New to Surf Fishing: Couple Questions

[bubba3085]

I'm new to surf fishing and am getting skunked every time I go out. Even after reading a lot of great information off of this website. I know that theres not one sure method to catching fish every time so I am just trying to get pointers on what I am doing wrong.

 

I have been fishing off Manalokin Beach. I read online about reading beaches and such; looking for the slough. I feel as though I haven't been able to read the beaches right as I have been going at high tide and the waves aren't breaking on the sandbar; more or less just crashing right onto the beach. How far do I need to be casting out? Any other pointers on picking a spot on the beach?

 

Also; after about a half dozen knot failures... what is a good knot for braided line to a mono shock leader? What would be a good knot to tie the swivel at the end of the shock leader to the rig?

 

I'd like to take my fiancé out fishing but at this point its not much fun; although the worst outcome is sitting on a nice beach with a warm sun on your back... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Bryan

[GorillaNJ]

Take your fiance, cast her out with a chunk of bunker on her line and she will outfish you all day. At least that always works for my wife.

[farley]

Take your fiance, cast her out with a chunk of bunker on her line and she will outfish you all day. At least that always works for my wife.

 

yeah or someone who has never fished before

[Kerry83]

Keep at it, and use fresh bait. (never frozen) for bunker, they eyes should not be glassy and gills should still be red. Clams should be in shell and tighten up when you touch their lips. They should have some wheight (still holding water) You can even purge them once you buy them, Drop them in some saltwater (use a mesh bag) for about 10 or 20 minutes

 

knots that i use most are the Uni knot, good for braid, and mono. ive never had a knot failure (6 turns) Also good for uni to braid, does have a tag so it is not good to go through guides.

 

dropper loop, great for high low rigs and teaser rigs.

 

Alberto knot for braid to mono to go through guides, Still haven't figured out how to keep the braid from getting all gunked up in the guides. from what i've read and experienced shock leaders are tough with a spinning setup

 

and a simple double overhand loop knot. I use this to attach the sinker to ends of some rigs.

[Wojtek]

Pardon my ignorance (I am a relative noob, too), but is a braid-to-shock leader knot necessary if you are using, for example, a 50-lb braid as your main line?

 

The role of the shock leader is for the the terminal tackle not to snap off during the tremendous torque that is applied during the cast, right? But a 50-lb main line should be able to handle the stress of the cast by most anglers.

 

What I am saying is it may be best for a noob to avoid the relatively difficult task to tie a braid to a 10-ft mono shock leader with a knot that goes smoothly through the guides and does not fail.

 

Just tie the end of your 40 or 50-lb braid mainline to a swivel, and tie a 3-ft mono leader to the same swivel. Easy to tie, will not fail, and there is no knot to go through the guides. I pulled pretty heavy cownose rays from the surf using that simple rig the last few weeks.

 

Is there a downside to the above setup compared to tying a braid-to-mono knot?

[bubba3085]

I have tied on a 50 lb. mono shock leader; about 15-20 feet using an alberto knot. I used the same knot to tie the braided main 30 lb. line to the mono backing. I was really impressed with this knot; its very low profile. I can imagine it catching up in the guided a bit; just the nature of the spinning. I can't imagine this being much a problem since I don't imagine needing to cast out over 300 feet.

 

I just put my new rod together last night; a Tsunami Trophy Series 10' MH 13-30 lb. 4-6 oz. with a Daiwa Emcast Sport spinning reel. I'm going out Monday night with it.

 

I will try some fresh bait; I have been using killies, squid, and gulp swimming mullets. Got some bites; more than likely just crabs. Any good shops in Norther Ocean County that sell good fresh bait? Live bunker perhaps?

 

Am I putting too much into reading the beach? I'd just like to feel confident there are fish out there.

[fishdoctor]

Try to fish your area dusk into night with a chunk of bunker on a fishfinder rig. Ditch the shock leader. Sinker slide-barrel swivel-heavy mono or fluoro leader to a 6/0 to 8/0 circle. Possibilities equals striper, blue, dogfish, skates, sharks.

 

First light, drag a fluke rig with gulp and maybe some bait, once you get the hang of that, try a bucktail/teaser combo with gulp/bait. Possibilities equals fluke, skates, small blues, sea robin, short stripers?

 

No fish, move, walk the beach, go to other beaches etc If you have a hard time reading the beach, notice where you catch fish and mark it in your mind.

 

Keep trying. Some spots are better than others so keep looking, keep trying.

 

This is also a doldrums time of fishing but should catch something using this advice.

[bubba3085]

Thanks for the info. I'll try this out Monday. Full moon... Maybe that will help.