New to surf fishing - need advice

[Zack90]

Hi,

I've been surf fishing with my father recently in the broward county area, we normally go to Dania beach just a short walk north from the pier. So far we haven't had much luck. I have a couple rods with chicken rigs and we normally use frozen squid and shrimp. As far as what we're looking to catch, anything we can eat! Our biggest catch so far has been a small 14 oz grunt, and it tasted pretty good.
It would be great if anyone could suggest some new areas or different strategies to catch us some food because I'd love to show my dad a good time fishing since he's always wanted to catch something in the surf and I enjoy cooking up the fish! Thanks, loving the forum so far!

[DragonFire]

Surf fishing IMO isn't that hard (but that's me)....Google How to read a Beach/shoreline/ trust me its a lot easier that way then me trying to explain it...
I also tend to do better on a raising tide when surf fishing (but that me).... are you making your own chicken rigs?? or buying those pre made wire crap??
Drop the squid, I never care for using squid inshore...and try to use live shrimp or fresh dead shrimp... that frozen crap SUCKS and don't even try to reuse it
the next day... that's even worst...Oh also learn how to make your own rigs out of mono line....its cheaper and works a lot better then wire crap...

Try downsizing your rigs (smaller hooks and small cut piece of shrimp) on one rod and see what happens...Are you putting your rod in a sand spike?? IMO
its better to hold your rod and learn to feel the bite..... now don't get me wrong I use sand spike, but only when I'm soaking large live bait, and I also have a
baitrunner reel...

Another thing> what size rods/reels are you using?? and how far out into the water are you going before casting??.... Here's a another tip> look around for anybody else
surf fishing in your area> and watch what they are doing and using... heck walk up to them and let them know that you are a beginner and would love any tips offer...

Most fishermen LOVE to talk and give out tips (as long as YOU don't crowd them and are respectable towards them) You might also want to go to that pier and see
what people are catching and what they are using.... heck you might enjoy pier fishing better then beach fishing.... I know I do Good luck and maybe one of the
local guys here will shine in and give you more infor...

[Zack90]

Thank you for all the info! Right now we do use sand spikes right on the shore with circle hooks on the premade mono rigs from walmart. We don't normally wade out and try for high tide. When casting I try to hit the trough before the sand bar, at least I know that much as far as reading the beach goes Not a big fan of the pier, or dania in general, but its the only place I really know near us in Pembroke Pines.
Do bait shops sell fresh shrimp or would it be better to go to a grocery store or something? I will try live shrimp though.

[jaime.001]

I don't know much about surf fishing but I do fish the beaches down in Miami once in a while. That being said, I think the best thing you could do in regards to bait is get yourself a cast net. I've got one and I love it. I must've caught 30+ finger mullet and 100+ spanish sardines right off the shore in less than an hour last week. Take it into consideration...you'll never have to buy bait again. Good luck.

[K R lip]

Dania is good for snook off the beach. Try in the am around sunup if u can also on Dania Beach blv there is a b&t. They have live bait. If u got rods in sandspiks then bring something to cast and retrieve with u also reading the surf helps look for breaks in the sandbar

[rski754]

Definitely get the fresh shrimp from the grocery store. Any kind of raw shrimp from the seafood department will work, but I like to get the big ones. It is worth the few extra bucks per pound. These will stay on the hook for MUCH longer and the fish like them better than frozen. You'll get 1 decent piece of shrimp out of 2-3 frozen shrimp if you are lucky....and even then it won't last long.......the larger fresh shrimp will provide 2 or 3 good pieces per shrimp. I agree with the previous poster about squid for the most part, but the nice thing about it is that you can put one pole out with squid and not worry about it coming off the hook until you get a real bite.

Definitely try live shrimp. It's cheap. Doesn't stay on the hook great, but the fish love it. If you want to try live baitfish, learn how to catch them or find someone who is catching bundles of them on the beach with a cast net. Almost anyone will give you some, as they catch more in one throw than they'll use (assuming there is a lot of bait there). Buying them at a shop is very expensive. Between $3 and $7 per fish, depending on what it is.

Try cut bait too. Frozen mullet or fresh anything. Some of the best cut bait I have used is grunt (or similar) that I've caught right there. Scale the fish really good and cut off any sharp fins, then cut it into pieces. If it's a good day, mostly any bait will work.......but the best options are almost always whatever is actually in the water there (cut grunt or live mullet that was caught then and there generally works better than store bought frozen bait fish or live baitfish that isn't around). Cut bait usually stays on the hook really well too, especially fresh caught.

Google different rigs and tactics. Watch youtube videos. It takes a while to find the right combos of rigs and bait. Making your own rigs is waaaaaay better - I agree with the others. I was fishing the beach about a month ago and lost a HUGE fish because of a store bought snook rig. The metal fastener broke. I try not to use those but I didn't tie all my leaders the night before and was trying to get all my poles out quickly. Of course I put the whole dead mullet on that rig!

As previously mentioned, there is a bait shop on Dania Beach Blvd......happens to be favorite one in Broward/Palm Beach County.

http://www.anglersbaitandtackle.com/

Good luck! Another good spot to fish is north of the jetty on ft. lauderdale beach. If you can find parking, there are no lifeguards and you can fish all day there. You can fish the beach, cast off the jetties, or fish the inlet.

[baseball4life702]

Just a side note, shrimp fro the grocery store are usually frozen when they arrive then the seafood people defrost them. I do agree it stays on the hook better but ultimately at one point it was likely frozen too.

[rski754]

Just a side note, shrimp fro the grocery store are usually frozen when they arrive then the seafood people defrost them. I do agree it stays on the hook better but ultimately at one point it was likely frozen too.

No doubt. But it's way better than frozen bait shrimp. That stuff is just the dead ones from live wells frozen forever.