# surf fishing



## Banacanin (Dec 14, 2011)

I'm very new to the New Jersey shore, and until last night I never saw anyone fishing at night and in the dark. When the wife and I got back from our walk along the boardwalk I googled a few fishing related terms, and it looks like we live in a hotbed of surf fishing activity. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun, but I don't know where to start. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money I don't have just to try something, and the season is just about over, but come spring I definitely want to give it a try. Any tips with respect to where I should start would be greatly appreciated.


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## MacLaren (Dec 14, 2011)

Great thread! I just wish i had some advice to offer. Im sure though that you will find out and start doing very well at this rather quickly. Please keep me/us filled in on what happens. Very interesting. Ill rep ya tomorrow when im re-loaded.


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## Buckshot00 (Dec 14, 2011)

Banacanin said:


> I'm very new to the New Jersey shore, and until last night I never saw anyone fishing at night and in the dark. When the wife and I got back from our walk along the boardwalk I googled a few fishing related terms, and it looks like we live in a hotbed of surf fishing activity. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun, but I don't know where to start. I don't want to spend a whole lot of money I don't have just to try something, and the season is just about over, but come spring I definitely want to give it a try. Any tips with respect to where I should start would be greatly appreciated.



You are in a hotbed of surf fishing for striped bass. Try stripersonline.com. That website will get you started. Good luck. If ya catch a fish you will be hooked for life.


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## little possum (Dec 18, 2011)

... When you get back from camp, keep us posted  We do a bit of surf fishing at the coast. Always a good time.. Can be expen$ive, but you get what you pay for a lot of the time. 
We have all kinds of rods and reel combos. Mainly 10' rods with decent spinning reel, usually 10 or 12# test and we use double rigs. Sometimes switch to the steel leaders for the hooks cause the blues and Northern Puffer will chomp right through the regular line.

May differ a bit up there though.


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## Zhey (Dec 20, 2011)

Local knowledge is normally the best. Here in the Bay of Plenty,New Zealand we have the choice of sand, stoney or rock fishing. Tide, wind and moon phases make a difference and night fishing is the best. Gut the first fish to find what they are eating. Dont be put off if you catch nothing, the challenges are many, if the fish are not hungry they aint going to bite. I have caught 6 snapper and the only one to catch that day. I used Omega 3 but it wont guarentee you a fish. Go for it, it will be you that gets hooked.


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## RandyMac (Dec 20, 2011)

I have about two dozen saltwater fishing spots within a ten minute drive. Everything from rocks, piers, beaches and jetties.


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## lfnh (Dec 20, 2011)

Might try hooking up with a local club.
Sandy Hook used to be a good spot for shore casting or drifting swimmers in the rip.
Fall run probly coming to an end soon.
Spring striper run used to be tops.
That was a long time ago.


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## redoakneck (Dec 20, 2011)

Awesome!!! My Grandparents lived by asbury park, long branch, and sandy hook. Used to fish a lot, and go crabbing in the rivers. Talk to the locals and you can get a lot of info, doesn't have to cost a lot. We ate strippers, weak fish, and blues.

A lot of times you can rent a pole for a buck and fish off the pier, we just did this in myrtle beach this sommer and caught small sharks. 

Watch out though, the Raritan river and that whole area is where the shark from JAWS is based upon- my folks never told me that:eek2:


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## barneyrb (Dec 20, 2011)

For equipment I'd be searching Craigslist or pawn shops, as far as advice, I am clueless on that type but good luck...


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## RandyMac (Dec 20, 2011)

I mostly use a 10 foot medium action rod, the one I have now is a Shakespeare, it needed reinforced where the rod entered the handle, handle split while landing a Lingcod. For a reel I use a Penn 850SS, have two spools, one with 20#, the other has 30#. Depending where I fish, leader can be 10 to 50 pound, there are toothy fish here.
The really fun fishing is when Yellow or Red tail Perch run in the bay, I use a flyrod with yellow shrimp flies, the perch can run 4 pounds + and put up quite a fight.


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## lfnh (Dec 20, 2011)

Exciting stuff having a big fish hit a plug or dropper at night, burn off a couple hundred yards of line and 30 minutes later see him in the surf. Good memories.

On another note couple of links.

NJ club here

and here.

think about 4 hour guide (top of outgoing tide at night - depending on location)
get ya started quick with right gear and good casting habits, then your hooked.


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## RandyMac (Dec 20, 2011)

Went night fishing out on the jetty once using glow in the dark salmon plugs, everything that hit them, took off with them. Steel leader next time.


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## lfnh (Dec 20, 2011)

Gibbs swimmers were something like 7 bucks, Rappalla's and poppers 5 bucks. Steel leaders were cheap insurance against teeth or rock runners. Still remember snapping a few sailers off in a night. Used to walk the tide line at daybreak looking for them. Found others but not the night's loss. Gas was cheap as were tires then. 70 cents/gal. no beach running fees. life was good and the fish plentiful. toward the last, cut the barb and turned most back. went though a lot of thumbing tape on the squidder. real canvas tape. not the nancy crap today. only gaffed the arm once. but good. it was a learned lesson. dumped a canoe in the middle of december with a 38 lb stripper friend landed. water was a little cool. pushed that sob to shore belly up boots and flannel jeans. right back at it next night. they were in full swing of fall run. weaks on very light rig were trickiest to land. only a few in.


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