How to Surf Fi-sh and  S-ome of What Yo-u Will Need




Su-rf Fishing is fishing off the- bank or b-each. Standing -on the
shoreline or wading the surf. Surf f-ishi-ng refer to all kinds of shore-
fishing. - from sandy and rocky be-aches, ro-ck jetties or fishing
p-ie-rs. With a f-ew exceptions, surf f-ishing i-s us-ua-lly done in s-alt
water. Surf fishi-ng is usu--ally done- a-t n-ight to foll-ow the feeding
habits of many d-ifferent types of fish.

 Surfcasting refers more to f-ishing from the- b-each by ca-sting into-
the su-rf. Basic surf fishing can be do-ne wi-th a f-ishing rod abou-t
nine fe-et or longer, with a suitable spinning, bait cast, spi-n ca-st,
or fly reel. Termi-nal tackle is a-lso needed, along with bai-t -and
l-ures. Term-inal tackle is the h-o-oks, swivels, line-s and le-ad-ers
-at the- far on the line.

 Surf Fishe-rs sho-uld ha-ve- -an assortment o-f ta-ckle-, fi-shi-ng rods
and reels of var-ious lengths, l-ur-es -and bait. Depending -on
cond-iti-ons, the type o-f fish they are tryi-ng to- catch,
su-rfc-ast-ers choo-se ro-d and reel, bait, l-ur-es, termin-al tackl-e to
the siz-e and spe-c-i-es o-f fish the-re are trying to catch. Rod and
reels, t-ackle a-nd -other e-quipment sh-ou-ld be- able to resist the
corros-ion and abrasiveness of salt and sand. Surf fishers who- -use
lures, cast a-nd re-triev-e them to try t-o get the sp-eci--es they are
trying to c-atch to bite. The differ-ent lur-es f-or surf fishi-ng are
spoons, pl-ugs, soft plastics, a-nd jigs. Surf fi-shers usu-ally a-dd
items such a-s flashlights, headla-mps, l-ight sticks for night fishing.

 Oth-er types o-f e-qu-ipment used by surf fishers to- improve comfort,
convenience and effectiveness ar-e fish-ing wa-ders, u-se-d to wad-e out
into- th-e surf to gain distance- fr-om th-e sh-ore. Full length,
chest-h-igh waders are the m-ost p-op-ular, in -order to- provide- a
a-gainst the p-ounding s-urf, the extra re--ach pr-ov-ided by wading out
fr-om shore-, improved f-oo-ti-ng, protecti-on for fee-t a-nd legs from
sharp botto-m o-bjects a-nd sti-ng/biting fi-sh -and crusta-ceans -and
pro-tecti-on from the cold t-emperatures. S-urf fish-ers prefer bo-ot
footed to stocking f-ooted models, boot fo-oted waders elimi-nates the
sand and r-ocks from g-etting into the w-ading bo-ots. In ar-eas wh-ere
fish-ing from slippery rocks, or mossy -and sl-imy ro-ck jetties,
cl-eated b-oots with or wi-thout felt so-l-es are u-sed to impro-ve
footi-ng and enha-nce sa-fe-ty.

 Surfca-sti-ng i-s a casting techniq-ue wh-ich separates the surfcast-er
for o-rdinary fishi-ng. Spe-cialized, two-handed casting is u-sed to cast
th-e bait or lure the added dista-nce to rea-ch feeding inshore fish.
Th-e entir-e body rather than just the arms, are -use-d to delive-r the
cast. Beachcasti-ng is a popular form of fi-sh-ing all over the coast.
Be-achca-st-ers -use very long fi-shi-ng rods, usually between twelve and
sixt-een fe-et in length. Standi-ng on the be-ach or shore-li-ne b-each
ca-sters w-ill c-ast -out with e-ither a water fi-lle-d float, or a l-ead
w-eight weighing 120g to 200 g. B-ait used f-or this form -of fish-ing
m-ight be l-impets, mussels, lugworm, r-agwo-rm, sandeel, macker-el
strip, squid, pee-ler crab a-nd or raz-or f-ish. Artific-ial flie-s and
spinners may be- -use-d for mack-erel or b-ass.

 Wi-th any water sport care mu-st be ta-ke-n for saf-e participati-o-n.
Surf fi-shing is usu-ally done in rough water and at night. Powerful
waves a-nd strong underto-ws can cause seriou-s injury or dea-th if
prope-r sa-fe-ty i-s not follow-ed. Are--as to be fished sho-uld be
checke-d in lo-w tide conditi-ons. S-udden dr-op offs or da-nge-rous
condit-i-ons hidden at h-igh tide should be not-ed. Any fisher wea-ring
w-aders should be wearing a wader belt to keep waders fr-om fill-ing with
water in the ev-ent o-ne falls in the surf. A personal fl-otati-on device
sho-uld be consi-d-ere-d. Si-nce lur-es a-nd h-o-oks ha-ve- razor sharp
points, it i-s a goo-d -ide-a to have a qua-lity pair o-f cutt-ing
pli-ers c-apable of cu-tting the hooks you- ar-e fishing wi-th.

 Surf fishing can be- a enjo-y-abl-e and memo-rable e-xperi-enc-e for all.
Be sure to- follow all safety guidelines for the -ar-ea you will be
fishing. Check yo-ur eq-uipment and m-ak-e sure you got what you need.
Explore the area wher-e you -are going to- be f-ish-ing, not-e -any and
all possible dangers