How To Pick Surf Fishing Rigs

The purpose of the fireball rig is to fish near the bottom of the surf. The fireball rig consists of two hooks attach to a main line. A foam ball is attached to the beginning of the hook which acts as flotation to keep the bait away from the bottom and preventing crabs from taking your bait. The rig uses a pyramid sinker to keep the line steady at the bottom while the two hooks can float freely. The weight of the sinker will be dictated by the conditions of the surf. It is best to use short leader for your hooks to minimize line breakage from predator fish.
Sand crabs, sea mullet, blood worms and shrimp are all ideal baits for the fireball rig. Pre-rigged hooks such as the snelled hooks are the hooks to use with the fireball rig and the size of the hooks will depend on the type of bait used. You can make this rig yourself but it can be time consuming. These rigs can be purchased at your tackle shop fully assembled.

The fish finder rig is a straight forward rig with one hook set up. It is easy to make, all you need is a few sinkers, hooks, swivels and fishing line. This rig is designed to bottom fish and is effective for striped bass, blue fish, Spanish mackerel and flounder. The unique feature of the fish finder rig is that it lets the surf fish strike the bait and swim away and not feeling any pressure on it. The sinker is connected to a sleeve with a swivel, the line is fed through the sleeve. The weight of the sinker will depends on how strong the surf conditions are. Use a pyramid weight for strong surf and egg sinker for normal condition.

The baits that are best suited for this rig are shrimp, sand fleas, blood worms and mullet. The ideal hook for this type of rig is the circle hook, the size will vary according to the types of fish you are going after. Use a 20 lb test line leader with length between 18" to 25" for this rig and attach a swivel to one end for the main line.

There are many types of rigs for you to use, but these two types of fishing rigs are more than adequate to let you start surf fishing and enjoy the great outdoors.