Just about any 6-7 foot rod from the 8-12 lb test range can catch fish in the surf on a nice fairly calm day. Many times whiting and other species are feeding just off the shore in a trough that typically forms between the shorebreak and the first sandbar maybe 30 yards offshore and the required weight needed to hold the rig in place is a 1 ounce pyramid weight. I have fished like that for years and still do because I do catch fish. In fact, if you are going to throw 1/4 ounce pompano jigs tipped with shrimp into the nearshore trough just off the shorebreak for pompano and whiting, you can use the same 7 foot spinning outfit with 8 to 12 lb test described for use in the lagoon section of this website very effectively. It's also great for using a small silver spoon when the glass minnows are in close and schools of spanish mackerel or bluefish are hounding them. Great light tackle sport!

However, if you do enough surf fishing there will come that day when a school of 50 lb tarpon or other gamefish come busting through a school of mullet 40 yards beyond your maximum casting range, and the "real" surf fishermen with real surf rods will be having the time of their lives while you stand there holding your little stick. Or the pompano that day may be feeding beyond that first offshore sandbar and if you attempt to cast there, you land instead on top of the bar. Not where you really want to be. Again the fish will be out of your range. Then there are days when the surf is fairly rough and the side currents are sweeping through the inner trough and washing all but the heaviest rigs right up on the beach, but the fish are still there and the smaller rods just can't handle the weight required to keep your bait in the water for any length of time. A good quality surf rod is designed to handle the sometimes extreme environment of surf fishing (sand, salt spray, etc). It is also designed to cast the heavier weight lures and rigs designed for fishing the surf. In addition it will have a longer butt section to allow for the wider hand placement required for distance casting and a medium to fast action. A 9 to 10 foot rod rated for 12 to 20 lb test line and a lure weight of 1-4 ounces, matched with a good quality spinning reel such as a Penn Spinfisher model 650ssm loaded with 250 yards of 15 lb test is a good start and will handle most of the conditions you will find while fishing for everything from whiting, pompano, bluefish, to snook and redfish along with many other species that patrol the shorebreak and just beyond the first bar.

For a little more reach, go to a 11 to 12 foot rod rated for 15 to 40 lb test and lure weights of 3 to 8 ounces. Match this with a Penn Spinfisher 850ssm or 950ssm filled to capacity with 20 lb test and with practice and the right casting action, you can throw your rig quite far, which may make the difference if tarpon, snook, jacks, or other gamefish are busting into schools of mullet just outside of your casting distance with the 9 ft rod.

Note; Understand that the above reccomendations are based on my experience alone regarding Penn Reels. I have used them for years and for the most part they have served me quite well. There are some other fine quality reel makers out there. Many of the opinions I have heard about the Shimano and the Okuma line of reels sound very interesting. Also, if you decide to really get serious about surf fishing, you will find that different rods of the same length will have different actions or how they react to a force on the line. A medium action rod will bend evenly from about the halfway point all the way out to the tip under stress of casting and playing a fish while a faster action will concentrate the bend more at the tip, which may be better if using artificials. There is a great Florida surf fishing forum at Florida Surf Fishing.com where you can ask questions and learn from some of the best surf anglers in the state, and its free to join.

Surf fishing with bait requires a bit more rigging than fishing the lagoon or freshwater. This is due to the fact that you will almost never be surf fishing without wave action on the beach and you will soon find your rig being washed up on the shore before the fish you are seeking can find it. Even if it doesn't wash up it will be moving all over the place making it difficult to detect a strike. For this reason a pyramid sinker is all but mandatory. There are exceptions to this when the mullet are running along the beach and the larger gamefish in the area are in hot pursuit but that will be discussed later in this section.

First we will discuss the required terminal tackle for fishing for two of the three most popular surf caught species in this area, pompano and whiting, then later on this page we will cover bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and larger game species such as snook, tarpon, jacks, etc.

Hooks; I use two different hooks for surf fishing depending on the primary target(s).
If Pompano are the primary target, and they are running strong use a size 1/0 circle hook. Pompano typically are cruising along the beach faster than the other species caught with the bottom rig and take the baits at a faster rate in order to keep up with the school. These hooks help to reduce gut hooking and actually have a higher hookup ratio than a regular "J" style hook. The secret to using circle hooks is to not "set" the hook with a sharp pull during a strike like you would a "J" hook. Pressure on the line as the fish grabs the bait and tries to swim off will usually set the hook for you.
If Whiting is the primary target, or the surf fishing is more of a mixed bag with margate, croakers and other bottom feeders in the mix, use a standard #2 size "J" style hook. For these species I believe a circle hook offers no real advantages as these fish tend to be more "stationary" feeders, or feed at a slower pace. You will have to "set" the hook for these species with a sharp upward sweep of the rod tip as you feel them on the bait. Using this type of hook does not stop you from catching pompano, it just that when using a circle hook during a pompano run you will have a higher hookup ratio for pompano, but a lower one for the whiting and other species. Just below is a series of step by step instructions for making a standard pompano or whiting surf fishing rig and works well with both hook styles.

The Improved Clinch Knot (C above) is a real basic knot used to tie hooks, swivels, weights, etc. to the end of the line whether fishing in freshwater for bass and bluegill, or in the lagoon for reds and trout. I don't use it for artificial lures because it impedes the action of the lure too much. When surf fishing I use it to tie pyramid sinkers to form the bottom of a surf rig. As mentioned above, I find it easier to start here first, then work your way up.
Step 1. To tie it, just put the end of the line through the eye of the hook or lure about eight inches, then while holding the line on both sides of the hook with one hand, twist the hook or lure about eight times. Then put the end of the line through the little loop of line just above the hook and route it through the upper loop you just formed.

Step 2. Pull the line leading back to your pole to tighten.

The Dropper Loop
To make a drop loop, after attaching a pyramid sinker to the end of your line using the improved clinch knot above, Grab a the line about 1 foot above the sinker with your right hand and another section about 1 1/2 feet above your right hand with your left.

Step 1. Bring them together so that the line between your hands form a loop.

Step 2. Then using your index fingers to keep a small separation between the lines twist the lines around each other three or four times and put the loop you have formed between the separation at your index fingers.

Step 3. Using your third hand, (mouth, big toe, whatever) keep the loop from pulling back through the separation while using your real hands to pull outward, tightening the knot.

Step 4. The resulting loop should be about 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Grab the base of the loop (near the knot) between you thumb and index fingers and run them outward along the loop compressing it. Once you have found the true end of the dropper you are ready to make the end loop (below) to attach the hook. If you wish to make a two hook rig, repeat steps 1-4 about 12 inches above the first dropper.

The End Loop is used to keep the larger drop loop somewhat compressed while you fish.

Step 1. Bring the end of the drop loop around and over the rest of the drop and through the resulting loop. Don't tighten it but position the new loop so the knot will be about 2 inches from the end.

Step 2. Put the end through the loop again.

Step 3. Hold the dropper on either side of the knot and pull apart to tighten.

To attach the hook, compress the end loop, put it through the eye of the hook, then spread the loop and put entire hook through the loop, pull line to tighten. One advantage of this rig over most pre-made rigs from a tackle shop is that changing the hook for the species available is easy. Simply push the loop back through the eye of the hook, loop the line from over the hook and replace with the another hook.

To make a Sinker Break away option for a bank weight surf fishing rig you need four items. First of all you need a small spool of cheap fishing line that tests less than the line spooled on your fishing reel. For instance if you are fishing with 20 # line, get a small cheap spool of 12 # line. The other three items are a bank sinker (far left), a three way swivel (near left), and a hook.

Step One; Trim a 16 inch length of fishing line from your reel and tie to one eye of the three way swivel.
Step Two; Trim a 20 inch length of line from the lighter test spool of leader material, tie this to another eye of the swivel.
Step Three; Tie the third eye of the swivel to your fishing line from reel.
Step Four; Tie a bank weight to the other end of the lighter line from step two.
Step Five; Tie hook to the other end of the heavier line

Baits; Now that your surf rod is rigged, you are ready to bait the hooks and cast out. For pompano, whiting, croaker, margate, black drum, etc. fresh cut shrimp, fresh caught sandfleas, and fresh cut clams all work. Its easiest to just buy a package of frozen shrimp and they do work but fresh live shrimp is better if the fish are being finicky. Cut the shrimp into pieces about the size your index finger from the tip to the first knuckle and string a single piece on the hook.

Die hard pompano fans swear by sandfleas (mole crabs) fresh caught at the shoreline of the beach, after all, its why the pompano are there in the first place. Bait shops do sell frozen sand fleas but fresh is definitely better and they aren't hard to catch. Stand at the waters edge where the waves rush up the sand after they break on the beach. As the break water recedes back into the sea a colony of sand fleas will reveal themselves by leaving a patch of tiny V shaped ripples in the water with the point of the V in the direction the water is coming from. Check this out and upon closer inspection you will see what looks like little antenna protruding up from the sand. Get too close and they will disappear into the sand. The sandfleas are buried just under the sand with filter feeding apparatus extending up into the water catching microorganisms for food. Back off and let the next wave come in. As it washes out and the patch reappears, rush in, scoop up as much sand in your hands as you can and throw it up on the beach. If successful you will see these guys scurrying around and trying to dig back into the sand. Grab them (they can't hurt you, no pinchers) and place them in a bucket with some water and sand. Die hards use a device called a sand flea rake which is a rectangular wire mesh basket attached to a pole with a blade along one edge for digging into the sand. They pull this like a hoe, filling up the basket with sand which washes through the mesh, leaving the crabs. Another option is to use a plastic 5 gallon bucket with many 1/4 inch diameter holes drilled into the bottom and lower sides. With a shovel, scoop sand into the bucket and then lower the bottom of the bucket into the water to strain the sand. Once you have enough to fish with, insert the hook through the top of the shell near the back of the crab and thread the point forward into the body.

Artificial lures for bluefish and Spanish Mackerel

Rapala Saltwater Skitter Pop; Cast into a school of bluefish feeding on the surface and this plug and other similar plugs like the Mirrolure Popa Dog will almost certainly draw a strike. Cast and retrieve with a series of rod pumps to create a surface commotion that will draw predatory fish from a distance.

Snook love jumbo shrimp and this is one of the most realistic shrimp lures out there. While for the lagoon I typically recommend the 3 inch model, here in the surf I would go with either the 4 inch 1/2 half ounce model or the 6 inch one ounce model. Comes in a variety of colors, try the chartreuse or the Root beer color.