Best products from r/SurfFishing

We found 25 comments on r/SurfFishing discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 26 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/SurfFishing:

u/bajunio · 10 pointsr/SurfFishing

Hello! I'm pretty much in your same shoes. Sorry if you've already got your gear in order, just tossing out my research in the hopes of helping you or others who may find themselves here. : ) The tone may drift into the general from time to time.

I've been surf fishing for only a month now, but have been successful enough in my trips to keep the dream alive as I continue to gain experience. My current gear is a simple 6' catfish rod running 15lbs braided line tying into a Carolina rigged fluoro leader running a size 6 hook. With this setup I'm able to get bites and pull small surf perch and similar sized species.

Having satisfied the exploratory phase of surf fishing, I can say that I love it. I've decided that I require (at minimum) 2 rod/reel combos to be happy on the beach. One for my long casts and another to fish the troughs just 10-15' off the beach.

While I'm completely unaware of your budget or where St Andrews Park (NW Florida?) is located, I'll share my findings with you... Hopefully they'll give you some insight into what you're looking for.

My location: Bay Area, California

Long Shots...

Rod:
http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Two-Piece-Bigwater-Spinning-11-Feet/dp/B00144CGAS?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I may consider the 12' option here as well...

Reel:
http://www.amazon.com/Okuma-Speed-Spinning-Orange-Trio-55S/dp/B004F1GTJ6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Main Line:
High (~20-30lbs) test braided, choose your poison. I really am enjoying braided line. The tactile response is unreal and I find it cuts through the seaweed quite nicely. I lost a few riggings until I learned some specific braid knots... do yourself a favor and learn a few rated for high strength with braided line. And as always, wet your knots before cinching!

Rigging:
A High/Low rigging containing 2 droppers connecting 1/0 baitkeeper hooks terminating into a 4-6 oz pyramid sinker. Something clear, ~20-30lbs test. Do not forget to include some shock absorbers or you'll be losing lures all day.

An alternative to this is plugging.

Targets:
For me fishing out of the Bay Area, CA; halibut, stripers, leopards, 7gills, etc.

Bait:
Tossing out live anchovies (hooked through both lips), clams, squid, chicken livers, etc.

Versatility:
I would use this setup for both beach and pier fishing. This would be great for pulling in the sharks and rays caught from the various oceanic and bay piers.

Short Casting...
I've not quite settled in on what I want here... my 6' catfish rod has great action to handle the 3/4 oz - 2 oz of weight I put on my Carolina rig, but I find fighting larger swells with a 6' rod to be annoying.

Also, I'm trying to find a good all around pole for both light surf and some bass fishing. I want more height for surf, less for prowling around a shoreline / boat. The plight of many fishermen, I'm sure. lol

Rod:
I'm likely going to end up with the 8' version of the Shakespeare Bigwater listed above. It supports 3/4 - 4 oz of casting weight which is the sweet spot for short casting the surf.

Reel:
Same story here... Likely to end up with a the 30s version of the Okuma reel listed above.

Main Line:
10-15lbs braided line.

Rigging:
Carolina running 3/4 - 2 oz of weight (pending surf conditions) on ~24" fluoro leader (10lbs test) terminating into a size 6 baitkeeper hook.

Small kastmasters or spinners can also work here.

Targets:
Surfperch mostly. There are a few species that you can hook up on, but they all eat the same bits so... : )

Bait:
I've tried a few options ranging from the ever present sand crabs to rubber worms. I find that in my area, the most hits are coming from Berkeley brand saltwater sand worms. There are similar sand worms that the fish are naturally feeding on. That combined with the smell enhancements to the worms makes for very tempting treats.

Versatility:
This smaller rig can be setup with a floating high/low rig for fishing the top 5-6' of water around the pilings when pier fishing.

u/_Skylake_ · 2 pointsr/SurfFishing

Here's a copy/paste of one of my comments. Take from it what you benefit from (it's a suggestion for pier fishing)



I'll try to be brief as possible. Also, I'm not sure your experience level, so I apologize if I go over things that are obvious to you.

Basically you need to be aiming for Spanish Mackerel. They are a fucking blast to fish for.

Your set-up will work fine. These fish only get up to around 8-12 pounds, 15 if you're (extremely) lucky. But, bank on your catches being 8-12 pounds (closer to 8).

What you need:

Leader. You'll need to tie 40 or 50 pound monofilament line to your main line. Spanish have razor sharp teeth and will bite off smaller line. I'll go over later how to tie leader to main line. You can just buy the cheap mono line. I keep both 40# and 50# with me. I'll use 40# first, and if I get bit off 2 times, I switch to 50#. But, no need to spend too much money, just grab a spool of 40 or 50 pound. Worth noting, Spanish have eyes of a hawk and can easily be spooked away from lure, that's why I try with 40# first. So, it's a gamble of getting hooked up/ getting bit off between 40 and 50#. I suggest 40#

Lure: Gotcha plugs. Seriously, That's the only lure you need. Spanish love them. You'll also catch other things such as blue runners and possibly king mackerels. Get them at the local walmart down there in Destin (as well as your other fishing needs) prices online are a little high, and walmart has the best prices (believe it or not). Like I said ealier, get about 5 per person, as you will get bit off. But different colors; sometimes spanish will wanna strike white body/ yellow head, where as the next they want gold body/orange head. They also come in metal body and plastic body. I suggest getting both. In the picture of the gotcha plug above i linked is a gold body/ orange head/ metal body, I highllly suggest that, that is my go-to gotcha plug.

You said you already had line, but I suggest getting 12-20lb braided line. Braided line casts far and has better response.

Pliers. Last thing you want is a Spanish biting your finger. Have some pliers so you can pull the hook out of its mouth.

a big cooler. You may want to rent a cooler cart at the pier. It's a hassle to carry a cooler to the end of the pier, and then back full of ice and fish. bring a long cooler with you

food drinks. don't waste 20 minutes of good fishing by having to walk to the front desk to buy a $4 coke and $3 snickers bar, have that shit with you.


Get to the pier before sun break. You want to be on the pier, in your fishing spot ~15 minutes before the sun comes up. As of today, 6:19 AM is sunrise for Destin, FL. So, you want to be walking on the pier to the spot at like 6:05am. Spanish run early in the morning to about 12pm and then head back to deeper water (they return a few hours before sundown, when the water cools off). Can't stress this enough, be there before sunrise.

Here is a video on how to tie your mono leader to your main line.

When you get to the pier, you'll see other guys out there fishing for Spanish, you'll know where to be. generally it's somewhere in the middle of the pier. Just keep an eye on the other guys and watch where they fish and how they do it. When you cast the gotcha, you'll retrieve it fast with somewhat of a jerk here and there.

So, to recap, hopefully put 12-20lb braid on your rig. Tie with uni-knot 40-50lb mono leader to you main line. Tie gotcha plug to leader (no swivels or anything, just line tied to line tied to lure). be in middle of pier before sunrise. Cast as far as you can, retrieve lure fast with some jerking.

Oh, and when you leave the pier, wash your poles off with the water hose at the entrance to the pier. Especially with your gear that is not designed for saltwater. Saltwater is very corrosive and will lock your reel up if not washed off your reel when done. But, don't wash the reel too much and clean the lubricant inside of it. Just a simple wash will do.


extra: while you're at walmart, get a lure called a sabiki rig. looks like this or this (get sabiki brand, not cheap stuff) Tie to your line, and add a weight to the end. Go near a pilling and drop it to the very bottom, then real up a few cranks and manually bring your pole up and down (tip of pole going up and down about 4 foot). It's always good fun to catch 4-5 fish at the same time. Most of the time it's fish you throw back, but fun none the less. If you were fishing for King mackerel you would do this to catch live bait. You'll see the Korean people on the pier doing this


Most importantly, have fun. If you take my advice, you're bound to have fun! I'll be in Panama city here in about a week and will be fishing non-stop. update me with some pictures of fish!

edit: Here is the gear I suggest for Saltwater fishing from pier (with capabilities of surf fishing)

Pole: Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2

Reel: Penn Battle II 4000

Line: Power Pro Braided Fishing Line 20lb/300yards I use moss green. Color choice is up to you. High vidiabilty colors (yellow for example) do help when fishing on a crowded pier. People can see where you are casted at. Helps reduce hook ups with other fisherman.

u/Rowls · 3 pointsr/SurfFishing

Welcome to the fellowship! Just as a note, this sub is pretty quiet lately, so if you don't get what you need here, head over to /r/Fishing and ask again. I throw plugs rather than bait, but let me recommend a couple of books: Fly Rodding Estuaries, by Ed Mitchell, and Fly Fishing the Striper Surf, by Frank Daignault. Yeah, they're fly books, but I think they do a better job of explaining shore fishing tactics than any other sources I've found. Also, StripersOnline is an excellent resource, and can help you connect with people down in your area. Have fun!

Edit: Also, check out this pdf.. You may not be as far from the fish as you think.

u/ricrodz · 3 pointsr/SurfFishing

I'm in Southern California but I recently purchased an Okuma Cedros Surf Rod and I love it. I got the 11' Medium Heavy rod. It has enough backbone to bring in 10-15 pound sharks and rays. It's also a fast action so you can feel small bites from perch. The 11 foot length really helps out with casting distance. It's also a 50/50 break so if you drive a compact car like me it fits in your car! It is also relatively light at 13 ounces.


I pair the rod with a Penn Fierce 5000 Series or a Penn Pursuit 6000.

u/Iwasborninafactory_ · 1 pointr/SurfFishing

No, I'm not from there, but it is literally the home of surf fishing. Almost any surf fishing book out there is going to say, "This is how we do it in Long Island, and it might work where you fish too."

Here's two books I enjoyed:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811732835

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZHTRK2

Any of John Skinner's videos. I would assume that his books are great as well, and I plan on buy one some day:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+skinner+surf

u/RogueV0 · 1 pointr/SurfFishing

I have one of these : https://www.amazon.com/Okuma-SST-S-863MH-Graphite-Steelhead-Spinning/dp/B009SESCT0/

There are various sizes to choose from but I've had good experiences with Okuma Celilo and SST rods. As someone has already mentioned, carrying it on the plane would be best.

u/mrpoopsalot · 2 pointsr/SurfFishing

This is a good book that i started with. I found it dealt a lot with trying to get the "big" catches, bluefish, red drum, and sharks. You will have a lot of variety to catch from the surf in your area. You could def pull in some nice flounder on your 7' rod. I agree that theres nothing better than talking to someone at a local bait shop. Try to go on a weekday when they arent too busy and they will help a ton. They usually have books that they can direct you to as well.

u/RandomPantsAppear · 4 pointsr/SurfFishing

This book ("The Sea Forager's Guide to the Northern California Coast") covers a bit about bait fish, different types of bait, etc...but aside from that it is hands down the best book I've found related to the california coast. This dude is like the Jack Kerouac of fish - it's very stream of consciousness and absolutely exceptional.

Kirk Lombard is really intense about the less popular fish on the coast - Herring, anchovies, Night smelt, monkey face eels, midshipman, etc.

He apparently holds the state record for monkey face eels - quite the acheivement haaha

u/brandonp95 · 1 pointr/SurfFishing

I was given the Penn Fierce II combo as a birthday gift for my first surf rod. I find it to be a really nice combo for the price! PENN Fierce II Combo https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011LVBZZ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_grwqzbD0DC3RG

u/smashmolia · 2 pointsr/SurfFishing

Grabbed this guy a before the start of the season.

https://imgur.com/1Qdn1ai

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Can't beat that spread!

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Has held up perfectly through the first season.

u/Nycpappi · 2 pointsr/SurfFishing

Croch Vertical Jigs Metal Spoon... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCBK411?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And also these are in my bag too

Dr.Fish Metal Jigs Casting Jigs... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QHVKP4H?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

The hooks on both of these products are very strong!

u/thesailingkid · 2 pointsr/SurfFishing

Epoxy jigs! Give them a shot, I’ve found pretty much anything swimming around out there will hit it, Striper, Blues, Spanish, Bonito, etc.

u/kingdktgrv · 1 pointr/SurfFishing

Here is what I purchased:
Eagle Claw Snap-On Floats Assortment 12pc
Water Gremlin Removable Split Shot Pro Pack
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AMGGBO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Fishing Lure Kit 234pc
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0785S5MMY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and the EAGLE CLAW ROD

I will definitely update when it all comes in and let you all know how it goes. Can't wait to use this stuff!

u/jorgelukas · 1 pointr/SurfFishing

Do you guys not use bells on the mainland? Pretty much every pole you'll see in the sand in Hawaii has a bell on the end and you'll get a ding for even smaller bites which at least tells you to pay attention to the tip. I've always got several in my tackle as sometimes they'll go flying off on a big strike. They're cheap, too. https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Claw-Fishing-Bell/dp/B01MTP54UA