from Michigans fresh water to Virginia salt water!

[queondaese]

im a regular michigan freshwater fisherman. but currently working in virginia. im so wanting to hit virginia beach to surf fish and chesapeake bay pier fish. dont know much about surf fishing and what tackle to use to be successful on the beach and pier. other than i have a heavy duty spin reel with what seems to be 20lb braid and thirty lb mono. its attached to a 8' daiwa beefstick that can hurl 4ozs. its a rod set up i got at a local pawn shop. i also have a 9' fly rod with a alvey sidecaster that has no line on it yet that i brought from home. i use it for float fishing. i know, i know, i need to get a center pin. its just to expensive for me right now but i will own one.only by Gods grace. anyways what do i need to use for bait and style of rigging. any special areas with special techniques etc... im looking through the forum but it would be nice to get some personal feedback from the regular native fishermens. special note. you come to Michigan you let me know. ill help yall out.

[Rob Rockcrawler]

The rod and reel you have should be fine. I dont know what kind of bait is popular down there or what kind of rigs or any locations. Stripers arent the toughest fish to catch in the ocean. I would just pop into a local bait shop and ask for a few pointers for the area. Spend a couple bucks and you should get some answers. Im from michigan, been out in here in Mass for 10 years now. I miss walleye fishing and steelhead in the AuSable.

[JohnR]

Que - welcome to S-B

Not sure of specifics for down there but there is plenty of chunking bait, worms, etc and plenty of places to do it. Definitely check the local bait shops. Inshore, spring is big there, summer, well...

Also be sure to check the local regs as depending on where you are the seasons / sizes / limits change.