gzollinger

If you are fishing the surf, what essentials would you make sure you had?

I will start the ball rolling with:<UL><LI>Sun Block</LI>[/list]

reelfinatical

- a hat / visor

- polarized sunglasses

- ice

- cooler

- rod holders, either sand spikes or cooler attachments

- sabiki ready to go at a moment's notice =)

- camera ((because you know people won't believe you! lol))

Pier#r

Drinking water (or other beverages ;-)

Needle nosed pliers (or dehooker)

knife and or multi tool

Hand towel

Fishermon

www.fishthekite.com

jaceboat

a rod and reel is important to.



bait



leader material (hooks/swivels/wire/mono)



food

snivlem

first aid kit-never know how nice it is to have until you need it.



BEER-duh!

gzollinger

Great stuff.

Now lets talk terminal tackle...

Onlyone rig, I would guess a pomp rig with 2/0 circle hooks and 2-4 ounce pyramids. Fresh shrimp.

For lures, maybe a hopkins 2 ounce.

30 lb Flourocarbon Leader Material.

60hertz

Don't forget adding stuff to deal w/ a bad boy jellyfish!



Disposable Rubber Gloves to pull the jellyfish off of you and vinegar to pour on the wound area.



Advil or Tylenol to kill the pain - unless you're drinking a cold beer. If you're drinking beer, then just pound a few to dull the pain!

Sailor50

This is what I take to the beach:

I normally take 3 rods:

- Two 8' spinning rods, 20# mono , both terminally rigged with pompano rigs,for fishing onthe bottom.



I use 2oz-4oz pyramid, depending on the current/waves, or (more expensive but better holding)



spider weights. The wires will flip the other way when you pull on them and are easier to pull in.



I buy the Marathon pompano rigs at wal mart



and replace the hooks with Eagle Claw 2/0 hooks.



I use the Eagle Claw because they have a big eye that you can get a double line of the Pompano rig through.



That's an Eagle Claw hook on the left, Owner hook on the right. I can not get a double line through the Owner.

For bait, I use either a sand flea I catch there



I start out withpieces of fresh peeled shrimp until I can catch some sand fleas. I usually put a sand flea on one hook and some shrimp on the other. I believe peeling the shrimp releases more scent and the fresh ones stay on your hook. I would not botherbuying the frozensand fleas.This piece is probably a little big.



Place them in 5' PVC sand spikes.

To make your rod holders, Iget a 10' section of schedule 40 PVC from Home Depot/Lowes, cut them in two pieces at an angle, and put a bolt about 1' down from the top. You can flare the top by heating it in a flame to soften it and then flaring it with a beer or wine bottle. You want a tall sand spike as they keep theline high with less wave action and it also lets the tourist walk under them (they will)





I also have handy a light-weight spinner with 10# test mono, 40# 3' fluorocarbon leader with a gotcha on it for throwing to spanish, bluefish, etc. You can use other lures, bubble rigs, top water, etc, but it really doesn't matter. If they are passing through, they will hit justabout anything you throw to them.



Or a pompano jig if in season.



Cooler for the bait, fish, and drinks. Have it marked so can measure the fish. I use a hard onebecause I can sit on it. Modify it by putting 2 holes in the handle and attaching a carrying strap to it, leaving my hands free.



Soft sided tackle bag with a shoulder strap.



In the tackle bag i have extra hooks, sinkers, a knife, needle nose wire pliars, a "law stick", pre-rigged pompano rigs, an old towel to handle fish with. The sardines just happened to be in there if i get hungry.

Hat

Camera. I use an Olympus Stylus 1030 SW as it is waterproof to 33' and can take the sand/salt water. In fact, the directions say to soak it in fresh water after you use it to dissolve the salt. I have used other brands in the past,but the sand or salt water would get into them after a few trips.

Sunglasses so you can watch the scenery passing bywithout staring. Also good for keeping the sun out of your eyes too.



I usually go early in the morning or late in the day. If i stayed during the day, I would probably take a beach umbrella and sun block with me.

Sand flea rake with an old sock to keep the sand fleas in.

I use 2 bungee cords to tie my rods, sand spikes, and sand flea rake together so they are easy to carry.



I used to use one bungee, but 2 small ones are better.



I use a small piece of a 2x4 to hammer the sand spikes in and carry it in the cooler or tackle bag.



I can usually carry all this without a problem.

If you are going to get serious about it and stay for awhile, I would probably invest in a cart. Here is a picture of one I saw over at Henderson Beach. He had a nice set up and has room for achair on it too. I believe there was an old post on here that discussed carts. This one has beenmodifiedwith the wheeleze wheels, which are great for the soft sand. The bigger cooler is good and I would carry a separate cooler for you drinks as once you put a fish in the cooler, you get the fish slime all over them.



You should carry your license or picture id with your florida address but I have never been checked on the beach (knock on wood). If you dont know the size limits, a copy of the Florida rules/regs.

Now, if you are going to try to get beyond the second sand bar or do some shark fishing, you will need a bigger rod and some stronger equipment. But that is another post.

And, always take some money with you so you can stop at the Sextons or Joe Patti's on the way home.

Tex@OIP

Great post! I wish i would have found that post when i first started surf fishing...i had to learn all that the hard way...by realizing i needed it when i was already out there...im about to start surf fishing again after this gustav mess dies down. Do you get your fresh shrimp from the tackle store? I went to half hitch to get some and had buy live ones and just peel them. Its hard for me to believe that putting out a dead peeled shrimp could out perform a live one...but im from texas so its hard to get that style of fishing out of my head.

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