New Member - Learning about the Surf?

I have read through both Surfcasting 101 and Surfcasting 102. Great information guys- thank you! This year has been actually my first year of really giving Surf fishing a go. I of course have wet a line many a time over the years but it was never with a pre-conceived knowledge of what's there or what are they feeding on etc. It was more- Hey kids want to go to the beach for the day???? Me fish they play kind of thing. So that being said- I have committed more time and energy in learning about the surf. I am starting to learn how to read the beach. Watch tide charts, wind direction, water temp etc. I have primarily been fishing clams and/or bunker. I landed a 20" Striper last night on the out going. I know - a 'biggen' lol! well anyway- it dawned on me that if I do catch a big striper- will that be what I came for??? and the answer was no. I think fishing with bait is great. But I am a little on the high strung side. I have always fished lures for other species of fish and really enjoy figuring out the what the when and the how. Now that I am going for Surf- it is a whole new arena. You can't just site down on a Saturday afternoon and watch 20 shows on surf fishing like you can on large mouth bass or walleye. So my question is- can anyone recommend a book or DVD series that I can go buy to learn more about fishing plugs, lures etc. I know John Skinner sells a book called fishing the bucktail and I am really leaning towards starting there. I think if I learn with a bucktail to fish different applications I could then understand perhaps a little better what I need to do. Anyway- Thanks again for all your wisdom. Sorry that this is one big paragraph- the format wouldn't let start a new paragraph- just runs together.

Bucktails and tins (hopkins&kastmaster) are great for searching the water column and will work at any speed from slow bouncing the bottom to ripping them if the need arises.Always use the lightest bucktail that will get to the bottom pay attention to the speed of the current and switch up or down in weight accordingly white with red pork rind will generally always work day or night.Bass are generally anywhere from the bottom to around 6 ft. off the bottom in deeper water.Structure,structure & structure.Learn to read the beach it changes constantly when you catch a fish look at the water why was that fish there bait,hole,cut,rip,drain etc. if you can't recognize structure you won't be very good at this game.Always look for the funny water.

welcome rob. What surftsix said is great I agree. You also need to spend time on the water. As you said you can read tons of stuff on the internet but putting it into practical use is the thing. Spend time out there and put it all in a log. Learning to read structure beach or bayside is all important.casting where fish are not sitting will get you nothing. hope this helps and let us know of your progress.

Thanks for the welcome hookset! My Wife just ordered m two books for Fathers day. Fishing the bucktail by John Skinner and Fishing with Bucktails by Doc Miller. While I am wetting a line with bait tonight, I will be throwing a bucktail with my other rod to get my journey started.

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Originally Posted by robmedina

Thanks for the welcome hookset! My Wife just ordered m two books for Fathers day. Fishing the bucktail by John Skinner and Fishing with Bucktails by Doc Miller. While I am wetting a line with bait tonight, I will be throwing a bucktail with my other rod to get my journey started.

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Welcome aboard. There are a few books discussed on this thread:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...highlight=BOOK

I like Zeno's books, he is funny, intense and has a bunch of information and examples in his books.

Depending on where you are fishing a bomber or even the SP Minnow may also be a good artificial to throw tonight.

Thanks Monty!

Rob read Skinners book and practice practice and practice some more. I nail some big fish every year bucktailing and if you ever hit montauk its all about the buck and pork or buck and grub. The thing to remember is if you are dragging on the sand it's too heavy. Getting caught in the rocks too heavy also. If you are not hitting bottom you are not in the zone either. Start out at a sandy beach with some current and work the current line. Once you get good at that you can graduate to the rocks and hard structure. Good luck

Practice is exactly what I need. Tonight I went out. was fishing with clams and bunker. I rigged one of my rods with a bucktail but I wasn't quite set up. I should have used my 9 foot rod but it was rigged with bait and in the water, so I used my 11' rod but ...well just not right. I did manage one 34 -1/2" striper though. Released to fight another day.Attachment 17043Attachment 17044

oh and that striper was on clam not the bucktail.

Nicely done Rob and welcome aboard. :HappyWave:

Welcome to the nut-house Rob. I can't offer much about the surf. I wait till the reports are off-the-hook before strolling down to catch fish in the afternoon. Still trying to wangle my way in to the finchaser intel chain. :cool: My best times in the surf were when the sand eels were at island beach. Otherwise I would rather catch them from a boat. Nice guys on the site you can learn a lot from them though. Look forward to your posts.

Hello and welcome Rob.

Welcome to stripers and anglers Rob. You will learn a little at a time. As was mentioned write as much of you can down in your log. Good job on your fish.

Hey rob nice fish. welcome!

Hey Rob and welcome.

You got some great advice here already and I will try to highlight and add to it.

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Originally Posted by surfstix1963

Bucktails and tins (hopkins&kastmaster) are great for searching the water column and will work at any speed from slow bouncing the bottom to ripping them if the need arises.Always use the lightest bucktail that will get to the bottom pay attention to the speed of the current and switch up or down in weight accordingly white with red pork rind will generally always work day or night.Bass are generally anywhere from the bottom to around 6 ft. off the bottom in deeper water.Structure,structure & structure.Learn to read the beach it changes constantly when you catch a fish look at the water why was that fish there bait,hole,cut,rip,drain etc. if you can't recognize structure you won't be very good at this game.Always look for the funny water.

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Originally Posted by hookset

You also need to spend time on the water. As you said you can read tons of stuff on the internet but putting it into practical use is the thing. Spend time out there and put it all in a log. Learning to read structure beach or bayside is all important.casting where fish are not sitting will get you nothing. hope this helps and let us know of your progress.

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Originally Posted by jigfreak

Rob read Skinners book and practice practice and practice some more. I nail some big fish every year bucktailing and if you ever hit montauk its all about the buck and pork or buck and grub. The thing to remember is if you are dragging on the sand it's too heavy. Getting caught in the rocks too heavy also. If you are not hitting bottom you are not in the zone either. Start out at a sandy beach with some current and work the current line. Once you get good at that you can graduate to the rocks and hard structure. Good luck

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I think the biggest mistakes most people make myself included when first bucktailing is going too heavy. On an open beach it's very easy to go too heavy especially here in NJ where they pump sand like its crack.

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Originally Posted by clamchucker

As was mentioned write as much of you can down in your log. Good job on your fish.

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Keeping a detailed log is very important. I use fishers log created by John Skinner, the cost is only $20 and the data becomes priceless and quickly pays dividends. I can save $20 in gas with just one trip.

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Originally Posted by robmedina

My Wife just ordered m two books for Fathers day. Fishing the bucktail by John Skinner and Fishing with Bucktails by Doc Miller.

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I have read both of those books and they are very similar although I enjoyed J Skinners book much more. Skinner goes into much more detail about bucktailing and breaks it into different strategies for different situations such as surf, kayak, boat, beach, inlet, ect. He also has great videos on YouTube which are priceless. The biggest mistakes most people make myself included when first bucktailing is going too heavy. On an open beach it's very easy to go too heavy especially here in NJ where they pump sand like its crack.

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Originally Posted by Monty

Welcome aboard. There are a few books discussed on this thread:
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...highlight=BOOK

I like Zeno's books, he is funny, intense and has a bunch of information and examples in his books.

Depending on where you are fishing a bomber or even the SP Minnow may also be a good artificial to throw tonight.

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Ditto to what Monty said, zenos book is great and I should go back and read it for a third time. I highly suggest the SP minnow as it is cheap, casts well and catches fish. You must replace the hooks and split rings otherwise you won't be able to sleep for a few days.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G4fqb9hr7L0

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Originally Posted by robmedina

oh and that striper was on clam not the bucktail.

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In the end it only matters to YOU. I enjoy catching fish anyway I can and you should too although I will admit artificials are at least 10x more fun (when the fish are biting ).

Thanks JB for the detailed answer. On a side note I am done with skinners book and about 80% done with Mullers, and yes I agree, I found skinners to be better, or more preferable if Doc Muller is watching :) A great guy that I fish with gave me a bunch of plugs to try out. That is so awesome for him to have done that, I want to do him right and put the time in.

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Originally Posted by robmedina

A great guy that I fish with gave me a bunch of plugs to try out. That is so awesome for him to have done that, I want to do him right and put the time in.

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That's one of the nicest things about some fishermen out there. Giving back what was given to them.