[redneck]

I am green to the surf fishing thing but have been doing lot's of reading on here the last few days. I will be in Crystal Beach from 7/31 to 8/6 and staying on the water and wanted to try my hand at catching some fish to keep me and my 7 year old busy while we are there.

I plan on taking some of my Heavy Catfish rigs which are 9' Berkley Reflex Rods with Abu Garcia 6500C3 Reels and 30 Lb Ande Monofilament. I know it is probably not ideal but what I have available and I don't see sense in investing money on a bunch of gear I am likely to not use again until next year.

My basic understanding is I need to wade out, cast as far as I can and setup on the beach with some sort of rod holder, possibly a piece of cut PVC and fish with the clicker on. I see lot's of references that have given me the basic understanding of this and it seems folks are using 10/0 to 14/0 circle hooks and two to eight ounce spider weights or pyramid weights with a steel leader.

I should wear shoes when wading out, and don't do so after dark.

I am not picky on what I catch, as always bigger is usually better but as long as we catch something to keep the kiddo interested I am OK with that.

Now here goes with my questions....

What is the best way for rigging, can I use a standard "slip sinker rig"?

How long does the leader need to be?

What is the best bait to use and can I catch this with my cast net or can I buy bait somewhere?

Are there bait shops in the Crystal Beach area where I can buy bait and tackle that I need when I get down there? Any reccomendation on a place?

Anybody that has any suggestions or might be able to shed some light on this would be greatly appreciated. We just want to catch some fish to have some fun while we are there.

Thanks

Chad Ferguson
www.txcatfishguide.com

 

[Night Trout]

There are bait stands around crystal beach, when I get off work I can give you there numbers. For the leader it depends on what you a catching or fishing for. I use a small leader about 2'. I also use a 4/0 sinker I call them surf sinkers, they have a lead butt with copper wire coming out. After you cast drag the sinker in slowly until it catches this will keep your bait from washing up. The best bait I have found is what I catch out of the surf but live piggies work good.I just started fishing out of the surf so let me know how you do. PM me if you have anymore questions.

 

[texan279]

I am green to the surf fishing thing but have been doing lot's of reading on here the last few days. I will be in Crystal Beach from 7/31 to 8/6 and staying on the water and wanted to try my hand at catching some fish to keep me and my 7 year old busy while we are there.

I plan on taking some of my Heavy Catfish rigs which are 9' Berkley Reflex Rods with Abu Garcia 6500C3 Reels and 30 Lb Ande Monofilament. I know it is probably not ideal but what I have available and I don't see sense in investing money on a bunch of gear I am likely to not use again until next year.

My basic understanding is I need to wade out, cast as far as I can and setup on the beach with some sort of rod holder, possibly a piece of cut PVC and fish with the clicker on. I see lot's of references that have given me the basic understanding of this and it seems folks are using 10/0 to 14/0 circle hooks and two to eight ounce spider weights or pyramid weights with a steel leader.

I should wear shoes when wading out, and don't do so after dark.

I am not picky on what I catch, as always bigger is usually better but as long as we catch something to keep the kiddo interested I am OK with that.

Now here goes with my questions....

What is the best way for rigging, can I use a standard "slip sinker rig"?

How long does the leader need to be?

What is the best bait to use and can I catch this with my cast net or can I buy bait somewhere?

Are there bait shops in the Crystal Beach area where I can buy bait and tackle that I need when I get down there? Any reccomendation on a place?

Anybody that has any suggestions or might be able to shed some light on this would be greatly appreciated. We just want to catch some fish to have some fun while we are there.

Thanks

Chad Ferguson
www.txcatfishguide.com

Really depends on what you are fishing for. If you are fishing for trout live shrimp is usually the best under a popping cork or a silver or gold spoon, and casting out as far as you can is not always the best way to fish. A week or so ago they were tearing up trout in the first gut in knee deep water in Surfside. I caught a 43 inch bull red last year in the second gut which was about waist deep.I never wear shoes/boots in the surf and never had a problem but some will probably disagree with me on not wearing anything on my feet while wading. And I have fished the surf at night with no problems before. I usually use 4/0-8/0 circle hooks and 4-6 ounce weights, but that is usually when I am fishing for bull reds. I use the pyramid weights. I might use a lighter weight depending on the current. As far as leaders, I just buy the steel leaders from Wal Mart or Academy, put my weight on and 2 hooks and I am ready. I use PVC for rod holders. As far as your 7 year oldm you can set him up with some dead squid, dead shrimp, or cut mullet and let him fish the bottom he is bound to catch something. As far as what is best for bait it really depends on what you are fishing for. Lately the gafftops and sharks have been thick in the surf as well as the trout. As far as the Crystal Beach area I am not familiar with it at all, so can't help with baitshops. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[Dell]

I would use a double drop bottom rig that you can puchase or fix up yourself. if you do it yourself leave at least 8 inches between the hooks Depending on the current, vary the weight of the sinker, either a standard pyramid or a spider weight.

 

[nuclear fishin]

There is a fairly new bait/tackle shop in CB that has live and dead bait and pre-rigged leaders that the owner makes himself the leaders are good quality ready to fish.He also has live bait but if you have cast net catch whats in the surf. Your rigs sound sufficient for fishing from the sand like you mentioned, if you are going to be there for a week you might want to bring some Bass type equipment to take advantage of possible Trout blitz in surf- look for the bird activity-who says you need a boat to chase the birds- Topwaters or plastic tails will catch these fish w/out having to mess with live bait Hope you have a great trip don't forget your OFF!

 

[donbmt]

Everything you need to know about Crystal Beach

www.crystalbeach.com

 

[Ditto]

Bring a cast net if you have one. There is a lot of bait (mullet, croaker, whiting) in the surf especially in the morning.

 

[redneck]

There is a fairly new bait/tackle shop in CB that has live and dead bait and pre-rigged leaders that the owner makes himself the leaders are good quality ready to fish.He also has live bait but if you have cast net catch whats in the surf. Your rigs sound sufficient for fishing from the sand like you mentioned, if you are going to be there for a week you might want to bring some Bass type equipment to take advantage of possible Trout blitz in surf- look for the bird activity-who says you need a boat to chase the birds- Topwaters or plastic tails will catch these fish w/out having to mess with live bait Hope you have a great trip don't forget your OFF!

Any idea what it is called?

 

[Ninjazx9rrida]

Really depends on what your fishing for... I fish High island between the piers. I like to use a "red fish leader" with the smallest spider wieght the water will allow!! throw the cast net for bait... mullet cut or live and cut or live croaker or whittie seem to work good. you've got the right idea on setting your rods up! right now the smaller blacktip sharks are running good and you should have your hands full!!

i use to never wear shoes untill i caught about 20 cownose rays in the cast net!

Also if your coming from winnie, there is a old bait shop as you get out of winnie. sell all kinds of bait and red fish leaders and spider weights. also as you go around the 45mph s curve in H.I. there is a bait shop on the left. they sell the same thing and often have sting rays for sell (shark bait) then there is a yellow bait shop at rollover and then you have stingree in crystal.. Good luck!!


PM me with anymore questions!

 

[nuclear fishin]

Any idea what it is called?

Sorry for lack of info but he has a sign out by the road. He is West of the Gulf Coast Market on the South side of Hwy 87 you really can't miss it

 

[Philip C]

Like everyone is saying, the bait depends on what you are fishing for.
I;m also new at surf fishing but here is my exerience.
If you want to lay back with your rod in the holder, do not use shirmp because if comes off way to easy. Cut bait says on the hook much better. Far as bait goes I had no problems cathcing bait till one day I could not catch a single thing in my cast net. When this happens, get you a very small hook, like size 14 and take some "fish bite" and cut up in tiny little pieces. Your son will love this type of fishing because you are going to catch tons of little fish from croaker, whiting, sand trout and hard heads. If you don't have fish bite, find some seaweed and shake it till little shrimp come out. In my experience cut mullet tend to work best though and this you must use the cast net to catch.
Good luck
Philip