In tough economic times, saltwater surf fishing is a very attractive option for the angler looking to have a great fishing experience and not dent their wallet. You don’t have to own a boat to surf fish, which means you don’t have to gas one up, and you don’t even have to pay admittance on a fishing pier. You just find a nice, fishy-looking stretch of beach and go to it.
The most expensive part of surf fishing is your rod and reel combo. You don’t want to skimp too much here, as a good surf rod and reel will last you a long time if you care for it. However, when it comes to terminal tackle and bait there are several options you can explore to make inexpensive surf fishing even cheaper-and still catch as many fish as the fella down the beach. Try some of these money-saving tips when you go surf fishing this season:
Tie your own rigs. You don’t need to buy fancy looking rigs for surf fishing. Although there are rigs for sale in the tackle shops and department stores that have all kinds of beads, bobbles, spinners and floats on them, they simply aren’t necessary and they aren’t more effective. Yes, these rigs will work, but most of the time a simple bottom rig with just a leader, a weight, and a hook is a better rig for surf fishing than anything you can buy. It certainly is cheaper to make simple leaders from components. All you need is a little leader material (or heavy line), appropriately sized swivels and hooks, and sinkers. If you are using live bait, a simple fishfinder rig is easy to make. If you’re using cut bait then just tying a one or two hook high-low bottom rig is just fine. Don’t worry about all those rigs that have floats on them to “keep the bait away from crabs” since that’s just a sales pitch– most crabs can swim up to your bait just fine, float or not.
Use a cast net. Cast nets are wonderful for catching free live bait. They aren’t expensive, since you can get a good one for about $35, and if you use live bait they pay for themselves very quickly. Cast nets are an easy way to “match the hatch”-to use bait that predator fish are currently feeding on. If it’s swimming around and you catch it in your net, chances are something is out there eating it. You can throw your net in the surf if there are pods of minnows, such as finger mullet, roaming around or you can stop before you get to the beach. Take care of your net and rinse it out after each trip and it can last you for years.
Freeze your own cut bait. Fresh bait is always better than frozen bait. However, if you fish throughout the year fresh bait isn’t always available, and in any case it can be expensive. Surf anglers can save so-called “trash” fish they catch– like pinfish or small perch– and cut these fish into strips that they can freeze and use for bait in the future. That way if you do have to resort to using frozen bait you’ll have your own available free.
Try synthetic baits. These days synthetic cut bait is available in plastic bags from tackle companies like Fishbites and Berkley. Although individual packs of these synthetic baits may seem relatively expensive compared to natural bait, they actually save you money. Synthetic baits in flavors like shrimp, squid, and bloodworm are virtually indestructible on the hook when compared to the same kinds of natural bait. The synthetic varieties resist nips from crabs and pesky bait-stealers and stay on the hook to catch fish after fish. If you are buying a lot of fresh shrimp or live bloodworms you might want to give the synthetic baits a try-if you find they’re working just as well it will save you a lot of money.
Cast lures. Saltwater lures for surf fishing are another investment that seem a little pricey at first, but pay for themselves over time because they can be used again and again. A wide variety of plugs and spoons work in saltwater for fish like striped bass, bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, and speckled or gray trout. Old-style hard bucktails still work fine for flounder and red drum. Use leaders of heavy monofilament or black wire to protect from cutoffs when after toothy fish, and lures will catch you fish after fish.
Find your own bait. This is the cheapest bait option of all. There are a number of saltwater surf fishing baits you can simply pick up. Sand fleas, also called mole crabs, bury themselves at the surf line and can be dug up by hand or rake (if you have children they love this job). They are great baits for whiting (kingfish, sea mullet), pompano, and flounder. Clams can be dug and busted open, and they make terrific bait for red and black drum. Finally, don’t turn your nose up at old-fashioned earthworms. If you can dig earthworms up you can use them as an effective bait for all manner of saltwater panfish including spot, croaker, pigfish, and sea mullet.
