HOW TO SURF Fish.!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

Im going to NC next month and realy wanna know how to surf fish. There has to be more to it then cast and hope . I never had real luck last year and wanna know how to do it right so i enjoy it. Thanks. I want extreme details please.

Answer 1

Depends what your going for obviously but...

As a starter if you are going to be surf casting you will want a larger pole than usual. I typically use between 8-12feet. If there is quite a bit of swell the longer the better, also you will want to add more weight to the line if there is swell(waves) and wind(When shore casting you will want to keep the line tight so add more weight untill the line seems to stay put and not droop). If you are going for sharks, big rays or there is a lot of seaweed you will want at least 30-40lb. test and a steel leader(this prevents their teeth from breaking the line. If not going for sharks I wouldn't use the steel line as some fish have pretty good vision and will avoid it. If you are using 30-40lb. test I would use a smaller leader like 15-20lb. test to reduce the lines visibility for smaller fish. Holding a fishing pole from the beach while trying to drink beer, throw a football or frisbee and BBQ can be tiring so I usually take a long piece of PVC pipe and slide it over a steak or fence post that I have hammered into the sand (put a angle on it towards the ocean like 80 degrees or so its not straight up), you don't want the pvc so long that it is hard to get your pole out if it should you get a hit. If the beach is flat I go right to the water line, if it is inclined I try and get above the water line to keep the line above the waves. Not sure what your fishing for or what kind of bait is typical in your area but I use squid with great success, I also use muscles, shrimp, sardines/anchovies,small crabs, sand crabs and I even have caught sharks with chicken. When the fishing is slow and my neck hurts from looking at the line I put a bell on the fishing pole so I don't have to keep such a close eye on the pole. Sorry to say it is still cast and pray but this should make it a lot more fun and productive. This might not be possible in your case, but sometimes I would get my surfboard and paddle the line out way past what I could cast from shore.