kshafer

well i am going to Florida with a buddy and his family and we are gonna be doin some fishin right off the beach. will 20 or 25 pound line work? will a regular open face reel with an ugly stick rod work? we are gonna buy some big ocean hooks and get some live bait at a convinience store. how do we fish? bobbers? just reel it in slow or what we are completly clueless so thanks for helpin us out. if it helps we will be in the st. augistine area.

indianahunter83

If you are talking about surf casting then you need a rod capable of casting weights over 1oz (I think I used 3oz weights the last time I surf fished but its been a few years) Your line weight choice is fine. I've used down to 16lb test effectively. We pretty much waded out to waist deep or more of water and then casted out as far as possible. If 30 minutes pass without a bite I would move 100 yards or so and cast again. Just like any fishing if you can find any contour changes along teh beach you stand a good chance to catch more fish. Buying big ocean hooks are not that important. Basically any 1/0 or bigger hook should be fine that you can buy from your local walmart... yeah they will rust faster but should you gut hook a saltwater fish said fish will recover faster due to the hook rusting away quicker. Beyond that I can't think of any other tips... Have fun!

Rebel Hog

Surf Casting Reels

kshafer

hey thanks for the help indiana. i didnt expect another indiana guy to help but hey i think we will just buy some of those hooks at walmart and use those. one more question though. do you put them on a big bobber or what do you do? i know what i need now i just need to know how to fish it. thanks

dh4stretch3

This really really depends on what your fishing for. If you're goin for surf perch, corbina, yellowfin croaker, halibut or anything similar in size you deffinately wanna go light line. Even for leopard and shovelnose sharks 15 pound test is enough. I use a 6.5 foot rod with a Shimano Sahara 2500 reel spooled up with 10 pound braided line(which has a diameter of 4 pound) and 4 pound mono leaders. If you're doing surf fishing like I think you are(Standing on the beach) and you throw 25 pound test, you mine as well be fishing with telephone pole cable. Light line is a must for surf fishing. As far as baits go, check out the Berkley Gulp! line. The sandworms and sand crabs work well. Swimbaits on leadheads work too. Like a previous poster said, look for contours in the sand. Also, you'll have better luck on a beach that is sloped more, not one with a steep enbankment of sand. When you cast, you don't need to throw it 100 yards out into the water. Most fish in the surf are only 20-60 FEET out. Mostly for the surf I use the Carolina rig with 3/8th, 1/2, 3/4 sliding eggs(more if current is strong) and the drop shot rig with 1 ounce torpedos. If I'm using swim baits I'll tie directly to the 1/2 ounce leadhead. For hooks I'll use Gamakatsu size 6.

Hope this helps.
Tom

childers

get a penn reel

childers

your going to st. augustine i just noticed and youll get lots of sharks so get heavy stuff and theres lots of good stuff there i used to go there every year. its awesome

thundermug

Drive north about 20 miles to jacksonville beach and go to the pier. Once you get tgier look for anyone wearing a white T-shirt that says FLORIDA PIER ANGLERS ASSOCIATION. They will answer any question you have.

You can use any kind of pole any size line that you want. I fish that pier and my small pole I use 14 pound line and my big poles I use 25 pound line. Go to this website... www.jacksonvillebeachpier.com you will be able to see what kind of fish we are catching. you can also use the link to the message board, and you'll see the sections for fishing each area in Northeast Florida.

Good luck!

P.S. You need to know what kind of fish you are catching and what the limits are on each sprcies. Down here there is a difference between weakfish and spotted seatrout.

kshafer

thanks guys sounds good. ya we'll see if we can go over there and check that pier out. the thing is its the only time that i will probably go in my life so i dont want to go buy a new reel just for it. i got some 20 pound line for my pole so i should be set. does anything taste half way decent that comes out of the ocean? thanks for the help.

thundermug

Reports of pompano are starting to hit the pier and the spanish macks will be right behind them. We've been catching alot of whiting, and some redds. Let me know when you'll be there, it's only a mile from my house. If your there on the weekend I will be there fishing and can set you up with bait...good bait not the bait they sell at the pier. If I can't be there I can tell you where to get bait thats fresh. and have some friends give you some pointers. There not know it alls its just the pier is a long one and you wont always find fish everywhere or sometimes you'll only find them at certain times.