Article by Sue Foster
“I heard there’s some nice fish in the surf!”
When there’s keeper-sized stripers along with tasty kingfish, what do you do? Stripers take a large hook, while kingfish take a small hook! The best thing to do is use two rods!
A lot of anglers who fish the surf use two rods, even in the summertime. One larger rod (11 to 12-foot) is thrown out as far as the angler can cast with a big chunk of bait on a large 6/0 to 8/0 size hook. A smaller rod (8 or 9-foot) is cast in close, baited with bloodworms or Fishbite bloodworms tipped with a small triangle of cut bait, such as box squid or piece of sea clam. The size hook on the smaller rod should be between size #8 and #4.
“I saw a 15-foot surf rod in the tackle store!”
The longest rod available is not always the best choice. Some anglers buy the longest rod that they can buy, but it does not mean you can cast further. Some find a 15-foot rod awkward and can’t throw it as far as a 12-footer. It’s all a matter of what you can handle. If you can handle it, go for it! But in my experience, most good anglers stick to an 11 or 12-foot rod as their “long” rod.
“How far out do I need to throw my shorter rod?”
It’s amazing how “close in” the fish can be biting. A lot depends on the beach. You want to be fishing a beach with some kind of structure if you are fishing in close. Structure doesn’t necessarily mean physical structure. Physical structure would be like fishing next to a rock jetty or a pier. Non-physical structure would be fishing in a trough, quick drop-off or a cut in the beach. Look at the beach during low tide and find these things. Then go back and fish at high tide. If you are fishing during a low tide, and there is no quick drop-off, cut or trough, cast out just beyond the crest of a wave before it breaks.
VERY IMPORTANT! Be sure to use sand spikes and make sure they are securely dug into the sand.
This is especially important for your larger, longer rod that is casted out as far as you can throw it. Some anglers wade out as far as they can before they throw to gain distance! Be sure your drag is set so if a big shark, ray, drum or striper comes along, it does not drag your rod and reel into the ocean!
You will not believe how often I hear about the rod and reel that disappeared into the ocean. Hint: As the tide comes in, the rod holder may be surrounded by water. The sand gets softer as it gets wet. When this happens it’s best to move your sand spike to drier ground.
“Some rigs have surf floats while others do not. Which should I use?”
There are pros and cons to using surf floats on the longer rod for bigger fish. Notoriously, stripers and drum prefer a rig without a float, but without a surf float bringing your bait off the bottom, crabs will nip away at your bait. As the season progresses into summer, there are more and more crabs. If you are shark or blue fishing, I would use a surf float. For stripers, I would not use one unless the crabs are eating your bait. One thing is for sure, if there’s no bait on the hook, you are NOT going to catch fish. That’s one reason why anglers who don’t want to check the bait very often use the whole head of a fish for bait. When striper fishing, the most popular head bait is a bunker head.
“How do you hook a bunker head?”
Cut off the head of the bunker diagonally, leaving a little meat to tantalize the striper. Take a fairly large circle hook, in the 6/0 to 9/0 range, and hook it under the chin and out through the nose. This makes it aerodynamic when you cast. The nose is quite hard, so it stays on the hook. If you hook the head through the eyes, it sometimes turns crooked on the hook when you cast it and then doesn’t look natural. Use a single-hook rig when fishing with a whole head. Use either a fish finder type rig or use a 3-way swivel attached to a duel-lock swivel for your sinker. Don’t make the rig too long or it will be awkward to cast. There are a couple pre-made rigs out there by Lone Ranger, Aqua-Clear and Eagle Claw. Just watch out that some of these rigs are made for the Chesapeake Bay and the leaders are just way too long for most people to cast. If your mono leader on the rig is too long for you, just cut it off and re-tie it to the swivel. I do this all the time, as I don’t like a rig that is too long!
“Do I need a wire leader?”
Wire leaders are good for sharks and OK for blues, but not necessary for stripers. Most good anglers like to use monofilament or fluorocarbon leader when fishing for stripers and drum. Line that is 40 to 60 lb. test is average.
“I hear anglers are catching some drum?”
You just won’t believe how many anglers catch a drum on the short rod, fishing in close to the beach, on a kingfish rig! If you want to fish specifically for drum, try a high/low rig with two 4/0 circle hooks. Get some Fishbite Bloodworm or better yet, some Orange Crab or Clam Fishbites. Cut a three-inch long strip. Hook it once, then slide some clam, peeler or live sand fleas on the hook. Then take the end of the Fishbite strip and hook it again. The mesh in the fishbites holds on the delicate “real” bait plus it offers scent and color. Fish it in close in a rip, trough or crest of a breaking wave.
If that doesn’t work, go back to a regular kingfish rig baited up with bloodworms or Fishbite bloodworms tipped with some kind of cut bait, and try to catch kingfish, small trout, blowfish, croaker or spot.
Try two rods… one for big fish… and one for the smaller pan fish in the surf. And sometimes, WATCH OUT! The big fish will grab the smaller rod!!!!
Good luck and good fishing!
Sue Foster is an outdoor writer and co-owner of Oyster Bay Tackle in Ocean City, MD and Fenwick Tackle in Fenwick, DE.