Basic Surf Fishing?

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clemsonguy1125

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 27, 2010
544
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East Coast USA
I decided I wanted to try fish surfing this summer, Im going to use just a 7' medium action tiger ugly stik. Hopefully it will work for a while why I try it out. Im pretty new to fishing in general. Is there a good way to rig the line just for general fishing. I really have no idea what Im doing. Any good sites or tips. Ive seen people cast out and wait as well as slowly reel in the line. Which is better for just general fishing. Ive seen people catch flounder, rays, and small sharks, Id be ok with what ever. I just want give it a shot.
Thanks
 
Your rod is too short. For surf fishing you want to start with at least a 9ft rod to get your line above the breaker. You could use a really long piece of PVC as a rod holder to help. The ugly stick tiger is also a jigging rod, not good for casting FYI.

You didnt mention what reel you are using but I like tough and high capacity reels like the penn Z series reels, they are built like tanks and hold alot of line.

I use either a carolina rig with 20lb fluro in light surf or a dropper rig made of fluro starting with a 2oz pyramid sinker and working my way up in rough surf.

For bait, fresh is key. Peeled live shrimp is excellent for pomps and whiting. When you start using stinky frozen crap, all you will catch are crap fish like catfish which are a PITA due to their poisonous spines.
 
I cant see spending 80 bucks for a SW setup to fish a couple times a years, the beach I go to, at high tide, 20 feet from the shore is 15-20 feet deep. The rod comes with a reel, probably a cheap one cause the combo is 20 bucks. Would you mind explaining a bit more on the carolina rig and the 20lb fluro, not quite sure what your talking about. For bait Ill try shrimp and I also might try bait fish. Thanks for your help. With the tiger rod, I think thats it at least, its 20 bucks at walmart so if it gets beat up, its not a big deal.
This is it.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Shakespeare-Tiger-7-Spinning-Rod-and-Reel-Combo/2536582
 
the shakespear tiger is actually a surprisingly quality rig for 20 bucks, ive caught lots of catfish on mine and also lots of fish saltwater, don't mess with the complicated stuff if you're just going for fun, buy a couple bottom rigs, some probably 2oz weights, some mid sized shank hooks, rig up some shrimp or cut bait and just chuck it as far as you can, sit back and have fun. if you really enjoy it then you can mess with all the other more techincal methods
 
7 Feet is to short you gonna have problems with casting over the top of the waves. By the sounds of it your planning on chunking out bait which is better just to let it sit in the water. At Basspro i got a 10 foot surf rod for 30 decent rod but a little heavy due to its fiberglass composition.
 
The problem with walmart reels is that they are made super cheap. I won't buy from them again when it comes to reels and rods. This is actually a sad fact not just a poor review. If you looking into better reels and rods look into bass pro. You will pay more but you will get the quality to back it up.
 
Thanks for the tips, the closest bass pro shop is a couple hours from my house. I realize 7 feet is a bit short but I can wade out some, do the pvc thing and extend the rod a bit, or if all else fails go down to the sound. I just need to be able to cast out about 30-40 feet.
 
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