# Surf Fishing



## Beenslayin (Aug 17, 2020)

I am going to Saint George Island in mid September for a week. I have a 6 hr bay trip scheduled for one day. From there I plan on surf fishing and fishing the cut. New gear really isn't in the budget after paying for the trip but I have a 10ft Penn Prevail rod and a Penn Battle 2 reel. One of my questions is, I have my freshwater bass gear and some crappie trolling rods. I am thinking I might take my bass spinning setups. My bass spinning setups are 7 ft Vedetta rods with Abu Garcia sx reels. Do you think it will be ok to use these bass setups for saltwater? I would like to catch redfish, pompeno and maybe some trout.

For surf fishing I was going to use sand fleas and fish bites. Any recommendations for surf fishing other than this? 

The last time I went to the cut I threw fish bites and mullet. I really didn't catch much of anything in the cut. I watched two guys come, catch a bunch of reds and leave but couldn't see what they were using. I was thinking the cut is where I would use my bass spinning rods. Any suggestions for the cut would be great.

Thanks for the help in advance!


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## Seanote (Aug 17, 2020)

Will not be a problem.  i use much of my gear for both salt and fresh.  Soak the reels in fresh water for a few hours after each use.  I like to soak as opposed to rinse. Soaking allow the salt to dissolve into the fresh water.


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## KS Bow Hunter (Aug 17, 2020)

Love St. George Island.  The bay side is great redfishing on the fly...

For the surf fishing, I like squid, cigar minnows, sand fleas (fresh if you can catch them), and the fish bites.  You can also catch bait using a bait rig off of the docks or buy it on the island.  

The big reds in the cut will be eating live bait like minnows or crabs...

If you can't afford new saltwater gear, I'd just make sure you wash your gear off regularly with fresh water...even then, the salt water is so corrosive it won't take more than a day to see rust on the carbon components...especially where eyes are welded, it tends to weaken a freshwater rod...

You can always pick up some cheaper Okuma rigs at the local store that you can beat up...that's what I did when the kids were young...before I let them handle the Penns.

Best of luck!


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## dank1296 (Aug 17, 2020)

Penn Battle 2 a great reel. Perfect for pompano whiting and reds. Like KS said id wash it down every evening maybe spray with some reel and line magic. Fish some fresh shrimp on bottom for pompano


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 17, 2020)

If you want to catch reds during that time, head to the state park youth ramp area. Outgoing tide and finger mullet on a Carolina rig will keep you busy all evening. Get you a cheap 6-8 ft cast net and you can easily net all the bait you need on spot. Put them in a flow-through style minnow bucket.

Excellent recommendations on washing you equipment after each outing and hit it with a shot of Reel Magic.


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## KS Bow Hunter (Aug 17, 2020)

Good call on the cast net, I've used them near the bridge at St. George on the bay side.  There is a nice pool to cast in on the west side of the bridge as you hit St. George island.  I also use the Sabiki rigs I think they are called...all you need is a school of baitfish...I grind up some potato chips or chum and then use these to catch baitfish...they are about $5-7 each...you can catch 2-4 baits at a time with them...


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## Beenslayin (Aug 18, 2020)

Thanks for all of the info. I am excited to go and try it. I will order some of that reel magic also. I like the idea of catching those baitfish. My grandson would probably enjoy catching the bait fish.


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## Beenslayin (Aug 18, 2020)

Oh and what is the preferable bait fish size for redfish. I mean about how big of a minnow? Also I thought about going for some flounder too.


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## RGRJN (Aug 18, 2020)

Iv'e never had much luck in the Cut, aslo have not fished it a ton either.....but have done pretty good fishing from the rocks out side the cut using a popping cork and gulp shrimp. Mostly trout, was using basically bass spinning gear


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 18, 2020)

Beenslayin said:


> Oh and what is the preferable bait fish size for redfish. I mean about how big of a minnow? Also I thought about going for some flounder too.



The finger mullet or mud minnows I like are probably anywhere from 3-6 inches.


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## Beenslayin (Aug 18, 2020)

RGRJN said:


> Iv'e never had much luck in the Cut, aslo have not fished it a ton either.....but have done pretty good fishing from the rocks out side the cut using a popping cork and gulp shrimp. Mostly trout, was using basically bass spinning gear


On the ocean side or the bay side?


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## LittleDrummerBoy (Aug 18, 2020)

I've always had much greater success fishing crab for bull reds than mullet.


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## RGRJN (Aug 18, 2020)

Beenslayin said:


> On the ocean side or the bay side?


Ocean side


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## Fletch_W (Aug 18, 2020)

To add to the others, big reds like dead shrimp, but only fresh, for human consumption shrimp. As a contingency plan for not catching live bait, grab a pound of fresh not-frozen large shrimp from the local market and keep it iced down, don't let it start going rancid or it will lose effectiveness. Don't bother with bait shrimp unless you are using it to catch bait. Good luck! I haven't fished there in many years, but I do remember redfish around the jetties.


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## westcobbdog (Aug 18, 2020)

Seanote said:


> Will not be a problem.  i use much of my gear for both salt and fresh.  Soak the reels in fresh water for a few hours after each use.  I like to soak as opposed to rinse. Soaking allow the salt to dissolve into the fresh water.


Soak in a bucket of dawn and water then give them a rinsing shower.


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## KS Bow Hunter (Aug 18, 2020)

Need to be careful not all reels are waterproof, so soaking them, while maybe removing the salt, will also flood gears and remove grease...just depends on the type of reel...any water in the gears and removing grease is bad, saltwater is definitely worse...


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## Anvil Head (Aug 19, 2020)

KS Bow Hunter said:


> Need to be careful not all reels are waterproof, so soaking them, while maybe removing the salt, will also flood gears and remove grease...just depends on the type of reel...any water in the gears and removing grease is bad, saltwater is definitely worse...


Agree fully. Learn your reels (and rods) and how to service them properly. Make sure they are clean and dry and re-lubed correctly and they will last you a lifetime. Soapy wash and rinse rods pay close attention to guides and seats. Fine airborne sand is just a detrimental to a reel as the salt. Clean rinsing works great for short term, but thorough cleaning at end of trip is a must if you like your gear.


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## Beenslayin (Aug 28, 2020)

Thanks for the advice. I’m going to try a popping cork rig with shrimp and mullet. I ordered the corks from a company called Big Water. I ordered red strike king magic jig heads and leader line. If I thought about putting plastics on the jig, do you guys have a recommendation? Size, brand, color? I am new to saltwater but want to show my grandson a good time.


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## KS Bow Hunter (Aug 28, 2020)

A really easy to use rig is the bubble rig...it take a bubble, a few swivels, some mono, a tube (like the kind you put on sunglasses) and a hook.  I use a single hook instead of a treble...fill the bubble a 1/3rd full of water, cast out and pop it back...blues, specks and reds love it...great for the bay over the grass, the surf and the cut...


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## KS Bow Hunter (Aug 28, 2020)

The above rig can be made for $5 or so...depending on where you find the bubbles...I make them up 6-8 at a time, with different colored rubber tubes...some folks use straws and a treble like the one above...


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## Beenslayin (Sep 16, 2020)

Well I went down last Friday. Did a bay trip with a young man who learned how to be a captain from his father. Awesome young man! He really knows how to get after them. His name is Jared Zingarelli with Apalach Anglers. We caught some big reds, speckled trout and white trout. Great trip. We didn’t get to go after any triple tails because Sally was blowing in. He was very safety oriented. I will book with him again. Saturday afternoon I surf fished the best I could in pretty nasty currents. I only caught a red fish and a catfish. Then after watching the weather reports we high tailed it out of there Sunday afternoon. The waves were getting crazy, the wind was blowing hard. I don’t have much nerve to weather a big storm like that while staying in a house on a sandbar. By the way, I ended up catching the red on a shrimp fish bite. Even though the trip was cut short by 3 days it was awesome.


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