Surf Fishing

Surf fishing can offer a fisherman the opportunity to catch some very large fish without having to own and maintain a boat. For this reason many anglers prefer inshore fishing to offshore fishing. Simply put, they save time and money and still have a great time fishing. Shore fishing has its own specialized equipment and challenges. A surf fishing rod is usually between 10 and 12 feet long but they can be even longer. The extra length of these poles helps the fisherman to make the long casts needed to get out to where the fish are, usually in and around the breakers. Heavy spinning reels are commonly used with 250 to 350 yards of medium to heavy line.

The natural conditions of the oceans, bays, and flats present several challenges for surf fishermen to work with. The wind, wave height, current, rocks, and floating kelp are important factors to take into account. Some of these factors call for a fisherman to be proficient with his casting to stay out of trouble. Other factors like the floating kelp or other aquatic plants may make it beneficial to make your lure or hook weedless. While some other factors like wind, waves, and current may require a fisherman to adjust how much weight is need to keep his bait and line where he wants them.

Whether you are fishing from the shore, or pier fishing, there are a number of species that a surf fisherman can choose to pursue: striped bass, speckled trout, drum, sheepshead, flounder, stingray, redfish, bluefish, barracuda, cobia, salmon, whiting, sharks, jacks, snook, and many, many, others. Really, the only thing that limits what can be fished for is the region that a fisherman is in. Some of these species can be fished year-round. However, many species follow the migrating schools of bait fish. Therefore, they are more readily found during the seasons when the bait fish are present.

Surf fishing flats can be a rewarding venture. Flats are extremely shallow saltwater areas. Flats fishing is considered by some fisherman to be one of the most challenging forms of surf fishing. Depending on the nature of the flats, they can sometimes be fished by wadding. However, in some cases a specialized skiff is needed to safely and successfully fish them. There are a several species commonly fished in this kind of salt water environment: bonefish, permit, tarpon, cobia, shark, speckled trout, jacks, redfish, and snook.

Shore fishing may not sound as exciting, in name, as “deep sea fishing”, however with a little understanding of how to locate the fish, some basic equipment, and substantially less money, a fisherman can still catch large and gratifying fish. Further, because this form of fishing is less expensive it can often times be enjoyed more frequently than offshore fishing.