There have been a few surf fishing questions pop up recently. With summer on the way, and people heading to the beaches, I figured I'd tidy up the surf fishing primer I've posted on the OB a couple times and give it it's own thread.

There's no hard and fast rules with any kind of fishing, but this is what works for me. I'm not an expert and this should not be considered definitive. Other suggestions are very welcome.

I'm going to start with some generalizations about the different beaches in Texas.

Here's a great website of public beach access points in Texas. You can click any of the pins, and they'll give you facility information and often pictures of the sites as well. http://txcoasts.com/

Louisiana Border to Freeport High Island, Bolivar, Galveston, Surfside- beaches in general are slow sloping and pretty flat for a long ways out. The water is generally brown, but occasionally you get green/blue water in close. Some areas have nice sand, but often you'll find a mix of mud with the sand.

Freeport to Matagorda Bryan Beach, Sargent Beach, Matagorda - beaches slope a little faster here. Sandbars are steeper and closer together. Water quality very dependent on what the Brazos river is doing. More sand, but still some areas with mud mixed in.

Matagorda to Port Aransas Matagorda Peninsula, Matagorda Island, San Jose Island - The most remote beaches in Texas. Boat required (there is a ferry from Port Aransas to San Jose Island). I'm not much help here, sorry.

Port Aransas to Mexico Mustang Island, Padre Island, South Padre Island, Boca Chica Beach Beaches drop off quickly here. Much closer to deep water, and water is frequently blue/green. Lots of sand and not much mud.


I break surf fishing in to four general categories because the target species and tactics are different. I'll throw out what my preferred tackle is for people who don't have any ideas, but there are lots more options out there than I can reasonably cover.

1. Target Species: Trout, spanish mackerel, and redfish.

Tackle: Inshore (Bay) tackle. 6-7 ft rods and smaller reels you can cast frequently without getting worn out. 10 lb mono or 15-30 lb braid.
For those of you with freshwater gear, your bass gear will work for this, just make sure you clean it well after your trip.
My preferred rig (does double duty for bay fishing): Penn battle 2500, 15 lb powerpro, 7 ft medium light all star rods on sale for $20. This rig can put together for under a $100 with some smart shopping and is very versatile.

Terminal Tackle (leaders): Mono leader is fine because usually surf fish are less line shy than bay fish. If the water is very clear you may want to try flouro. If you are frequently getting bit off (likely Spanish mackerel) a short (6") piece of wire leader may do the trick.

Bait: Artificials - Mirrorlures, soft plastics (3/8 jig head), corkies, silver spoons, topwaters.
Bait Shrimp under a cork, croaker on the bottom.

Tactics: Wade on out and start casting your lures or bait. It's really that easy. The hard part is finding a spot to wade out that has a good concentration of fish.
A few common signs of concentrated fish are, working birds (diving into the water), bait jumping and fleeing, or smooth oily looking patches on the water called slicks. If you don't have any obvious sign, try various distances from shore until you find fish (sometimes they are very close to shore, and sometimes they are very far out).
This type of fishing is very popular on the upper coast in the Galveston/Surfside area where the sandbars are wide and flat. Ideal conditions are flat and blue/green water. Most people do this in the summer, but the trout are there year round, they're just a little more lethargic in the winter (try corky lures).
A good way to see if the water conditions are the preferred blue/green water is to check surf cams. You can find surf cams for most of the popular beaches in Texas by googling the beach name and surf cam.
Another good resource is swell info (https://www.swellinfo.com/). The site interface is geared towards surfers, but bad surfing water (calm/flat) is good trout fishing water.


2. Target Species: Whiting, black drum, sheepshead, and redfish (all are good eating bottom fish). If the hardhead catfish start to get thick while you're doing this type of fishing, just relocate.

Tackle: Inshore fishing tackle like the above will work, but I prefer a little bit stouter gear for the heavier weights. A 4000 size spinning reel with 12-15lb mono, or 20-30 lb braid and an 8-9 ft rod with a 3 or 4 ounce lure rating.
For the freshwater guys: you can use catfish gear here.
My favorite rig: 4000 penn battle, 9 ft medium penn prevail, 20 lb power pro. Costs around $150, but is easiest to cast long distances.

Terminal Tackle (leaders): I use a cheap pre-made double drop mono rigs, 1/0 kahle hooks, and 2-4 oz spider weights.

Bait: I like fishbites tipped with a half inch piece of peeled shrimp. Sometimes they hit just the fishbites alone as well as or better than the shrimp. I get whichever unfrozen shrimp from HEB seafood section is cheapest and keep it on ice. Frozen shrimp like you get at the baitstand will turn to mush in the surf and not stay on the hook.

Fish bites type: I prefer the shrimp and crab fishbites that come in the long strips. I cut them up into half inch long pieces and pierce them once with the hooks. I've tried longer strips and double threading them onto the hooks and it didn't seem to improve the number of bites I got.

Tactics: I usually put out 2 rods per person (use PVC pipe holders) and vary the distance from shore until we figure out how far out the fish are. When doing this type of fishing, if the whiting are thick you'll see your rod tip bouncing quickly (not the slow bend and straighten from the waves). If you aren't hooking up and they're stealing your shrimp, you may need to hold the pole. You want to reel up the slack until your spider weight hangs and you can put a little tension in the line. Hold the pole with the rod tip low and keep a finger on the tensioned line. When you feel a nibble, lift the rod tip quickly to set the hook.


3. Target Species: Small sharks, bull reds, and large black drum (big uglies).

Tackle: You can also try this with a heavy inshore or catfish rig, but you're lobbing some pretty large weight and bait and have a good shot at getting spooled. 6000-8000 sized reels, long stout rods, 20-30 lb rods or 30-50 lb braid.
I like a 6000 penn battle, or 6500 abu ambassadeu, 10 ft penn prevail rod, and 40 lb braid topped with 100 ft of 40 lb mono. The mono on top of the braid is so that you don't have your braid rubbing against the sand which will cause it to fail. The mono is much more resistant to sand abrasion.
The longer rods make it easier to cast the heavy weights and also help keep more of your line out of the water. More line in the water means more drag, which requires more weight to anchor it in place.

Terminal Tackle (leaders): There are lots of different configurations you can try, but I won't dive into heavy leaders too much. I've had good success with 100 lb mono leaders, tied with a 3 way swivel (24" to barrel swivel to mainline, 18" to 7/0 circle hook, 24" to weight), and 5-8oz spider weights. I keep a few longer leaders and wire leaders around incase sharks are thick.

Bait: For bait I use a 4"-8" chunk of either cut mullet, half crab (winter time bait), or cut whiting. The fresher the better, so anything small I catch on my lighter rigs (number 2 above) gets sent out as bait, as well as any large cast netted mullet. My preference for baits is the following order:

• Half crab or whole jumbo shrimp (expensive, I only use these in the winter when there are few trash fish)
• Head of a whiting (fist sized chunk) see #1 above hook through the mouth and out the top of the skull
• Head of a large mullet (fist sized chunk) cast net them hook through the mouth and out the top of the skull
• Cut mullet
• Whole mullet (3-5 inch)
• Cut whiting
• Cut up hardheads (getting desperate)

I don't know why, but I've had more luck on whiting heads than mullet heads, but once the heads are gone, I've had more luck on cut mullet than cut whiting.

Tactics: Chunk it into a trough and wait.



4. Target Species: Big sharks

Tackle: Offshore big game trolling reels, very stout rods, hundreds of yards of heavy braid (for capacity) with a heavy mono topshot (for abrasion).

An affordable starter rig is a Penn 4/0 wide with the high speed retrieve (red one). Spool with 50 lb braid and about 100 yards 50-60 lb mono topshot. Use whatever long stout rod you can find.

Terminal Tackle (leaders): 10 ft plus heavy mono (400 lb) or wire leaders. Large circle hooks. 10/0 +. Heavy weights and sometimes floats.

Bait: Jacks, rays, bonita, huge mullet, non game fish caught above.

Tactics: Deploy large baits (often with a kayak, jet-ski, or inflatable boat) way off the beach and wait. Roof racks or sharking trailers are common to help get the rods up high so you don't have a bunch of line rubbing on the sandbars. Land based shark fishing (LBSF) like this is very often a team sport, and can get expensive quickly. Not many people start off surf fishing like this. I'd start with 2 or 3 above and work your way up to this if catching huge sharks is your goal.


Beach Features:
A quick primer on beach features that impact fishing. Sand bars cause waves to break (get higher and pointier until they crash down). The breaking waves curl back on themselves and help add more sand to the sand bars. In between the sand bars you have troughs or guts that are deeper. These deep areas are like highways for the fish. You want to fish in the troughs usually, but occasionally on calm days fish will cruise the sand bars.

Wade out and get an idea where the troughs and bars are. Go back to shore and then watch the waves break. With a little practice you can read sandbars by watching the waves.

When you look down a beach it is not perfectly straight. Sometimes they curve in towards land (a cove) or just away from land (a point). Have you ever notices that if you get in the water at a beach you will often float down the beach and away from where you walked in? That current is called longshore current. Points and coves are good breaks in this current they make good fishing spots.

For both 2 and 3, you want to get your baits in the deepest part of the guts, because that's where the fish cruise to avoid getting thrashed around by the waves. Vary your bait placement until you start catching fish. Water clarity and wave action aren't really a big deal, fish will eat in nasty brown water with 5 ft waves, but it's a pain to get bait out and set.

Fish will be concentrated in certain areas. You want to look for any kind of structure because structure attracts bait which attracts bigger fish. Shell and mud are good structure. If all you have is sandy beach, you want to look for either a cove or point in the sand. Those changes in beachline will create a lull and acceleration in the current. Big fish are lazy and like to sit in the slow current and have the accelerated current push the bait to them. Another good current variation is a wash, where the water is getting pulled away from the beach. You can identify a really strong outgoing current in an area by a foamy wash that the outgoing water creates. You want to fish the sides of the wash. If you look at a breaking wave as a line and notice gaps in that line, those are deeper holes that can hold fish.


Seasons / tides / other tips

Solunar charts don't prevent me from going (I go when I can), but I have had some great days when they say it will be great. I've also had bad days on the forecasted "good days." I actually think tides are much more important for the surf. Like I said, Igo when I can go, but if I had my choice of tides to fish, I'd start fishing right before high tide and fish the falling tide until it reaches the low. Usually the best bites are right after the high and then during the bottom of the low.

Fall and winter are great times to visit the beaches, crowds are gone, many places are cheaper, and the fishing can be great. You're going to want some waders if you give the "off-season" a try. Magellan (Academy) mag 2 breathables are good for the budget, you'll want to try some on in the store and then find some wading shoes that fit over the booties.

Redfish spawn in the fall, so the bull reds (big spawners) move close to shore from the gulf (late October is prime time) and can be quite thick which makes for exciting fishing.
Large black drum are more concentrated in the surf in late winter and early spring.

Sargassum: Sometimes sargassum (seaweed) becomes a problem in the surf. You can get an idea of what the sargassum levels are forecasted to be by visiting TAMUGs sargassum site seas-forecast.com/. If the weed is moderate, you can try and change the angle you have your lines set out at so they pick up less grass. Getting your rod up high and limiting the amount of line in the water helps also. Sometimes the sargassum is so thick that conditions are unfishable. Jetties, the ICW, or bays make a decent backup plan when the surf is weeded out.

Casting heavy weight and bait: A regular cast where you swing your rod backwards to load it and then swing it forward to cast can break a rod when you have an 8oz weight and a big chunk of bait. You want to learn some variation of a pendulum cast (search it on youtube).

I start with my rod pointed away from the water and up at about a 30 degree angle. Then I dip the tip of the rod and bring the reel towards me. This gets the weight swinging towards me. Once the weight is as close as it will get to me, I push the reel away from me while moving through my cast. The weight should travel in a trajectory similar to a trebuchet.

If you plan to use conventional gear and not spinning gear, I recommend practicing this cast with just mono on before you spool up a bunch of expensive braid. Mono is easier to get birdsnests out of and cheaper to cut out. If you are using spinning gear and really swinging from the fences, you may want to wear a glove or bandaid to protect your index finger.

Learn at least one good knot (I prefer uni-knot) well enough you can tie it quickly without thinking. Practice at your desk, in front of the TV, or wherever until you can tie it by feel / muscle memory.


Safety:

Wear a PFD when currents are strong (undertow), waves are rough, or anytime you're around a pass that moves a lot of water. The ocean is stronger than you are, and hydrodynamic forces are no joke.

Fish with someone else if you can. Between hooking yourself, getting poked by catfish, stung by stingrays, or wrestling with sharks, a lot can go wrong in the surf.

Take a good pair of needlenose pliers (getting hooks out of fish), and a good pair of side cutters (getting hooks out of you).

Sunscreen, shade, first aid kit, lots of fresh water are all good ideas.


Driving:

If you are driving down the beach, 4wd is preferred. A few beaches are 2wd friendly, but most of them can get soft. Momentum is the name of the game in the sand. Air down your tires, carry a shovel, tow rope, bucket (to wet soft sand you're stuck in), and some 5ft 2x10 boards (to drive out of a hole on). Don't park your vehicle in the "road" down the beach, you'll make other people have to kill their momentum to get around you and might cause other people to get stuck. If there is a large part of "wet beach" on low tide, set up your rods down by the water but don't park in the packed sand that everyone want to drive on.

Here's some recommendations on gear. I'll try to keep it mostly to Academy or Amazon since most people should have access to them, but if you have a local tackle store they may have better selection or higher quality components (especially FTU Houston and Roy's Corpus). Bass Pro usually carries a better leader making and surf rod selection than Academy.

Most of these recommendations are for mid-quality gear that will hold up for years with a little bit of care. There are lots of choices out there, I'm just making some recommendations based on brands I've had good luck with. My aim is to put together outfits that can make the required casts and handle the size fish you're trying to catch without breaking the bank. Try to steer away from $40 plastic reels with pot metal gears, and cheapo rods that will shatter while lobbing weight and bait. Also, don't feel like you need $300 reels and custom rods to fish the surf, because often the nicer gear has tighter tolerances which don't play nice with sand.

I'll try to recommend both spinning and casting gear. I don't have any real preference for one over the other. Novices seem to fare better casting weight and bait on a spinner, so if you fish with rookies a bunch keep that in mind. Most rods come in casting or spinning versions. The rods for the spinning reels will have large diameter eyes at the bottom and small eyes at the top. The casting rods will have small eyes across the entire rod. Large casting rods are less of a pain to transport because they don't have the big eyes like the spinners do.



Surf fishing will test your cast and casting is very dependent on the rod. If you're on a tight budget, cut your budget on the reel before you do the rod. I highly recommend the penn prevail rods. Priced around $100 (you can find them for $60-70 on sale) they cast in the same league as many of the rods that are priced around the $200 mark.



For spider weights, stainless legs are the way to go. FTU and Bass Pro usually carry them and academy does occasionally. Your best bet is to pour your own if you're going to surf fish a bunch, the required gear will pay for itself just like reloading. DO-IT makes nice surf weight molds for around $40.

I like to sit down and make leaders for the year during the winter. I'll buy swivels, snaps, and hooks in 25 packs and tie up a bunch so they're ready when I need them. I store them in ziplocs in an accordion file folder that I keep in a backpack that also holds other things like a bait knife, pliers, side cutters (cut hooks), cutting board, extra spools of line, etc.

Transporting the longer rods can be a pain even though most are two piece. I used to transport them in the cab, but now I've started wrapping all my rods up in a towel and shoving them in a 6' long 6" pvc pipe in the bed of my truck. That keeps them from getting beat up and damaged while bouncing down the beach. Some people transport rods vertically on a rack on their vehicle. Unless you are only driving a short distance to the beach, I'd advise against it. Road debris could damage your rods and ruin your trip.



1 Wading for sport fish

This wading gear will probably get dunked and beat on quite a bit. I prefer to go cheaper and treat them as semi-disposable. If you have quality bay or bass fishing gear, use it here just make sure you give it a through clean and lube after a trip to the beach.

Rod - 7' medium heavy All Star or H20 Xpress at Academy ($20-30 on sale)

Spinning reel penn battle 2500

Casting reel Academy H20 Xpress

Line 20 lb braid

Tackle Artificials (see recommendations below)

Tackle Carolina rig for croaker or popping cork for shrimp

2 Bottom fishing for bait and "eating" fish

Spinning

Rod - 8' or 9' Penn prevail

https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Prevail-Spinning-Fishing-Medium/dp/B00BD5DPNK/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513613623&sr=1-3&keywords=penn%2Bprevail%2Bsurf%2Bspinning%2Brods&th=1&psc=1

Reel - Penn Battle 4000

https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Battle-6000-Spinning-Fishing/dp/B00LDYJ7CO/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513613584&sr=1-1&keywords=penn%2Bbattle%2B6000&th=1

Casting

Rod - 9' okuma longitude or an extra heavy 8-9 ft steelhead casting rod (budget sub 10 ft casting rods are hard to find).

https://www.amazon.com/Okuma-Longitude-Graphite-Large-Silver/dp/B003TE9CUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513614228&sr=1-1&keywords=okuma%2Blongitude%2Bsurf%2Bgraphite%2Brods&th=1

Reel - abu 4600 or 5500

https://www.amazon.com/Abu-Garcia-Ambassadeur-Round-Reel/dp/B00FPR2L5A/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513614303&sr=1-3&keywords=abu+4600

Line 20-30 lb braid. Maybe 25 yds 20 lb mono topshot but you could leave it off and just pack on more braid.

Tackle - double drop mono rigs

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/eagle-claw-double-drop-monofilament-leaders-10-pack#repChildCatid=782404

Kahle hook

https://www.amazon.com/Eagle-Claw-142FH-1-Croaker-Fishing/dp/B008MG8BAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513609484&sr=8-1&keywords=1%2F0+kahle+hook

Circle hook

https://www.amazon.com/Gamakatsu-Circle-Offset-Octopus-Hook-Pack/dp/B007TFWO5S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1513609493&sr=8-4&keywords=1%2Bcircle%2Bhook&th=1&psc=1

Fishbites! I don't go to the surf without a package or two.

https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Bites-Lasting-Saltwater-Baits/dp/B004RDOXHW/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513606738&sr=1-3&keywords=fishbites



3 Bottom fishing for fish that will pull harder

Rod - 10' or 11' Penn prevail. The 10 fters feel a touch under-gunned with an 8 oz weight so get the 10 ft if you limit your fishing to calm days or days with no weed (5 oz weight days), but get the 11 ft if you're willing to fish the rougher days.

https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Prevail-Spinning-Fishing-Medium/dp/B00BD57TW8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1513613460&sr=8-3&keywords=penn%2Bprevail%2Bsurf%2Bspinning%2Brods&th=1&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Penn-PRESF1220C10-PENN-Prevail-Casting/dp/B00BD57UDQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1513613460&sr=8-4&keywords=penn%2Bprevail%2Bsurf%2Bspinning%2Brods&th=1&psc=1

Spinning Reel - Penn Battle 6000

https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Battle-6000-Spinning-Fishing/dp/B00LDYJ8XM/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513613584&sr=1-1&keywords=penn+battle+6000

Casting Reel you can use an abu 6500 here, but if you want to spend a little more, get something with a bit more drag, line capacity, and a louder clicker. I've been pretty happy with both the daiwa saltist and penn fathom. When it comes time to bring 8 ounces in from beyond the second bar your arm will thank you for a lock down drag and gear ratio that is 6:1 or higher.

https://www.tackledirect.com/daiwa-sttbg35th-saltist-black-gold-supper-high-speed-conventional-reels.html

Line 40-50 lb braid and 30-40 yards 30-40 lb mono topshot

Leader components

Barrel swivel

https://www.amazon.com/SPSB-04-50-Power-Swivel-130-Pound-50-Pack/dp/B000K6I33K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513606805&sr=8-1&keywords=spro+swivel

3 way swivel - I like these much more than the 3ways with the ring in the middle

https://www.amazon.com/Riptail-Crane-Swivels-Size-20lb/dp/B073BSXPSQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1513606825&sr=8-8&keywords=3%2Bway%2Bswivel&th=1&psc=1

Snap swivel - coastlock or dolphin barrel are the way to go

https://www.amazon.com/American-Fishing-Wire-100-Percent-Stainless/dp/B004VZKXI4/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513606994&sr=1-5&keywords=snap%2Bswivel&th=1&psc=1

Leader line

https://www.amazon.com/Sufix-Superior-110-Yards-Fishing-100-Pound/dp/B000ALJESS/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513606930&sr=1-5&keywords=100%2Blb%2Bmono&th=1&psc=1

Circle hooks

https://www.amazon.com/Gamakatsu-Circle-Offset-Octopus-Hook-Pack/dp/B0010F5H3Y/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1513607042&sr=1-3&keywords=6%2F0%2Bcircle%2Bhooks&th=1&psc=1



4 - Sharking

I recommend finding someone who's into land based sharking and already has all the gear set up and learn from them. Offer to paddle out their baits, be willing to crank in the baits when it's time to check and rebait, and keep a freezer full of jacks and rays so you're at the top of someone's invite list for sharking trips.

Budget setup - Penn senator 6/0 wide on a heavy standup rod that has a gimbal butt. Going to need a gimbal belt, and a harness will make things easier. Find a used kayak, or an ocean kayak prowler when they go on sale at academy for under $400 to run out baits. Jerry rig a rack on your vehicle to get your rods up high. Get a tent cot or hammock to sleep on the beach while you wait for the clicker to sing. You could get started for under a grand Reeling in a 10 ft shark next to a family playing at the beach priceless!

$$$ - Avet EXW 80/3 (3 speed lever drag) on a custom 8-10 ft 130 lb class standup rod. Custom trailer for the weekend long trips on PINS, and a soft bottom dingy to drop your baits 500 yards out.

Line 500 750 yards of 100 lb braid and hundreds of yards of 100 lb mono

Tackle 400 lb mono and wire. 10/0 + hooks. Buy yourself some quality crimpers to be able to make solid leaders.



Hopefully this gives more detail for someone looking to put together a surf fishing outfit or two. If some of it doesn't match up with the first post I made, it's because I like to try different gear and experiment to see what works best for me. I have the same rod in 10, 11, and 12 ft lengths and I'll put different reels with different line sizes on them until I figure out a combo that feels right. Surf fishing success can really hinge on casting distance at times so don't be afraid to play with variables like line size, weight size, leader length, etc. to get extra distance out of your casts.

This is a lot of good information

Awesome post! Thank you very much!

Good info! If you want to target sand trout, whiting, croaker, and/or drum from piers, jetties, or rock groins, then the double drop premade mono rigs are the ticket. But the secret to minimizing the hard heads is to put an extra ~12" mono leader on the bottom before attaching the weight to that. If you keep the line under slight tension against the weight, it holds the bait higher off the bottom, and you will catch a much higher ratio of trout/whiting/drum to hard heads. My dad and I fished many nights from the Gulf coast fishing pier in Galveston using that rig when I was a kid, and it was amazing how many people would come and ask for advice on how we were catching so many sand trout while all they could get to bite were hard heads...then would ignore the advice because they didn't think such a small thing could make such a difference. Also, fresh dead (Not frozen) shrimp works WAY better for sand trout and whiting than squid. You will have to rebait much more frequently, but you will also catch more of the fish you are after.

I've spent many a summer day surf fishing for trout so I'll add a little info on that.

Strategy
For trout fishing the surf, your best indicator of fish in an area will be diving brown pelicans or even pelicans resting on the water. Gulls are also a good indicator but not as surefire as pelicans. I generally drive along the beach until I see this, then hop in for a wade. If there isn't much bird activity areas near jetties and areas near the breaks in the sandbars are the most productive. Just be careful near the areas of sandbar breaks bc that's the areas of undertow.

Generally, your bigger trout will run the first gut and the first gut will be the most productive right at first light and when the tide is around a high tide. I will usually start out wading to the first sandbar where I can cast to the first and second guts. As the day heats up and/or the tide starts to move out, the fishing will be better in the second, third and so on guts. You'll have to wade/ swim in some cases to the next sandbars as you move out. Just be sure not to dunk your rod and don't be sceered of charks.

Lurz:
My favorite thing to throw in the surf is a topwater. Over the years I've found color to be pretty irrelevant, as long as it's got some chrome/ silver on it. If the surf is calm and flat, my go to is a super spook Jr. The more rough it gets the bigger and/or louder towpater plugs I'll use like a super spook or she dog. A good all around performer and my personal favorite is a skitterwalk with a blue back and chrome belly. But I've had topwater plugs that had all the paint knocked off of em and still caught fish. Presentation is probably more important and in the surf they generally like a walk the dog a few twitches then let the plug sit for as long as you can stand. It'll rock back and forth in the waves and click and clack. I've watched trout surf a wave mouth open to inhale a plug. Like most cases, the early morning is the most productive but if there's surface activity, they'll hit a topwater plug.

If I'm not getting much action on top but I'm seeing shrimp activity, I'll switch to a pink or shrimp colored soft plastic on an 1/8th oz jighead. I personally like Brown Lures devil eyes in rootbeer or pink but you can use whatever soft plastic you have confidence in. The key here is to make it look like a shrimp so crawl it slowly on the bottom and every now and then give it a hop. This technique is usually killer but if you're not getting bit try different more aggressive retrieves bc sometimes that's what they're wanting. Other good surf lures are the suspending twich baits that Mirrolure makes and corkies, but I prefer not to jack up my corkies on surf fish. Again they're usually not too picky on colors as long as it's got some flash.

If you're into bait, shrimp under a popping cork or rockport rattler is pretty killer. Same with croaker with a rockport rattler.

Gear:
I normally rock 6'9" medium fast rod that has the backbone for topwaters but light enough to throw jigs. For me that's either my FTU green rod or Waterloo Salinity. I use baitcast reels but egg beaters work too. I generally use 30lb braid for my running line and about a 7' leader of 15-20lb mono or fluorocarbon connected with an Alberto knot. Note: don't use a fluoro leader if using topwater plugs. Fluoro sinks and will jack up the action of your topwater.

Stringer- Most people will suggest using some uber long 20' stringer or donut because of sharks. I use a 12' stinky pants stringer bc it's what I gots and sharks will usually just take a bite out of your fish(s) then high tail it out of there. It'll just feel like someone yanked on your stringer and it's usually over. At that point, I'll slip my half eaten fish off my stringer real quick then go back to the beach to change my shorts and have a beer.

Wading belt - yes. You'll need something to hold your shark lasso. I wouldn't recommend storing a box of lures in the belt though. The wave action usually finds a way to open the pouch up and you'll be sacrificing your fancy tackle to Posieden. I'm not the type to bring my whole tackle collection with me wading so I usually just stick a few topwaters in my stringer float and a bag of jig heads and lures in my shirt pocket. Sometimes I'll just stick them in my back pocket and snap it down bc sometimes I bro out and don't wear a shirt in the surf. Those jigheads and plastics are gonna get wet anyways so whatevez.

Footwear- Wading boots are probably best, but you're mostly on sand (except for Seargent) so bust out some old nikes, water socks or an old pair of Chuck T's if you're the type that likes to wade in jorts.

Here's a few additional things to add to Salts original post.

- Bring a cooler and beer
- Bring tunes. The fish don't care so party on. Actually the sharks seem to bite best whilst listening to Tejano so there's that.
-Bring some twine to catch blue crabs with either cast netted mullet or chicken necks bc blue crab is delicious and it's something to do to pass the time while you're waiting for a seamonster to take your chunk of cownose ray. Either hand line them or setup a clothesline on the first sandbar with a bunch of baited lines hanging down. Every 2 beers or so go out and pull up the lines and dip net any crabs hanging on. This will also keep kids entertained for hours.

Everyone is right but a very old, salty guide once gave me the best advice that I've used every time I fished.

He always moved after a few minutes with no bites. Sometimes only 50 feet, 50 yards or maybe a 100 yards. He knew the fish were there he was just not on them

I asked him once ( he was really gruff) why do you move so much? He replied, " you want to sit here like a tourist and fish or do you want to catch fish?"

Of course I said I wanted to catch fish and he said, "then pull your line in and let's fish where the fish are". Lol. That's the best fishing advice I've ever had. It works. I'm not the best fisherman by far, but I do pretty well.

If you're not catching, move. Simple. Unless you're drinking beer and relaxing, then stay. He fished like his supper depended on catching.