Casting Question

[phishfewd]

Been freshwater fishing for years, and my youngest son is 10 and has such a desire to fish that we fish at least once a week somewhere.  So we got into saltwater recently and here is my question. 

We have 2 rods, a 9 and 10.  We want to fish off the beach.  When you cast out... how much do you let out? or for how long?  Its not like with calm freshwater were you leave it there and it slightly drifts....or that you slowly bring it in.  With what I'm thinking in salt, that you send it out and let the tide do its thing.   Just not sure?

[SurfJockey]

You'll want to cast out where the waves are breaking.  Make sure to put enough weight on your rig to hold bottom well.  On a good day 5-6 ozs. should be plenty.  If the waves are rough, you might need more, but will need some tough tackle to throw 8 & bait.  After you cast, reel in the slack from your line, and place the rod in your sand spike.  The rod will bounce around with the current, but you'll know when you have a bite.  Don't leave your rods unattended......There's some strong fish out there that like to pull your gear into the sea.    

That's great that your son has a love for fishing!  

If you have any other questions.  Don't hesitate to ask.  There's a lot of folks with a lot of knowledge on here. 
 

[Pfishingruven]

There are a lot of factors that come into play when throwing bait in the surf.  Funny, this part of casting and surf fishing has never come up.  Usually, the question is how to cast or how to cast farther .

When you cast, you want to cast and put the bait where you want it.  You don't want to rely on current or waves to take it, unless you are working a rip or trough(which I will come back to).  If you rely on the current and waves, either your bait will be back on the beach or tangled up in your now, unhappy neighbor .  So for your normal surf casting, most people cast it out as far as you can.  Like Jason said, you want to get past the breakers, at least.  However, you don't be out really far to still catch fish.  Many fish, for me, most of my fish are caught 5-10 feet off the tide line.  Getting past the breakers will give your sinker the ability to hold better.  Almost all of the time, you want to put on enough weight to keep your bait still or hold.  You should always attend your rods, otherwise you may be chasing them into the water.  You can also leave your bail open, leave the drag very loose or use a reel designed for that function:  a baitrunner or baitcasting reel.  If you leave your bail open, you can very easily get wind knots and have your line all over the beach.  If you leave your drag loose, you may lose some fish.  So whatever works for you or is the easiest.

Now, if you want to drag bait or work bait out a rip, in a trough or along a jetty, you won't want to put on as much weight...just enough to hold bottom.  In these cases, you will let the current and water do the casting work for you.  If you see a really nice rip, you just need to get your bait into the pull and off it will go.  Fish will hold at the end of the rip where it comes through the sandbar.  This is great structure for surf fisherman and alleviates having to power cast out.  Troughs will run horizontally to the beach, so you will want distance on either side of you and you will want to cast into the trough and let it ride.  Fish swim through here and predators could be swimming or waiting at the end of the troughs for a meal.  You can also cast your bait out and just work it into the beach on a wave aided drift or along a jetty.  You just need to find the way the current is running and use that to your advantage.

So you have lots of options, deadsticking and relaxing, throwing bait to hold and just watching for the bite, dragging bait and working the bait almost like a lure in the right conditions and structure.  There is a time and place for all of these, although, experimenting and variety will work best.

Good luck, enjoy and be safe!

 

[ped579]

The first thing I would check is your rods capability to handle a certain weight.  Look at the rod close to the handle and it will tell you that info it might say lure wgt.  By knowing this you can now know what your outfit is capable of throwing safely.

Right not the surf is not good for beginners at all wait for it to calm down a bit.  You will have some scouting to do as it is just not go and throw as many do.  Try to learn how to read the beach.  We have a good tutorial on that subject here.

http://njsaltwaterfisherman.com/forums/index.php?topic=3964.0

Everyone thinks you have to cast out to no mans land to get a fish well that is just not true for 90% of the time.  There are things to look for and if you get these scenarios to align your chances of catching goes up greatly.

One of the simplest ways to get a line into the water is to rig up a simple fish finder rig and this time of year I would suggest at least a 6/0 circle hook.  The weight will depend on conditions and your rod capability but I would think a 4oz pyramid sinker in calm waters would work pretty good.  You can go to any of the B&T's and they will be able to get you started.

After a blow like we just had clams would be in order for stripers that are starting to make a showing.  Cast out where you see a break in the wave action as there is a good possibility that there is a break in the bar and a good spot to find a lurking fish.  I would try and pick the incoming tide as the fish will be on the inside of the bars and just looking for some tid bit to make a showing.  Cast to either side of the calm water as that is where it is the shallowest and what is making the wave crest giving you the white water.

As far as casting goes you could try your freshwater style but for both of you I would suggest the On The Ground (OTG) method. To start place your sinker with a baited hook on the sand.  Allow about 8 to 10 feet of line out and take up the slack and point the rod tip at the sinker.  Cast over your predominate shoulder and pointing the rod tip in the direction you want the sinker and bait to travel.

What is happening here is the rod is loading up from the weight of the sinker and the slight resistance of the sand.  This will give you the distance you are looking for.  It might feel strange at first but I use this method a lot and it works.  With a little practice you and your son should be casting like a pro in no time.

But if you would take the time to read the water and realize that there is structure out there only of a different type you are use to seeing in freshwater.  It is suttle but it is there.

Where are you guys targeting to fish.  I am in Ocean County and fish the beaches here.  If you would like to link up some day just give a call and we can make it happen.

Happy Catching

Paul