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NY, NJ, CT, RI Edition
September 01, 2009
Volume 20 � Number 9
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Nor'east Saltwater Online Magazine powered by:
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Surf Fishing on a Budget
by John Skinner
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This Penn 8500 is a costeffective
choice for an 11-
foot spinning rod.
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Something more than $3000. That was the final tally. It started with the $1200 ZeeBaas, which in one leap put the well equipped surfcaster more than a third of the way there. The rod was a custom graphite, easily $400. The breathable bootfoot SnowBee waders would add another $300. I wouldn’t expect an angler like this to be wearing anything less than the $240 Aquaskinz top that was keeping him warm and dry. The surf bag from the same manufacturer would add another $100. Judging by the custom $25 plug he was throwing, I couldn’t imagine the bag contained less than $300 in lures. From his belt hung a $240 60-pound Boga Grip that was positioned next to a $300 pair of Van Staal pliers.
The angler was involved in his passion. He could afford the best, and that’s what he purchased. For someone who spent many hours every year fishing, often in harsh conditions, it was all money well spent. For someone on a tight budget just getting into the sport, or even for more experienced anglers who don’t have that kind of disposable cash to dedicate to fishing, the price tag on the superbly-equipped angler could be intimidating. If you’re a hardcore surfcaster who can afford and benefit from the absolute best equipment, then turn the pages or click the next link and read the next article. If you’re trying to get the most out of surf fishing while avoiding a substantial financial impact, read on.
Before we even get into brands, let’s come up with a pair of outfits that will cover most surf situations. I say a “pair”, because there is no such thing as an all around rod and reel combo that will handle ocean surf conditions and calmer settings such as those found in the bays and in Long Island Sound. If you have a medium-action 11-foot spinning outfit for the ocean and a 9-footer for the other areas, you’ll be in pretty good shape. Let’s start with the 11-footer. If there were one item that I was able to sink a little extra money into, it would be the rod. I’d go to a local tackle shop that specializes in building rods and have an 11-footer built on a Lamiglas GSB1321M blank. This is a graphite 11-footer that is the choice of many serious surfcasters. The price tag would end up somewhere near $400, but it’s something that can last a lifetime. On the least expensive end of the 11-footer spectrum, you can get away with a factory production rod for as little as $80. That’s the price of a 2-piece 11-foot Penn Spinfisher Surf Rod. Between there and the custom Lamiglas is an extensive choice of progressively more expensive rods from companies such as Penn, St. Croix, and Tica. The best way to proceed with the purchase is to go to a local tackle shop that has rods in stock that you can get a feel for. The tackle shop staff will be instrumental in helping you make the right choice for your budget. Next, you’ll need a reel for your new 11-footer.
If you go to Montauk or a South Shore beach and take a survey of the reels being used, you’ll likely find that Van Staal and Penn account for the bulk of the reels. The high end ZeeBaas product line has only been available for about a year, so those are just starting to appear. Van Staal and ZeeBaas reels are superb, but their $700 - $1300 price tags put them out of bounds for this discussion. Before Van Staal came on the scene in the mid 90s, Penn dominated the beaches, and they remain the choice of many anglers. The vast majority of my fishing is done with Penn reels. In the thousands of hours I’ve fished the surf with these reels, the only disabling breakdown I’ve had was when I broke a handle on a Penn 706 with a fish on. Given the affordability of these reels, I lost little time because I had an extra reel tucked away in my truck. I’ve stripped a fair number of main gears and have had a couple of anti-reverse failures, but these problems were never severe enough that I couldn’t keep fishing. Equally as important, the parts for these reels have always been readily available. Many of our local tackle shops that cater to surfcasters keep the parts in stock. I’m not very mechanically inclined, and even I can take these reels apart and put them back together.
Unfortunately, there is a glitch with the Penn route. The true workhorses of the surf that I rely on - the Penn 704s and 706s, have been out of production for several years. You can find new and used ones on EBAY, but they’re beginning to get pricey. A used 704 or 706 will probably cost between $100 and $200 depending on the condition. A new one will likely cost over $200. This is a little hard to swallow given that these reels could be purchased new for under $100 before Penn stopped making them. Among the reels Penn makes today, the SSm and Slammer lines are the ones most appropriate for the surf. An 850SSm would be my choice if I were buying a new Penn for an 11-foot rod. A 750SSm would also work. These reels are priced under $150. If you were going to fish in conditions where the reel gets dunked occasionally and sees a lot of water and some sand, I’d go to EBAY and look for a used 706Z. This reel has a large 3-inch diameter spool and is very “braid-friendly”, which means it handles the braided “superlines” such as Power Pro and Spiderwire with minimal trouble.
For the 9-footer I would again go the custom route, if possible, with a rod built on a Lamiglas GSB1081L. That one will probably run close to $300. As with the 11-footer, there are many choices of production rods to choose from between there and under $100. You’re looking for a 9-footer that will work well in the 3/4- to 2-ounce lure weight range. My advice is to ignore the manufacturer’s weight ranges that they print on the rods. These are often misleading. Instead, handle the rod, and seek out advice from local tackle shop staff. The reel that I would put on this rod is an easy choice for me. It would be a Penn 550SSg at a very reasonable price of $100. I use these on my 9-foot North Shore plugging rods and am happy with them.
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You can get by with owning only
one surf top if you choose a lightweight
but roomy one. You can
add insulated clothing underneath
in colder weather. The Aquaskinz
Bayman top is a good choice.
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My line suggestion for someone on the beginning to intermediate level would be Berkeley FireLine in the smoke color. 20-pound-test would cover all open beaches. I’d use 30-pound-test in the inlets and Montauk rocks. Yes, this is a much more expensive choice than monofilament, but you’ll lose less lures with it and it will last longer, thus saving you money. I fill my large reels with 300 yards and get two seasons out of it in the surf. After a season I reverse it, so that the line at the bottom of the spool during the first season is at the top of the spool the second season. Yes, I’m cheap, but I’m not so cheap as to risk losing a good fish to save a few bucks. I feel perfectly confident using the line as I do. I suggest FireLine because it’s a heat-fused line that is easier to use and less prone to knots than braided lines. If you’re comfortable with the braids, then they’re a great way to go. I wouldn’t recommend monofilament line for surf fishing even if it were free. A 300-yard spool of either FireLine or braid will cost about $30.
I pity a relatively new surfcaster walking into a tackle shop to buy lures. The choice is overwhelming, and probably deserves an article of its own. Let’s try and simplify this with cost in mind. There are many impressive wooden plugs on the market made by master craftsmen, but these are labor-intensive to build and are therefore expensive. We’ll ignore them here. For darters, bottle plugs, needlefish, and poppers - buy Super Strikes. They’ll cost roughly between $12 and $17 each, so they’re not cheap, but in the end you do want to catch fish and these plugs will do the job while standing up to the elements and bluefish teeth. If Super Strike made metal-lipped swimmers and pencil poppers, it’s very possible I’d never buy any wood. Unfortunately they don’t, so I’ll suggest Gibb’s pencils and metal-lipped swimmers. Bombers and RedFins are superb swimming plugs that cost less than $8 each. My North Shore night bag is loaded with them. The Cotton Cordell pencil popper is excellent if it’s not too windy, and it’s another inexpensive lure.
For tins, you can get away with diamond jig and tube combos, but I’d add a few 1- to 3-ounce Kastmasters with deer hair adorned single hooks. Bucktails are inexpensive, and you’ll want to buy a bunch with the sizes depending on where you’ll use them. On open beaches I’m usually using bucktails in the 3/4- to 1.5-ounce range. Don’t forget a jar of #50 Uncle Josh porkrind to tip the bucktails with.
You’ll need a surf bag for those lures. I use Canyon surf bags because they were about the best bags on the market when I bought them a long time ago. They’re still available for around $65. For an extra $30 you could get a large Aquaskinz surf bag. Either way is acceptable, but the Aquaskinz will be less likely to open if you’re wading in rough surf.
You’ll need a surf top. For budgetary reasons I’d choose a relatively lightweight one that has enough room to wear some warm clothes underneath in the cooler weather. The AquaSkinz Bayman surf top would be my choice. For $120 you’d have a quality pullover top designed for surf fishing. I’d take a similar approach on waders. I’d buy bootfoot breathables that will be comfortable in warm weather, and wear sweatpants underneath when the cold comes. I’d look at Snowbee Classic Breathable Felt Soles ($180) and LLBean Breathable Emerger bootfoots ($160).
For a surf belt I wear a diving weight belt. I don’t like snap buckles because they’re more difficult to adjust. Dive belts are designed to stay fastened securely because it can be a very dangerous situation if a diver loses a belt when deep diving. I’ve worn the same belt for decades, and a new one costs less than $15 in most dive shops.
You need a solid pair of needle nose pliers on that belt. I use 8-inch Manley needle nose pliers. They do the job, stand up to the elements, and last a long time. For $30 you should be able to get the pliers with a sheath to hold them on your belt. Then get some telephone cord and tape one end firmly on one side of the plier handles and tie the other end to the sheath. You will lose them if you don’t. Do not try to cheap out any more than we already are on these pliers. I’ve tried, and they just rust and freeze up.
Here’s a tip that will put many extra fish on the beach for you and cost almost nothing - keep your hooks sharp and crush your barbs. I use Luhr Jensen hook files. They cost around $7 and work extremely well. I’ve bought others that just don’t do the job. Hooks on brand new lures are rarely sharp out of the package, so file a good point on them. Check hook sharpness frequently, especially when fishing in rocky areas. Crushing the barbs on your hooks will lead to easier hooksets. You’ll never lose a fish to a crushed barb as long as you maintain a bend in the rod while fighting a fish.
Surfcasting is a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment. Once you’ve acquired the basic gear, it can cost almost nothing to go out and use it. Starting from scratch, we’ve managed to completely gear up a surfcaster for less than the cost of one of those pricey front row Yankee Stadium seats, and the enjoyment that can come from the fishing gear lasts decades after “Mo” has closed out a ballgame.
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Super Strike makes reasonably
priced lures that are favored by
many serious surfcasters
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Reaching the Outer Bar: Long Distance Surf Fishing |
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Surf Fishing Products Buyer’s Guide |
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