Transcription
After this video, you're gonna know exactly what you need to bring to be prepared to catch anything that's running on the beach. So I'm the kind of fisherman that likes to catch pretty much whatever is running; if it's running really hot, I want to be able to target it. Now, the problem is I can't pack my entire house with me. I want to be able to pack minimally and still be prepared to catch whatever kind of fish are running on the beach.
So usually, right before my trip, I will sit down and pack all of my fishing gear. I will repack a brand new box depending on what and where I'm fishing, but this is generally what I will pack every single time. So let's start with rods. I generally throw a 10- to 11-foot rod, my standard rod. This is usually my St. Croix Mojo surf rod. This is my this is my baby. I've been throwing this for a very long time; old reliable. I know it's gonna do me good; I know that this rod won't let me down. So I throw this all the time. I think a 10- to 11-foot is perfect sized to be throwing plugs all day, as well as if you want to throw bait; it works great for that too. It's a great standard size for the surf. Anything under like ten foot, nine foot, is it's gonna be it's gonna be hard to get your your plug all the way out there. And again, I'm able to hit I'm able to hit small bait fish with this because it's sensitive enough for that, and I'm also able to hit big fish with it. So that versatility is very important for me when I'm picking a rod; is that I'm able to hit multiple different kinds of fish.
There's a new rod that I got called the Phoenix rod; it's the it's the Black Diamond. This isn't this is a pretty high-end pretty high-end high-quality 13-foot rod. I've been throwing and I use this in Mexico last. It's a little bit heavier than my Mojo, but man, this 13-foot can really really do some work. I think that this is a really good rod for casting really far out, so you can stay above the weed line. A lot of times when you're fishing the weeds, when you're fishing and there are weeds, you want your pole to be really tall and high up so that so that your your line can avoid those weeds; the taller the rod, the better it is to fish that kind of stuff. Now, another thing with these bigger rods is that in I would prefer to use these bigger rods just to sit in a tube like this, sit in the tube. Just because it's 13 foot does not mean it can necessarily throw further than a 10-11 foot; it's really how you use it. And I think that this will really this 13-foot will really excel when I'm like pompano fishing in Florida. I really like to throw it, especially with my brand new Saragosa SW 8000.
Let's get into reels now. Basically, before my trip to Mexico, my dad was convincing me that I should get a Twin Power for myself, and at that price point, I think it's like 600 bucks or something like that. Man, I could get two of these Saragosa SWS. Now, this is a pretty highly rated reel; it's it's pretty fast and very powerful. I got the the 8000 size; that's compared to like my 5000 size right here. This will just have more crank; this will have more line in this spool for a bigger fish, for smaller fish, but this works for big fish too. I just choose to have a big happy one just in case I hit something enormous, such as like a barracuda, and I you know I want to be able to power it in. I don't want to cheap out, mess around with the small gear and lose the lose an opportunity at a big fish. So I have this paired with my 13-foot rod and this paired with my 10-foot rod. For surf fishing, I generally go with a 5,000 to 8 size reel, just depending on how how big the fish I want to go for. This is a good in-between; it's been pretty reliable for me. I brought in some big fish with the 5,000, but I like the the extra power with the 8,000 and my 13-foot rod. Now, you need to make sure that you pick reels that are waterproof, water-resistant, and salt-resistant. You can't just use any standard reel because after a certain amount of time, salt will get into it; salt will will start to corrode and deteriorate all sorts of stuff inside the mechanism of your reel. If it is not saltwater approved, you shouldn't be using it on the surf. I'm a true believer in investing in good gear. I've gotten too many reels and rods that were budget and cheap that ended up breaking on me, and if this is a really big hobby of mine, then why not spend a little extra money on some better gear?
Let's talk about the line I use for surf fishing. Typically, uh, throwing anywhere between 20 pounds and 40 pounds; anything higher than that is gonna be just too thick for me to throw. I like to throw far, and with thinner lines, you can really get it out far; the fit of the line, the further your lure or sinker goes. So on this one, that five thousand, I've got I think 20-pound braid spool down here, and that is really it really is able to throw lures very far. On this bigger spool, I've got 30-pound braid on here, and this is on the 8,000. So that's just that's just what I throw. 50-pound is usually way too heavy for me. I would stay to 30 to 40 pounds within the 8,000 to 10,000 size range of the Shimano's, and I would stay 20 to 30 pounds on the 5000 size Shimano's.
Okay, so now let's talk about the fish that we're targeting. I want to be able to target fish with bait and with lures, but I can't bring my entire house full of lures and in my entire house full of hooks and and sinkers. So I have to pick carefully. I want my backpack to weigh about 10 to 15 pounds max, and that's a lot of stuff already. So for lures, I typically will pack myself a few poppers, topwater stuff for those rare occasions where I see them busting on the surfaces, that I see birds working; that's really what I'm gonna want to have a popper. I would be really upset with myself if that happened and I didn't bring one of these topwater lures. So I always bring a topwater lure. I always bring a spoon; this is a little bit on the smaller side, but I always bring a spoon because it's a very good way to find fish that are just swimming around. Spoon works in pretty much any beach that I've been to. I always bring a bucktail, usually around 1 to 2 ounces. This is a heavier one; I think I was using this in the Cape Cod Canal, but I usually bring a bucktail. This paired with our squiddy bits is very reliable for me; it's my it's pretty much my go-to. Actually, a lot of days that's really what I catch most of my fish on. So everybody has their own favorite lure, their favorite go-to thing; mine is the bucktail and the squiddy bits on the end of it. What's yours? Comments some some of your favorite things to throw below, and maybe I'll add it into my tackle box next time.
Okay, so for for lures, I throw topwater in very specific situations; it's mostly just for fun. If I'm doing some serious fishing and I really want to hit some fish, I'll be throwing a bucktail or a spoon, something like that. So that's usually what I bring in terms of lures. I've actually here's my box right here that I usually bring. In this box, I've got probably 10 different bucktails, all different sizes, not all the different sizes, ten different, but ten bucktails with different sizes between 3/4 ounce to 1 ounce to 2 ounces. Here's a 2 ounces right here, all sorts of colors. Bucktails work anywhere pretty much; it was actually included in the military survival kit back in the day because if soldiers were getting lost or getting shipwrecked on remote islands, that would have a very reliable lure. So those are the lures I like to use.
Now, if I want to switch over to bait fishing and I see maybe mackerel busting out there, that's what I bust out my trusty Siddiqui rig. This is able to catch so many different kinds of bait fish; it's basically a long line of flies, tie it on to a fishing line. On the bottom goes a sinker; on the top, I tie to your mainline, and with each of these flies, see, take a look, each of these flies, you can tip it with a piece of squid e bits or tip it with whatever bait you have for the day, and you're able to catch a lot of different kinds of fish. This is a really fun rig if you want to catch something because it's well, you gotta check with your local laws, but six hooks means the possibility of six fish at a time. These are little flies, tie on here; anything will eat that kind of stuff, if you especially put bait on it. I've ended up catching six fish at a time using a rig like this right off the surf. So I always bring this in case I see bait fish. So now, after I catch a bait fish using this, I will put it either live on a hook or I'll cut it up and put it on a circle hook to throw it out.
This leads me into my next category of terminal tackle: what kind of terminal tackle do I bring? So I typically use high-low rigs and fish-finder rigs on the beach, depending on the on the bottom structure. Both of these require pyramid sinkers. Pyramid sinkers are shaped like this, and they will stay on the bottom of the surf so it doesn't get washed around everywhere, so your line will pretty much stay in one spot. So I bring dip multiple sizes; this is what really starts to make your fishing bag heavy are these sinkers. So pick carefully. I pick one or two higher higher weighted ones, like four or five ounces; I bring two of those. I bring about three or four of the three ounces and maybe one or two of the two-ounce pyramid sinkers, and this will pretty much get me away; this will pretty much serve me for whatever beach I want to fish. So at the end of this episode, I will compile a list of all these different things so you can you guys can download the PDF and and really pack your bag according to what my bag looks like.
Okay, now let's talk about the different hooks that I bring. There are fish out there with sharp teeth that will bite your line right off, and if you have a small hook like this, this is a live bait hook, if you have a small hook like this that has a very short shank, it's gonna get bitten off; your line will probably get good enough. So that's why I make sure to bring long-shanked hooks, just like this. And these long-shanked hooks, these long shank hooks, if the fish does decide to bite it, it'll bite the long shank and not the line. And the final hook that I bring is is a circle hook; this is for what I want to cast a piece of chunk bait out and just set it there on a high-low rig. With these three different kinds of hooks, you're able to catch all sorts of different kinds of fish. And same with these lures, I think it's important to be able to pack minimally so you're not hauling around a whole bunch of stuff and you're not you know, bit like confusing yourself with all the different things that you could possibly throw. Keep it simple, and you'll the successful day of fishing, if the fish are there.
Lately, I've been keeping my squiddy bits in a container like this. If you're going on intense fishing trips, I recommend getting a box like this; it's a waterproof box, and just putting all your squid in here right; this way you can cut it in here; you can do all sorts of stuff right in the box instead of have to put it in in a bag. The final thing you need to bring is correct leader line. I like to use a Zuri; the fluorocarbon is a matter of preference; they say it's pretty invisible underwater and it doesn't stretch as much as monofilament, but I pretty much only use fluorocarbon if I'm throwing lures. But honestly, monofilament works; it works well for a lot of people. My downside is that it floats, and I think that fish can see it underwater, but I'm picky; I like to use fluorocarbon. Another thing that I bring is a pair of scissors. You always need scissors; you always think you don't need them, but then you always regret not bringing them. So bring a pair of scissors. I use this too between cutting my bait, cutting my squiddy bits, and cutting my leader line; I'm always using scissors. Don't forget scissors.
Yeah, I hope you guys find this helpful. I'm gonna write up a whole list of this, a whole list of all this stuff to pack if you guys are going on a trip. Give this list a download and print it out, and basically this will help you pack everything you need for your trip. We've got all sorts of helpful tips and helpful information on our website if you want to check that out; I'm sure you can find something for you. If you like this episode, be sure to LIKE and subscribe; share this episode with anyone you think it can help. We're trying to raise a responsible generation of fishermen here. We've got a nice channel here on YouTube; I think we've got over 200,000 subscribers right now, and I want to thank every one of you guys for being here and being a part of our community. We wouldn't be doing what we were doing without you guys, so thank you. So I'm gonna provide all sorts of links to videos that we've previously posted that I think will help you guys, especially if you're a beginner or you're really trying to figure out the surf fishing thing. I want to remind everyone that just because you're catching a bunch of fish on the beach does not mean you need to keep them all. I really believe in conservation of these fish; only keep the fish that you're gonna eat. Believe me, it will make a big difference in this world if everybody threw one fish back for every one fish they took. Remember to leave your fishing spot the same, if not cleaner, than when you got there. It's important that we keep our resources intact and good quality, and that starts with you guys picking up your trash after you're done fishing. See you guys [Music]