Surf Casting in Low Tide

Using live or dead bait and a stout spinning rod usually exceeding 10 feet in length is usually what comes to mind when somebody thinks about surf fishing. It is widely believed that is normal. The use of a stout spinning rod spooled with hundreds of yards of test monofilament. One of the downsides of this type of raid is that it brings on a lot of fatigue from constant casting into rolling waves. The problem is this type tackle is typically best in order to get the bait properly placed when the surface high and rolling and crashing against the beach. There are however, a number of surf situations where this is just way too much and the only thing accomplished is that the angler winds up exhausted. Fortunately, technological advances in fishing now allow surf anglers to put together a much lighter combination of fishing rod and reel. These are now shorter, easier to cast and are far less unwieldy than the traditional surf stick.

There are many areas in the Northeast that provide great opportunities for surf fishing. In these areas, tidal currents tend to not be as aggressive and the waves are typically paying. In these cases, you are not likely to find especially large fish that instead a large number of smaller size striped bass and bluefish with an occasional bruiser. This environment, you can scale down to a graphite surf fishing rod in the 7 foot to 8 foot length and combine it with a spinning reel in the 4000 size range. The best thing is that these rods will provide you more than enough length for distance casting with a 1 ounce to 3 ounce lure.

Braided fishing line has also made distance casting much easier for new anglers. Spooling a4000 size reel with monofilament backing and adding 200 yards of 30 pound test braid line offers the ability to use this smaller diameter line versus the traditional monofilament. The other advantage is there is less friction on your rod guide, which helps increase your casting distance. Braided lines do not offer the same abrasion resistance that monofilament lines have, and all surf casters must be aware of this. Because these traditional fishing areas often have rocks and boulders fields, surf casters can run into significant issues when casting braided lines. This situation can be mitigated by attaching a long fluorocarbon leader to the braided line before placing a lure on the line. To some degree, this will help prevent breakage if a large fish heads directly for the rocks.

Another side benefit of this smaller tackle is the young anglers also get to enjoy the sport far more. They typically find these smaller rods far easier to handle than the traditional 10 to 12 foot surf rod. Add that to the additional sport and fun that results with smaller catches. When the occasional oversize fish hooks onto this gear, the angler will definitely be in a position to test their skills and will against a fish. There are few things are more sporting than this.

There is no doubt that large surf rigs will always have their place. This is especially true for the angler whose preference is the 5 or 6 ounce sinker who is on the hunt for the largest fish they can find. However, for those that are tired of carrying around heavy rigs along the beach when your main interest lies in catching fish in the 5 to 20 pound range, it is definitely the time to start thinking about scaling back, scaling down, and sporting.

When you are out saltwater fishing it is important to make sure you have the right supplies. Some of the most popular brands include Shimano Saltwater Reels, Penn Saltwater Reels, and Daiwa Saltwater Reels.