Author Topic: Surf/Beach Fishing Equipment  (Read 2887 times)

Offline Lines

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Surf/Beach Fishing Equipment
« on: 06/10/17 06:47 UTC »
Hello all. My son and I are going to attempt surf fishing on the beahes of the Gulf of Mexico, around Destin, FL.  and FT. Walton in 2 weeks. I have decided on a spinning outfit, but would like to know how heavy of an outfit, and how long and what action rod to get. We don't want to invest a ton of cash since we may only be able to do this for a week. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
« Last Edit: 06/10/17 07:03 UTC by Lines »

Offline ctom

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Re: Surf/Beach Fishing Equipment
« Reply #1 on: 06/10/17 07:29 UTC »
There are places to rent rods for pier fishing if you choose to do that. A medium 7' - 7 1/2" with 10 pound line will get you by for fishing beaches. Buy some shrimp and fish one on a plain hook with an egg sinker/swivel a couple feet above right off bottom with get you Pompano.

Two places you have to eat at while there are west of Destin on Gulf Shores below Pensicola are Peg-Leg-Pete's seafood restaurant and Hell'n Back's pizza. Helen Back [her real name] owns the pizza bar. Great food there and even better T-Shirts! Pete's offers a seafood platter that has grouper and shrimp along with other goodies. Carole likes the fried version, myself I prefer the grilled version. Both are out of this world. The only place I have had better seafood was at the piers in San Francisco while dining out with Denny and Rosemary last summer, but that would be a drive and a half for you. The two places I mentioned are inside of an hour from Destin.

The absolute king of fish markets that cater to everyone wanting FRESH fish and Shrimp and all seafood is found in Pensicola at Joe Patti's. The place is phenomenal. Carole and I drove there every day but one while we were there for 8 days a couple years ago. I have never eaten so many shrimp and those delecetable Atlantic Reds were found there.

Take sunscreen. Lots of sun screen.

Be sure to check out the fresh fish shops too. Destin has one right on the main drag along the beach. Buy twice as much as you want because you'll be tossing the heads. Peel the heads and toss in a bag of Bay's seasoning that the shops all sell and pop those suckers in your motel room microwave for 3 minutes and you'll think you've gone to heaven. Try the Atlantic Reds, as they are called and if you can find them, and you'll never want to eat a different breed of shrimp. 
« Last Edit: 06/10/17 07:39 UTC by ctom »
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Offline Apdriver

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Re: Surf/Beach Fishing Equipment
« Reply #2 on: 06/10/17 09:12 UTC »
I have been fishing from the beach around the St. Joe Bay, Mexico Beach area for some years in June. If you just want to fun catch some fish the lady fish off the beaches can be fun. Take a 6 to 7 foot medium heavy with a 2500 series spinning reel spooled with 20 lb test braid, 40 lb flouro leader, 1/4 ounce heavy hook jig coupled with Berkeley Gulp 3 inch shrimp in white or new penny and you'll catch plenty. The faster you twitch and move it the more they like it. Poor mans tarpon, they call them. Jump like crazy. Wade out, make long casts and twitch it back. We have even caught small permit on this rig. I wouldn't take anything real expensive to fish the surf as the salt plays havoc on anything you use. Be sure and rinse your equipment in fresh water when you finish every day. The heavy leader is because everything has big teeth and will cut and chafe light leader.

One other thing I have seen a few guys do is shark fish off the beach with pretty good success. It takes much larger equipment. 8-9 foot rod and 5500-6500 series reel. 65 lb main line. Braid again works well attached to a  shark rig. Cut bait or whole ladyfish on a 10/0 hook. Kayak the bait out on a 8 ounce weight and drop it. Early and late low light bite is best. Decent articles online explaining techniques, equipment, safety and such. Google surf shark fishing. Good luck and have a great vacation. I'll be down there 17-24th with the family for our summer vacation.

Offline Lines

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Re: Surf/Beach Fishing Equipment
« Reply #3 on: 06/10/17 11:19 UTC »
Thanks guys. I'll be there June 21 through 30th. My son is stationed at Eglin AFB. He says there is some decent beach access there, so we're going to give it a shot.

Offline Apdriver

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Re: Surf/Beach Fishing Equipment
« Reply #4 on: 06/10/17 11:43 UTC »
That sounds like a nice get together for you guys. I suspect with some local knowledge and willingness to drive to some "spots", a guy could probably take advantage of some better fishing areas. I always just fish the beach in front of our VRBO's and I'm sure there are better beach fishing areas.