Surf fishing. If you’re looking to catch big fish
on a day-in, day-out basis, you head to the ocean. That’s
where the behemoths live. And, while you can catch such
monsters in-shore and off-shore, in the bays and
backwaters, and off piers, surf casting is the most
fun. And the least expensive.
It was quite a job negotiating the boulders of the giant stairway; a natural formation on Maine’s mid-coast. But soon enough I was down as safe as I could go without being swept away by the pounding summer surf.
I cast my wobbling spoon out into the maelstrom and started cranking the reel handle. Hadn’t made three complete turns when the lure stopped in place. Next thing you know, line is peeling from the reel, drag or no drag. Whenever the fish paused I’d pump and reel, pump and reel. Then he’d run again. At first it seemed he’d take out three yards for each two I recovered. But eventually I gained the upper hand. Still, it took some time to land the fish---a beautiful striped bass running about 25 pounds.
Later that same year I found myself surf fishing on Hatteras Island, in North Carolina’s famed Outer Banks. It was Christmas week, but that didn’t stop the fishermen. The beach was lined with rod holders, and beach buggies, and folks gathered around a driftwood fire (which shows you how long ago that was).
The first bluefish hit at 11:45 in the Aunt Emmy. When we left at seven that evening the blitz was still on. I never saw fewer than a dozen rods bent, on fish running from about eight pounds to an honest 20.
A youngster, down from Norfolk for the day, summed surf fishing up best. “Where else,�?he stated, “can so many people have so much fun so cheaply.�?
The answer to his question, then and now, is “nowhere!�?
I grew up fishing the high surf. And, frankly, I miss it. Which is why Friend Wife and I make the long drive to the coast as often as possible. Surf fishing, as my young friend noted, is great fun; it’s productive, particularly if you’re after big, tough fish; it’s inexpensive; and it’s accessible. Every state with a coastline has areas where you can fish the surf.
As with any fishing, you can drop a bundle on surf fishing gear. But it doesn't take much to get you started. Take that striper I caught in Maine. We weren’t on a fishing trip, that time. But after three days I couldn’t take it anymore, so headed to a local outdoor shop. I bought a low end, eleven foot rod (yeah, like I needed another fishing rod!), a large capacity spinning reel to go with it, and a half-dozen assorted baits. The total bill came to ninety bucks.
Considering that black bass fishermen spend more than that just on their reels, it wasn’t a bad deal.
More recently, Friend Wife and I rigged up with better quality surf fishing outfits. We got one ten-foot and one 12-foot graphite rod; higher quality reels; and premium line. Each outfit ran less than $200.
When we hit the beach, we typically have two outfits each. Depending on what’s running at the time, one is rigged with bait. The other is used as a surf casting rod.
You can easily fish the surf with nothing more than an outfit like that, along with terminal tackle. But surf fishing entails a lot of wait time. You have a bait anchored to the bottom, or are standing around until predator fish come in close. Merely holding the rod and reel can get old. So, at a minimum, you want a sand-spike for each outfit.
You can buy them, cheaply enough. Or make your own. I use sections of PVC pipe held to lengths of aluminum angle iron. Flange the top of the pipe slightly, by heating it in boiling water and shaping it with a dowel. And cut a short notch, just big enough for the stem of your surf fishing reel to slip into.
I fished for many years with nothing more than that equipment, and a small tackle box to hold my terminal tackle. The surf fishing tackle box slipped into a five-gallon pail, which doubled as a bait bucket, when necessary.
That will do you during clement weather. But much surf casting takes place in the late fall, winter, and spring, which both the water- and air-temperatures can be brutal. So as soon as possible you want a set of waders. I favor the newer breathables, except under the most extreme conditions, when I switch back to neoprene.
As with any sport, however, the deeper you get into it, the more gear you acquire. My latest piece is a specially made cart, with large, pneumatic tires, that easily pulls across the sand. It has built-in rod holders, a bait cutting station, and room to hold tackle boxes, pails, and even a small cooler.
That kind of cart can be a major investment, however. So I wouldn’t recommend getting one until you’re sure that surf fishing is something you’ll be doing often.
The specifics of surf fishing vary depending on location, time of year, and the fish that are available. But one thing that holds true no matter what: ignore all the calendar art that shows wader-clad fishermen chest deep in the surf battling fish. The one thing you don’t want to do is fight a fish and the waves both.
Instead, when surf fishing you wade out as far as is safe to make your cast. The ideal is to get over and beyond the breakers. Then you back up to where you have safe footing. When a fish hits, back up even further, so that you’re playing the fish by sanding on sand, with no waves pounding into you.
No only is this safer and more efficient, it helps at the battle’s end. Most really big surf-caught fish are beached, rather than netted or gaffed. By standing out of the waves, you have better control over the landing process.
What sort of fish can you expect? As noted, it depends on time of year and location. But within that framework the numbers of big-fish species you can catch is nothing short of incredible. Striped bass and bluefish are the mainstays of the surf fishing crowd. But how about puppy drum running 30-50 pounds? Cobia pushing the four-foot mark? Or even seven and eight foot sharks?
Those sorts of fish are big enough for anybody.