Stocking a surf bag can aid fishing success
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Charles Walsh, Correspondent
The fall run, when a surf fisher's fancy turns to thoughts of bluefish and bass fattening up for their coming migration south, is still a few months away.
But in the Northeast, surf fishing is really an eight-month-a-year activity. In the spring, surfcasters wade into the rivers and estuaries to cast smaller plastic and swimmers to famished stripers just arriving from their winter haunts. In summer, the surf action shifts to the low-light hours, after sunset and before sunrise, when the big bass prowl the beaches and shallows. In fall, we layer up to cast into cold, in-your-face winds and rolling -- and hopefully fish-loaded -- breakers.
The equipment needed for surfcasting is not complicated: a sturdy set of chest waders, a stout rod with enough backbone to battle stubborn fish, and spinning or conventional reels with high retrieve ratios and sure-fire drag systems capable of hauling a large fish through the suds and onto the beach.
Surf bags used to be little more than canvas sacks filled with a bunch of plastic or metal cigar tubes to separate the lures. Today, surf bags are made mostly of Nylon or other synthetics. In addition to the plastic tubes, they have places to carry water bottles, pliers, spools of mono and wire and maybe even a slot for a sandwich. They are not cheap. For the high-enders, there's the Aqua Skinz Elite Hunter Pro Series bag at around $200. A better option might be the Precision Pax Ocean Shield bag at about $50 or Shimano's Blue Wave bag that comes in at just over $60.
Once a surf angler has the right bag, the question is what to put in it. And that, of course, depends on the season, the fish and the conditions. One rule that I have learned over the years is not to overload a bag with lures. Five or six well-chosen lures will usually do the trick. If they do not, chances are the problem does not lay with the plugs.
Here are some lures that are almost must-haves in any well-stocked surf bag:
Pencil poppers: The jumping, splashing lures simulate a wounded fish fleeing for its life on the surface. They are great daytime attractors for both bass and blues. If the bluefish are on the feed, they can't resist a pencil popper. Bottle-nosed poppers also do the job well.
Bucktails: Perhaps the single most overlooked surf plug, a bucktail -- I like all white -- will catch fish in any season and in most water conditions. The trick is to select the right size and weight for whatever species might be out there.
Plastics: Once, "back in the day" (of tin squids and spoons) the idea of having something made of plastic in a surf bag was viewed as slightly odd by veteran surf stickers. These days, a surf fisher who does not put a couple of Fin-S Fish or pre-rigged Storm Shads in his or her bag is missing the boat. Plastics work especially well in the spring when the fish are small and more active.
Diving plugs: Big and round with metal lips that cause it to go deep when reeled fast, the diving plug is one of the classic lures, and no bag should be without it. The Danny plug is probably the class of the diver group, but big plastic-lipped swimmers, jointed or straight, are deadly in the surf as well.
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Charles Walsh, Correspondent
The fall run, when a surf fisher's fancy turns to thoughts of bluefish and bass fattening up for their coming migration south, is still a few months away.
But in the Northeast, surf fishing is really an eight-month-a-year activity. In the spring, surfcasters wade into the rivers and estuaries to cast smaller plastic and swimmers to famished stripers just arriving from their winter haunts. In summer, the surf action shifts to the low-light hours, after sunset and before sunrise, when the big bass prowl the beaches and shallows. In fall, we layer up to cast into cold, in-your-face winds and rolling -- and hopefully fish-loaded -- breakers.
The equipment needed for surfcasting is not complicated: a sturdy set of chest waders, a stout rod with enough backbone to battle stubborn fish, and spinning or conventional reels with high retrieve ratios and sure-fire drag systems capable of hauling a large fish through the suds and onto the beach.
Surf bags used to be little more than canvas sacks filled with a bunch of plastic or metal cigar tubes to separate the lures. Today, surf bags are made mostly of Nylon or other synthetics. In addition to the plastic tubes, they have places to carry water bottles, pliers, spools of mono and wire and maybe even a slot for a sandwich. They are not cheap. For the high-enders, there's the Aqua Skinz Elite Hunter Pro Series bag at around $200. A better option might be the Precision Pax Ocean Shield bag at about $50 or Shimano's Blue Wave bag that comes in at just over $60.
Once a surf angler has the right bag, the question is what to put in it. And that, of course, depends on the season, the fish and the conditions. One rule that I have learned over the years is not to overload a bag with lures. Five or six well-chosen lures will usually do the trick. If they do not, chances are the problem does not lay with the plugs.
Here are some lures that are almost must-haves in any well-stocked surf bag:
Pencil poppers: The jumping, splashing lures simulate a wounded fish fleeing for its life on the surface. They are great daytime attractors for both bass and blues. If the bluefish are on the feed, they can't resist a pencil popper. Bottle-nosed poppers also do the job well.
Bucktails: Perhaps the single most overlooked surf plug, a bucktail -- I like all white -- will catch fish in any season and in most water conditions. The trick is to select the right size and weight for whatever species might be out there.
Plastics: Once, "back in the day" (of tin squids and spoons) the idea of having something made of plastic in a surf bag was viewed as slightly odd by veteran surf stickers. These days, a surf fisher who does not put a couple of Fin-S Fish or pre-rigged Storm Shads in his or her bag is missing the boat. Plastics work especially well in the spring when the fish are small and more active.
Diving plugs: Big and round with metal lips that cause it to go deep when reeled fast, the diving plug is one of the classic lures, and no bag should be without it. The Danny plug is probably the class of the diver group, but big plastic-lipped swimmers, jointed or straight, are deadly in the surf as well.