Coleman has a first aid kit that I like a lot. It has pretty much everything you want to treat an injury. What makes this kit so handy is how well it’s packaged in a compact, easy to take along zipper case. It’s designed for use as an outdoor first aid kit.

The handy caribiner gives you the ability to clip it on any convenient location.

You’re bound to catch the surf fishing fever after watching a few of these videos. Fishing in surf is one of the most exciting forms of fishing you’ll ever do. It easy to get into and the equipment isn’t expensive. Especially when you don’t need a boat or any special electronics.

Surf fishing rods aren’t that expensive especially if you buy a combo rod & reel. You can use lighter tackle for Whiting and Pompano. Or go for the gusto shark fishing with cut bait and heavier surf fishing rigs. Fishing in surf for Tarpon is also a real possibility. Check out this other surf fishing video too and see these guys land a trophy tarpon from the surf.

For starters Pompano like sand fleas and Whiting prefer shrimp. As long as you’re using the right surf fishing tackle and techniques you should be able to start landing fish from any beach.

The principles and concepts for reading the beach are the same along any coastline. Once you learn how to read the beach your catch rate will go up dramatically. Most anglers don’t have a clue when it comes to surf fishing. It’s significantly different than any other type of fishing. There’s a lot more to it than most realize but once you put it altogether it’s a breeze.

Here’s a list of some the factors at play:

• Wind direction
• Weather patterns
• Tide movements
• Time of day
• Locating sandbars, troughs and rips and how to fish them
• Choosing surf fishing bait and or surf fishing lures
• Learning how to use different surf fishing rigs & fishing knots

None of these factors are that difficult to master. It just takes a little practice to get it right. Landing your first fish will give you lots of confidence. It gets easier and easier after that.

When you first get into surf fishing it isn’t necessary to invest in a lot of surf fishing gear. It’s more important to learn the techniques that catch fish. After that you can get into more gear for different situations. Start with one rod in a sand spike. Build your confidence up and after that you’ll probably want two or three rods in the water at all times.

Don’t forget to have a digital camera ready for the bragging rights. I’d love to post some of your pictures on my site to give other surf anglers the confidence to go out and give it a try. Send me your pictures, your videos and your story. I’d be delighted to post them for others to enjoy.

All the Best,
Randy

Shock leader knots for surf fishing need to be as small as possible to pass through the rod guides without interfering with casting distance. The knot strength is also critical. There are several knots that will stand up to the powerful surf casting requirements. However, there is one knot that is the best choice for not only strength but compact size. It’s the Albright knot.

The Albright knot is the preferred surf fishing knot for shock leaders because it has a small profile yet is can stand up to the riggers of a strong surf cast. There are a few tips I’d like to add to assure the best results when using this knot.

When you watch the video below you will notice that one strand is a simple loop while the other strand is used to do all the wraps. The first tip is all the wraps should only be done with the main line not the shock leader. Because the main line is a smaller diameter than the shock leader the knot will be as small as possible.

The second tip is to wet the lines before drawing up the knot. The water will create enough lubrication so the strands will draw up firm and snug, easily.

The third tip that will make this knot as streamlined as possible is to apply a smooth coating of clear finger nail polish over the entire knot. If possible try to feather the nail polish down on the shock leader to help it pass through the rod guides better during the cast.

Watch the video to learn how to tie this knot

This saltwater rig is made using any leader material of your choice. It has three dropper loops. One loop at the bottom for your sinker, a second loop about a third of the way from the bottom and a third loop 2/3 of the distance from the bottom. A swivel is used to tie it to your main line.

Watch this video to see how to tie the dropper loops.

The sinker and hooks are attached by looping them through the eyes and around to form a slip knot around each eye. The finished rig should look like the image below. If you want floats or beads on your rig just slip them on the loops before looping them around the hooks

Completed Dropper Loop Rig

The total length of the finished rig should be about 24″. Each loop for the hooks should be 6″-8″ long.

This rig design is one of the most commonly used rigs for surf fishing. It’s designed to hold the bottom using a pyramid sinker. The cool feature with this rig is the ability to easily change the sinker and hooks to suit the situation. The sinkers size depends on the size weight needed to hold the bottom and the hooks are sized to the bait you decide to use.

The first thing to do is to determine the direction your spinning reel turns when viewed from the rear of the reel. As you look at the reel with the back of it facing you it will turn clockwise or counterclockwise.

Now lay the new spool of fishing line down flat on one side. With the spool stationary, pull a strand of line off and notice whether it comes off in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

If it comes off in the same direction as your spinning reel then you are good to go. If not simply turn the spool of line over on the other side and it will match the direction of your reel.

As long as the line comes off the spool in the same direction as the reel turns you will avoid all twist every time you spool up with new line.

Okuma has a reputation for making great products and this reel is no exception. It has excellent specifications. The aluminum spool is titanium coated with a stainless steel rim. It has 9+1 ball bearings and will hold over 400 yards of 30# braid.

Surf fish fight hard and the Okuma Epixor fights back with a 30% larger main drag. The baitfeeder function is actually a second drag system that you use to let the fish run with the bait until you start to reel. Once you start to reel it automatically switches over to the main drag.

The main drag uses a multi-disk Japanese oiled felt drag washer system with Okuma’s Hydro Block water seal.

Without the baitfeeder feature it’s necessary to adjust the drag loose to prevent a pull over while your rod is in the sand spike. Once you get a strike you have tighten down the drag to fight the fish.

With the baitfeeder you set the main drag where you want it and leave it alone. This reel will easily handle most fish in the surf. If you want something stronger go with the EB-65 or the EB-80.

The reviews at Amazon rate it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Today

Fishing Forecast Tomorrow

You Have To Get The Right Surf Fishing Rod & Reel

There are a lot of different choices you could make in selecting a rod and reel for surf fishing. For the beginner just starting out who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money I would recommend an inexpensive combo setup for fishing the surf.

Anywhere along the coast you will find tackle shops and sporting good stores that will have combos setup specifically for surf fishing. One of the attendants will be glad to help you.  Most surf anglers prefer something between 10′ and 12′ but you could still get buy with an 8′ rod if you don’t mind sacrificing some casting distance.

The nice thing about buying a combo is the reel will be matched to the rod and lots of them come already spooled with line. Surf fishing combos start around $50 which is very reasonable to get started in this exciting sport.

Get A Surf Fishing Rig For Live Bait

While you’re picking out a rod & reel you’ll want to pick up a couple of surf fishing rigs for live bait. A very common surf rig has two hooks tied to a leader and a clip on the bottom to attach a pyramid sinker. A rule of thumb to choose the hook size is to size the hook to the size of the bait you will be fishing with.

You might want to have a few extra on hand in different sizes for different kinds of bait. Two rigs popular with surf anglers is the fireball rig and the fish finder rig. Also grab a few pyramid sinkers in 3oz and 4oz to use with your rig.

Choosing Live Bait For Surf Fishing

There are lot of good choices for live bait that work well. Rather than get into a long explanation of the different kinds of surf bait I will make it very simple for you. Plan on using shrimp. Shrimp is the best bait to use because it appeals to most fish found in the surf. At times, the surf fish may prefer other baits but you have the best chances of catching something if you fish with shrimp. With more experience you will learn to target certain species with other baits and lures.

Techniques Of The Old Salt Pros

One article isn’t enough room to get into very many techniques of the old salt pros but I can get you started on the right foot. All the old pros know how to read the surf. Reading the surf involves several things to look for. In it’s simplest form, what you can do is observe where the waves start to break. The breaking waves give you an idea where the sandbar starts. You want to cast your bait into the deeper water just beyond the sandbar.

If you can identify a rip where there is a break through the sandbar that will be an especially good place to start fishing. The game fish found in the surf use the rip to travel between the sandbars and to ambush bait washing through with the tide.

One Last Piece Of Advice For Fishing In Surf

The old pro always check the tides before they plan to surf fish. I recommend fishing 2 hours before and after high tide. Fishing the high tide widow at dawn or dusk will improve your chances of landing that trophy game fish.

Obviously this is just a good start. However, if you follow the advice in this article you’ll be fishing in surf and catching fish in no time at all.

Will Budget Surf Fishing Gear Work For You?

Surf fishing is very easy to get into for less than $100 if you’re willing to settle for budget surf fishing equipment. You can easily find a combo 10′ or 12′ surf rod and reel for around $50. Sometimes it will already be spooled with line. Buying a combo rod and reel will save you the trouble of selecting the proper setup. It will have the right line capacity and sizing for the surf. You can find combo rod and reel setups priced in this range at stores like Walmart and Gander Mountain.

Bear in mind that it is an economy model and will not hold up as well as an expensive quality product. The saltwater and sand environment is very harsh. As long as you take the time to rinse it off with fresh water and keep it lubricated there isn’t any reason why it won’t get the job done for you. Even an expensive surf reel won’t last long if you don’t take care of it.

After you’re into the sport for awhile and learn more about it you will probably want to invest in better quality gear like Daiwa or Penn. They both make nice quality reels from $84 to several hundred dollars.

Start With Basic Surf Fishing Tackle

Most surf anglers would agree that live bait works the best. That’s a good thing because you won’t have to spend very much to buy the essential surf tackle for live bait.

All you need is a few items. Buy some pyramid sinkers in 3 ounce and 4 ounce. Next you’ll need a couple of surf fishing rigs with hooks on a leader. You can either buy these rigs already made up or make them yourself. A very common surf fishing rig has two hooks with a swivel on one end and a snap swivel on the other. One of the popular rigs is called a fireball rig. It comes ready to go with 2 hooks and little floats mounted near the hooks to keep your bait off the bottom away from the crabs.

If you decide to make one yourself, I suggest you get 2/0 circle hooks, 60# leader material, a package of regular swivels and a package of snap swivels. Just look at the pre-made rigs in the tackle shop and match everything up to that.

If you add a sand spike to put your rod in while your waiting for a strike, you are ready to start fishing. There’s a lot more surf fishing equipment you’ll probably want to add later but just to get started and be able to catch fantastic, hard fighting surf fish that’s all you need.

Oh, and don’t forget to get some live bait. Shrimp and sand fleas are a favorite delicacy for surf fish.