I'm a freshwater addict. I live in the lakes area of SE Texas so I rarely go saltwater fishing.

I'm hoping a few of the guys on the coast can give me some tips on how and what to use in the surf and how exactly to go about it.

Is there a certain depth? Distance from the shore? Is suspended bait preferred to fishing off the bottom? I assume live bait is more popular?


Thanks!

For starters a bass rig won't cut it. You need a longer pole and heavier tackle if your surf fishing. Try and see where the fish/bait are moving and fish to that distance. Usually on the different sand bars out from the shore. You will also need to rig where your weight is on the bottom so you have little drift in your bait. Also try and fix up a pole holder so you can rest your rod/reel in it while you wait for a bite. If you are fishing for fish such as specks or reds as they move along the coast line where your wade fishing you can use your freshwater tackle just use live bait or what the locals say their using. Wade fishing make sure you have a stringer for your fish and be careful of rip tides.

Surf poles, 20-30lb test, heavy tackle, heavy enough for the conditions.  Depends on what you're fishing for whether you go for cut bait or live.

Find a drop of and set bait right at the edge if you can, the bigger stuff will hang out right around the shelf.

And stingrays suck to fight, they'll hit squid and cut bait, and they stick to the bottom like suction cups.  Have to give them slack, then haullll until they stick again.

Sharks and spottails will run you out of line in a heartbeat.

BTW Shark makes some good steaks.

My best fight to date was with a monster eagle ray. I went toe to toe with that bastard for almost 3 hours. Finally got him to the pier and he measured 7'9" across.  

I'm the stingray whisperer in my group of fishing buddies.  I always manage to catch one, or spot them cruising.

Pier?  That's cheating, you can pull up on them

We used to eat the things, and I ended up bringing a spear a couple years.  Get them over the shelf, wade out to the end of the line and poke them, then drag them back with the spear...
I've got some stingers about 8-9 inches long somewhere.

We also caught blacktips and sands up to just shy of 6ft long.
People don't realize there are sharks and rays that big in the water they're playing in.  We usually had the beach to ourselves for 100yd either way, but everyone within sight clears the water when they see something that big coming out of it...

Two summers ago a bunch of people came down the beach from the public access and camped in front of my house.  They didn't like i when I went out to fish.  The first thing I caught was a 4 ft bull shark and when I pulled it up on shore they decided move back down the beach.

If you're going to surf fishing make sure you get a couple different size weights. You never know what the weather will be like. Also, look for birds diving into the water. I've caught plenty of fish, more landyfish than I can count, on an artificail after walking the beach for signs of baitfish. Another thing try to get some sand fleas you can get them yourself. Just about every fish that is eatable and goes up and down the coast will eat these if they can see them. Any more questions I'll try to answe them the best I can

For bull reds, oversize black drum, and smaller sharks I buy spools of 50lb test and tie my own single and double drop leaders. I've found that the less metal that is on the leader the better. I use 2 different types of weights pyramid type and spider type depending on the current.

For bigger shark fishing I've got a Penn 9/0 has 600 yards of 100lb braid topped with 250 yards of 100lb mono. My second shark reel is a Penn 6/0 with a Tiburon extra wide conversion. That one is packed with 60lb mono and 150 yard 80lb topshot. For leaders I like to use 600lb mono and build sliding trace type setups.

The key is to get your bait between the sand bars and not on top of them. Learn to read the structure of the water and you will have a lot more success.

Which lakes do you frequent? Ive been on Falcon, Casa Blanca, Choke Canyon, and a few others quite a few times.

Shark story.



In my youth I worked the back deck of a shrimp boat.   We were dragging about 50 yards off the beach and pulled up a big Bull Shark - this guy was pushing 10 feet.



We put our nets down again and some guy decided to swim up to the boat to say hi.  We hoisted the shark up in the air, pointed to it, then down at the water.



I never realized that a man could actually walk on water...

Learn to read the surf:

Tag

I'm heading down to myrtle beach this summer and plan on trying out surf fishing.

If you're surf fishing at Myrtle, you'll catch a lot of small sharks, trash and small children...

Well actually be a little south of myrtle beach. I saw that shark fishing is not allowed around there. How do they determine intentional shark fishing?  What do you do if you hook up with one?

Chumming and fresh cut-bait and heavy hooks, I don't know that they'd say or do anything if you hooked one on a normal rig and released it.

We fish all day long down at Fripp when we're down there, we used to catch 4-5ft and larger sharks, usually a couple that size a day, along with stingrays the size of a truck hood and occasionally a big spottail or two.  Shark steak is pretty darn good on the grill....

Every beach is different. I'd tell you to look at the area at a low tide. It will help you see it better. I try to get my bait between the beach and the sandbar, as this "trench" has fish moving constantly. If you swim out to the next sandbar, assuming its shallow enough (sometimes its only a few inches depending on the tide, then a lot of bigger fish hang out on the other side of it. My main surf fish are pompano and blues, and sometimes I'll go for sharks depending on the current. Big snook, cobia, and tarpon (in FL) are usually rolling on the other side of the far sandbar. A kayak really helps there.

If you can find a rip to carry your bait out then you're golden.

Go to McFadden beach in August. Tie a surf weight and big hook (13/0) or so. Put a big piece of cut mullet on. wade out about between your waist and chest and cast. Go back to the beach freespooling and put your rod in a pvc rod holder driven into the sand. Sit in a chair and drink beer until a huge bull red hits. repeat as needed.

Jim

Tag for interest, I am about 2 hours from Corpus Christi TX, I used to freshwater fish all the time in AZ. Used to go out to CA and into MEX waters for tuna. Been talking to a buddy about trying surf fishing.

Actually, the hardest thing for me coming from fresh water was learning how to distinguish normal wave/bait action versus when a fish is actually tapping on your line.

I agree. Waves roll your weights all over the place. It took me forever to realize that it had to be quick pops on the rod tip. I used to constantly grab my rod and set the hook on an imaginary fish.

4 ounce and heavier sandhooks.  Keeps your bait where you want it.

ARF of Gulf Coast fishing

Welcome to a world of hurt op.
Once you get into a BIG fish, it's tough to go back to freshwater.
Some good info in here so far. I'll add a bit.
First, if you don't fish braid, learn to. You'll greatly add to your casting distance, and you get more on the spool, as its diameter is tiny compared to equal weight mono.
Flourocarbon for your leaders. It doesn't matter at night, or in deep, dark, or dirty water, but it's invisible under water. It's worth the few extra $.
  If you're planning on fishing open beaches, bring a couple gallon jugs of water, and a few rags.  All of your stuff will get covered in sand eventually. If you can't clean your reel, your trip is over.
  I've never fished Texas water, but I wouldn't limit myself to just using bait. Plugfishing is a lot more exciting, as far as I'm concerned. Theres nothing like watching a fish explode on a topwater lure.
 If you're fishing at night, do NOT light a fire, or have a lantern. Use a headlamp with a red lens. Putting a light on the water will scare the fish away.
On the other side of that coin, a constant lightsource, like a streetlight, lights on bridges, beachbar floodlights, attract bait, and sometimes big fish will congregate there and feast.
  Good luck, have fun, and whatever you do, do NOT buy a boat, or decide you want to catch tuna. You will hemmorage $ out your ass like you had ebola. Don't ask me how I know.

Surf Animal,

well said.  Just converted to braid a few months ago.  Love it.  

Gonna try and catch a few yellow fin tuna on monday.. and i want a boat

You're screwed!
Post some pics, huh?

QFT! Its worse than BRD

Had no luck.  Caught a few bonito though.

Fished south of myrtle beach on vacation this past summer.  Did some pier fishing and surf fishing... I'm a trout fisherman from the middle of the U.S. so knew Jack shit about what I was doing, but I'm a quick learner

Bought a $100 combo 9ft rod and spinning reel from basspro.  Googled making leaders and drop lines, and bought some circle hooks and big weights. Used 40lb mono.  Bought a bunch of frozen squid, and bam I ended up catching a bunch of small sharks at night right were my kiddos were swimming that morning

caught all kinds of crazy fish off the piers.  Guy caught a 7 foot blacktip on the pier and the swimmers were about 100yds away... another kid pulled up about a 4ft bonnet head.  Got broken off twice by something big. Likely a shark judging by the shaking.

Overall had a blast.  Fished every night I was there.  Those little sharks put up a fight.  Can't wait to get back and do it again.

Is anyone on here familiar with surf fishing in California?  Specifically in the Monterey Bay area?  I'm just curious what kind of fish are usually caught while surf fishing this area and what types of rigs to use for the different types of fish.