How to Surf Fish – Basic Guide on How to Surf Fish (and Catch Something!)

Here's your most basic equipment for learning how to surf fish:

~Fishing license (Very important!)
~Medium to heavy action rod (I've found PENN or Zebco the best)
~A spinning saltwater reel with a 10 lb test line
~Lure or bait (ask locally what fish are biting)
~Fishing pliers
~*Stringer with an empty plastic jug
~Beach Chair to relax in and snacks (optional)

*This is protection from sharks if you choose to fish while standing in the water. Tie about 10 feet of cord to yourself then tie the other end to the jug where the stringer is.

The best time to surf fish is about 2 hours before high tide until about 1 to 2 hours after high tide.

Also, sunrise and sunset are good fishing times.

Click Here to See How To Catch More Surf Fish

One of the lessons of learning how to surf fish is finding a good spot. Rip tides, rock jetties, trough, bays and points all can provide excellent surf fishing conditions if you know how to use them.

Stand on the beach and notice the points where the water washes furtherest up on the beach and the areas in between. These are bays and points. Fish the edge of these areas. Waves always start breaking at the point of a triangle stirring up food particles for fish. The edge of one of these areas is where you'll have the best luck catching something while learning how to surf fish.

Both rip tides and rock jetties provide excellent fishing areas called eddies where the currents stir up bait particles for food. A rip current makes a trough perpendicular to the beach and the eddies are located to either side of this trough. A rock jetty has its fishing eddy on the leeward side of the point. To find this, watch as the waves come in. See which side of the point they hit. The opposite side is where your fishing eddy is located. Learn how to surf fish these areas and you won't go wrong.

Also, look for the trough. If you're standing on the beach looking toward the ocean, it's going to be about 20 to 30 feet in front of you running parallel to the coast. One of the best tips on how to surf fish is to find one of these. Fish love to hide in these troughs and wait for food. Low tide is the best place to find the trough. Look for where the waves are breaking off shore. Be sure and mentally mark your spot by noting stationary landmarks around you so you can find it later at high tide.

There's also an excellent system for learning how to read the surf by Randy Meyers called Surf Fishing - The Quick Start Guide To This Exciting Sport".

1. First, set your reel holder in the sand.
   
2. Bait your hook or lure
   
3. Begin wading out until you come to the top of the first sand bar.
   
4. Point your rod toward where you want to cast then lift it to about a 45 degree angle. This is your starting point.
   
5. Move the rod tip back over your shoulder until the rod is parallel to the ground.
   
6. Now spring it forward stopping at your original 45 degree angle while releasing the line with your finger about half way through the movement.
   
7. Walk back to the beach, place your rod in it's holder and wait for the bite!