though. 2nd time, past Portofino at sun-up. Nothing for me that day but saw the guy next to me catch a nice redfish and several small sharks. 3rd time out, landed a few catfish. 4th time, last Saturday just after daylight, caught several cats, a puffer and a Whiting. I knew nothing about Whiting but learned later that it was a pretty good one, about 11 inches. I think I lost a Pomp at the waterline also. He hit me and apparently ran in towards the shore.Stayed with him and he threw the hook just before I could see him. 

I'm starting to get the hangof it and I'm sure I'llcatch something good next Friday AM when I go next. My biggest problem is keeping shrimp on he hook. Half the time when I cast I see the damn shrimp flying through the air in the other direction. Kind of frustrating. Friday I'm going to try some live Bull Minnows, Sand Fleas, squid and maybe finger mullet and see which I like best. I'll keep at it though and eventually I'll have some pics to post here.

Chris


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## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

Shoot me a PM sometime and I'll join ya. I'm not a pro but I catch a few here and there.


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