My son is a sophomore at the College of Charleston. He is surrounded by water but has no boat or access to one. This relegates him to shore/pier fishing. He was out at one of the islands fishing from a pier and saw several guys surf fishing and having quite a bit of success. I’d like to buy him some surf fishing gear so he could expand his fishing opportunities. Never having fished this way, I am at a loss as to how to proceed. I’m hoping some of you folks can help me out with regards to picking out some gear. He doesn’t need/want expensive stuff, just something serviceable.
What would be a suitable sized spinning reel?/What lb line?
What would be a good size/type rod.
What is a good setup? Said he saw a guys using what appeared to be spider weights? Necessary?
Any help appreciated.
DFreedom I like a 4 rod set 2 8 ft ugly sticks med power up to 20 # line paired with a medium size penn or shimano for smaller fish blues ,whiting , small reds, blk drum etc. Then cut them up and put on a 9 to 10 ft ugly stick mh power up to 30# line capabilities so you can target Bull Reds and sharks with a 6500 penn spinfisher that will hold 400 plus yards of 30# braid, or a comparable shimano.The penns super sealed and that helps with the sand on the beach, the shimanos are smoother, your preference. Hope this helps. Its important for the bigger rods to be able to throw 6 oz of weight minimally currents dictate throwing 5-6 0z sometimes plus the hunk of fish. The st croix mojos are great surf rods but pricey and have great warranties that they honor.
2nd what runbabyrun said. You can’ t go wrong with an Ugly Stick, 7’-8’ M/H. Reels?..any reel that would handle nice Largemouth, Stripers, Catfish will work fine for the occasional surf trip, as long as you rinse them well after each trip and service them, oil bearings, grease gears etc. If your son gets hooked on surfishing, and is in the surf alot, then a well sealed reel will hold up season after season. Penn, Shimano, Quantum, Okuma, Fin-Nor all make very good salt water reels. A good all around size would be in the 50-60 range. Most will hold 300yrds. of 30# braid.
Rigging can be a personal preference kind of thing. For a new surf fisher I would recomend getting ready made rigs, easy to tie on, don’t cost alot and are readily available just about any where. I use drop rigs (weight after hook) exclusively in the surf, and most of the time near/inshore as well. A variaty of 2-6oz pyramid weights will work great. Most days in the low country surf you will need at least 3-4oz.
Hooks?..another long discussion on preference. I carry only 4 hooks. #4 and #2 jhooks, 3/0 and 6/0 non offset circles. Here again what ever you feel works best for you.
Good luck!