Surf fishing tips 101

[clamchucker]

Although often dismissed by some as too simple, the white curlytail grub on a 1/2 oz jig can catch fish all year around.

[albiealert]

^ Sometimes simple is best.

[plugaholic]

cold water - as the fall water gets colder, when I am plugging I slow my presentation down to a crawl. That will get you bumpe or hits when the fish are sluggish.

[dogfish]

^ Sometimes simple is best.

Each time you go out, look at your plug bag and ask yourself if your really need all that weight. Take out a few plugs or jigs and only take what you absolutely need. You will be glad ya did!

[fishinmission78]

cold water - as the fall water gets colder, when I am plugging I slow my presentation down to a crawl. That will get you bumpe or hits when the fish are sluggish.

What he said, plus as it gets really cold the bite will tend to be in the late afternoons because the fish are sluggish in the morning unless they are in a hyper frenzy feeding on bait. I think we are starting to see that now.

[7deadlyplugs]

Each time you go out, look at your plug bag and ask yourself if your really need all that weight. Take out a few plugs or jigs and only take what you absolutely need. You will be glad ya did!

You can probably catch all the fish you need with a minimum of 7plugs, rubber and metal and bucktails included. 7deadly plugs.

[cowherder]

I don't known if anyone else said this yet but it's a good idea to check the first 20' of your line right before you plug, or at the end of your surf trip. Sand and small rocks can put a lot of abrasions on braid or mono. You don't want to lose a cow because you were not equipped to play the game.

[surfstix1963]

I have a buddy that fishes bait most of the time and every fish he catches he cuts back his line and reties as mentioned above all of that sand and rocks are causing abrasions in your line and leader while it lies in the water not to mention what a fish does to it running all over the place.I do check my line,leader,knots and hooks quickly after catching a fish, also why lose a fish or for that matter a good plug it only takes a few seconds to give a quick look see

[buckethead]

Before putting your reels away after you’ve rinsed and cleaned them, back the drags all the way off. This will help prolong the life of the drags.

[stripermania]

Striped bass fish like to swim in flowing, clean and clear water. They do not prefer muddy and unclear water. You can always find striped bass fishes swimming with their nose pointed towards the water current. Therefore you can hold your fishing bait into the direction of the water and the fish would definitely be pulled towards the food. If you intend to catch several fishes at a time, then you need to look into clear waters for a group of stripers. If you find a group, you should slowly move towards them, otherwise if they smell your presence, they might swift in deeper water.

[basshunter]

Let the fish get tired out, yet don't let slack get in your way. Here is some great advice I received a while back from a good friend of mine.:


"Once the fish is done with his runs you can start to apply pressure using a slow pump. You move the fish on the upward movement of the rod tip. You gain line as you lower your rod tip toward the fish. Don't reel when your raising the rod tip and moving the fish (not as important on a conventional reel with a good drag, but if your using a spinnning reel and cranking when the drag is running you'll be putting twists in your line!)
Usually, it is just a matter of time before you get the fish to the beach -- but getting a big fish through the surf line can be a trick. You've got to time it so the waves push the fish up onto the beach. I've seen a lot of lines snapped by trying to beach a fish against the undertow."

[storminsteve]

Bunker and lead weight fishing from the surf or shore.

When I am fishing bunker, I try to use the lightest weight possible to keep the bunker from moving too much. I don't really want it anchored, like with a door sash or something. I want it moving with the current. Most of the time this doesn't matter at all, but if the fish are picky, other than the standard fishfinder rig, try downsizeing your weight. Some times that will make the difference. Good luck fellas, there are a lot of bunker around now, and at times some nice bass and blues under them.

[BassBuddah]

I cannot remember who said it, but I read it here somewhere in one of the forums-
Be willing to modify your strategy as the conditions change. Don't get stuck in a rut.

[storminsteve]

I had some time to kill this afternoon and went over some of the posts in this thread. Thank you darkskies for starting this and all the fellas who posted up, there is some golden advice in here. Should be required reading for all new members.

[lostatsea]

^^ x2.

[clamchucker]

This time of year the storms we are having can affect the ocean temperatures and clarity significantly. Remember that when heading out for your destination.

[DarkSkies]

You have to realize the fishing is either "on" or "off" for the night.

If it's dismal, there ain't no sense in sticking around for more punishment unless you have another location you can quickly get to where conditions are different. All this talk of "when" the fall run will be starting....it already started people, but we are still plagued with inconsistency, even the bait guys are not hooking up every single day.

So have a plan, and stick to it. If things are off for the night, learn to recognize it and cut your losses so you can come out again.

[Monty]

You have to realize the fishing is either "on" or "off" for the night.

If it's dismal, there ain't no sense in sticking around for more punishment unless you have another location you can quickly get to where conditions are different. All this talk of "when" the fall run will be starting....it already started people, but we are still plagued with inconsistency, even the bait guys are not hooking up every single day.

So have a plan, and stick to it. If things are off for the night, learn to recognize it and cut your losses so you can come out again.

Umm, didn't someone one time say its called fishing, not catching..... I'm thinking a few of us just enjoy being out there taking that punishment working a shore line, looking for a cut in a bar, a rip, a stray fish. I don't think I have ever cut a trip short because of not catching a fish.
Lets see, stay out and fish and not catch anything....or go home and do yard work, a to do list, clean the house, go to work, sleep.....I'm going to choose fishing and not catching fish

[surfstix1963]

I also just like to be out there now myself but for the sake of tips 101 heres my .02 cents for what its worth I say to be more productive at surf fishing the best time to be out there is the last hour and a half before and after the slack tide occurs and even into slack tide big fish can be caught at slack tide especially in the inlets(live eels w/ little or no weight get their attention at this time especially if that falls in the nighttime or early a.m. theory is the fish are not going to come out of whatever structure they are hiding in from the current to eat simply they need to use the least energy to eat the most food hence the period of time stated above it is easier for them to move with the slower water and feed and also reposition themselves for the change in water movement" killing 2 birds with one stone." Naturally their are the other factors moon wind time of year etc. Spring fish the back waters of rivers and bays(water warms quicker)Summer(fish the ocean side look for structure deep holes the water is cooler)Now comes the fall and migration when you need to be on your A game because as far as I am concerned bait is the thing you need to find in order to find the fish they are on the move and hungry they are looking for the same thing you are just for different reasons Onshore wind will be helpful every beach has a favorite wind to set the stage you should know that already and of course storms this time of year will screw everything up but before a storm is a good time to get out there after stay home till the water clears.This is solely my opinion but I still say if you want a biggin get out there in Sept. to early Oct. because as far as I'm concerned in NY thats the time before you get into schoolies and their is the occasional later big ones who got lost in the parade or are going to winter over.Every single fish over 20 lbs. I have caught was in the 2 months above.Still have not broken 20 lbs. in the Spring close 18 lbs. was the best but I only fish one spot in the spring.

[DarkSkies]

I had some time to kill this afternoon and went over some of the posts in this thread. Thank you darkskies for starting this and all the fellas who posted up, there is some golden advice in here. Should be required reading for all new members.

Yes it should Steve, and thanks to everyone for their thoughts.