Landing fish in the Surf
 

I've only been in the Surf for a couple of years, but seem to struggle everytime I get a decent fish at my feet. Between managing my footing, the surf, and a ten foot rod, I always seem to have a hard time getting to the fish. Anyone have any helpful hints?

Bring the fish in on an incoming wave.

Yeah, and loosen your drag a little when the fish is in close. It's definately a challenge. I think we've all lost some good fish within a few yards of us. If you bring the fish in before it's worn out they can be alot more difficult to handle too. At the same time if you plan on releasing it you should be be bringing it in as quickly as possible anyway. It's tough. That's why it's so much fun.:)

1. NEVER cast anywhere where you cannot land a fish.
2. ALWAYS have a plan in place for how to get the fish in and WHERE th best place to land it is.
3. A tired fish is MUCH easier to land than a green one.
4. As said above, use the surf to get one last push to put the fish in an area where
A. It has almost no escape route (On the sand or, in a trough between rocks)
B. You can get to it safely. You know where Jay and I like to fish. We almost NEVER lose a fish trying to land it using the above tips.

As JF said: the most important part of fishing in the surf is having a plan on how and where you will land the fish. I never fished where you do, (decksweeper), without having a plan to land the fish. I know exactly where you and Jim are fishing most nights and you should scope out a couple of different landing spots around you guys so landing the cow is not a ordeal.

Heavy leader material is easier to grab and haul a fish out with than thin braid. Boga grips are also helpful. Don't grab the plug to haul the fish out with, that can hurt you BAD.

thanks guys...and to your point Paul...I do try to figure out where the best place is to get to the fish, but as you well know, things don't always play out the way you hope they will. So thanks again for all the advice and if all goes well I'll be fortunate enough to get a little better at it.
-Mark

Take me with ya. Quickest thumb in the east :smokin:

Small hand gaff if I'm in kill mode :D
Sometimes a 3ft'er when the surf is running...
quickest wrist in the east here Chef :D

sure is.... except..... oh never mind:jester:

Landed about 50 bass in the surf today between 4 and 5pm!

Did I mention they were all between 20 to 25













































inches!:tooth:

It was fun though on my little 7'er with 12lb test.Very fun indeed and the most bass I've caught since July began.Very fun for sure.East wind at an old hole.

big fish are easy . Expect the fish to make a break for it when she lays eyes on you . After that expected out burst bring her back to your side. Why your side ? Because if the surf bangs the fish of the front of your legs, the spikes on the dorsal fin will punch holes in your waders ..Those holes just above the knees or higher ,,,that is what thats from .. Took me like ten years to figure that out . After the fish has freaked and you brought her back to your side,(to my left cause I'm a righty and I want my strong hand in her yap)(and Don't turn your back on the surf) Slide your left hand down the line to grab the plug or 1/0 min. barrel swivel if your bait fishing . Quickly look in the mouth and inspect for hooks left from others when you see the mouth is clean put your rod under left armpit or just clamp between legs and make the grab with the other hand (my right)..The thumb in mouth controversial lip grab . You have to make this strong and the fish may head shake so be prepared at this point you have to keep your pimp hand strong.. Letting go is not an option .. If you do drop the fish and hooks get you,, you have to drag it up on land and lay on it until its dead .Unhooking a fish depends how they are hooked .. Multible treble hooked can be messy and out of the water surgery may be rerquired with lengthy fish cpr revival and release ,, sux.. Alot of single hook, hook ups in a button holed lip is the best case senerial and you really don't even have to remove the fish from the water .. Treat treble hooks like each hook is a single unhooking one at a time .. . little guys are a handfull.. No handle on them things little mouths.after tiring. wet hand ,, back of the head .. watch out for dorsal spikes..

heavy mono leader. anything under 25" ya can go out about knee deep and bring it to ya. grab the leader/swivel and haul em out(pull em out of the water). anything bigger. do the same, but then almost run it back to shore (with out taking it out of the water). let it get beached before attempting to get it out of the water. i learned that the hard way.

also learn how to tackle (pounce and wrap up) fish in 1 ft of water :rotf2:

On Number One where's the fun in that.My philosophy is hook em an figure it out later.
I had a good fish go around the jetty an get me hung on the mussles on a rock it took me a half hr to land her.I basically had to let her die to pull her back.
Sometimes the fish has it's own plan.
Big fish will sometimes just put thier head into the current an there is no turning em.Like holding a sheet of plywood in the wind.Thats when I let em go.Now u have to realize this before it gets u in trouble.Like everything else it does not always get u out of jail.Loose line, hope the hook don't fall out.Loose line is the trick when ur rapped up not so loose so's that it gets in other rocks.But loose enough so's that there is not a great amount of tension on the line.The line will not break on rocks if it is not tight.take ur time.
Another good tip is u not only have to play the fish U have to play the water.I see so many guys try to make a fish come thru the pull of a wave.U ever stand in the water an feel it almost pull u down??The water is ur friend.Use it to ur advantage don't fight it.Move with the fish if u can when it's sliding.If u can't wait till the wave recedes an try to turn it on the outflo.
Tagger had some good tips..
Like they will always make a last ditch effort to escape when they get near ya.Hold rod softly,loose drag.I basically fish a loose drag an cup the spool when I need to.
Get fish to ur side.Watch dorsal.I have seen some bad infections from guys getting spiked.ALWAYS FACE THE WATER.
The long rod is good for everything till u get the fish next to ya.There can be some awkward momnets when u have the rod over ur head.I usually try to grab the line.Not tight.just enough to steer it to me..
I then take a qick inventory like he mentioned.
I will usually try to grab the plug if I can,tight.U don't want it to slide in ur hands.Then Either lip grab like he said good firm grip.Or if it's maw is full of hooks I will slide my hand in her gill plate.Till I can get some hooks out to make a lip grab.
I also agree with one hook at a time.Get the easy ones out first.I never use pliers.

I strongly disagree with grabbing the plug. Had a large bass give a good shake while I was doing that, drove the hook through the nail on my middle finger. A friend of mine had a bluefish drive a hook into his hand a few years ago, still has damage. Do yourself a big favor and find another way, like grabbing the leader.

let your buddy:bl: come over and land it for you.....then when you get off your rock...let him cast to the school

Team work, we do it all the time. Puts the pressure on when its a 40 lb fish and you know its up to you to land it for your buddy.Dont Drop the FISH!!!!

This one was a two man effort.

like NIB said use the water and surf to get it into the suds or in close to the jetty never hit them in the face with a bright white light they will freak out what do you need to see anyways?you will know when the fish is in reach.grab the leader lightly and as NIB said stear the fish into you where you can safely lip it at that time the fish has given up enough that the light won't freak it out much.

Back up the beach if you can because this decreases the angle of your rod to the fish. The greater the angle the more likely it is to pop the hook. I always loosen my drag when the fish is in close incase it decides to run or roll.

not being a funny guy..but you have to know your own limitations and what you can do ,,then develop a system that works for you .. If you have been a stone mason for 20 yrs. and posses a death grip.. can crush walnuts with out the cracker,,you probabaly have no problem grabbing and controlling the fish .. If your cutting hair for a living you probably want to drag the fish on dry land ..

Just dunk your head in and bite 'em.:tm:

Boga Grip

:rotflmao:

that's what I do, doesn't everybody? :huh:


I give'em the death grip

had a schoolie crap all over me the other day while unhooking it :fishslap: :yak5: nasty

I was not squeezing it, I had the lip

I'ld sh@t myself as well if i saw your paws coming down to lip me

bass poops on you. thats supposed to mean good luck is coming. kinda bad luck when it happens though. :)