Surf fishing

[Mr. Poopypants]

OK, next month I am going to Topsail Island in N.C. and I plan on doing some serious fishing. I have my 2 9' surf poles, all the equipment I need, but I have one problem. I am not sure how to surf fish, what bait to use, arificial bait or live bait, cast and let it sit, or cast and retrieve. I will only be fishing from the shore or piers. PLEASE someone help me out, if you have surf fished, give me a few pointers. You can use fishing terms, I will understand them. Please let me know how freshwater techniques can be applied to saltwater fishing. PLEASE HELP!!!By the way, main catches are tuna, mackeral, seabass, shark etc.

[drunkenmaxx]

i don't know squat about seafishing, but from what i hear, it is easy.i would just watch the locals and see how they do it.

[Mr. Poopypants]

I was thinking that, I always like to think ahead so I have a jump on things.

[Mr. Poopypants]

WOW!! That is pretty much what I was looking for, I searched high and low for it but came up empty. Thanks Silver!

[Botany]

I wish I would have seen your post earlier. I too went to NC and did some fishing. How did it go, or do you still need pointers?

[Whelan]

Topsail is a great spot, I was there last year for vaca and we have stayed on the island many times in the past.When you go over the bridge (which i think is called a causeway or something) We hooked a right and were down that road about two miles. A good 3 minutes from Surf City. If you surf, head there for a morning and checkout the guys near the pear. There are a bunch of piers along by the public beaches so you can get out farther. One thing about the shoreline in Topsail is it is fairly shallow at low tide and you can wade out 50-100 years from shore and still be neck deep.If you use a lure or a live bait or even fish heads, be sure to put a sinker weight up the line a few feet to keep it from floating to the top and drifting with the top currents. Otherwise you will be reeling in sideways as your lure sits down the beach further.Get a sand pole holder, they slide right into the sand and hold the pole up. You will be sitting for awhile. Using a smaller pole for live bait with a reel in or a tug and reel works fine. But make sure you get a good hard cast out. Don't be surprised if you see Dolphins out, they passed by our house going down the shore each morning and returned the other way each night. They were about 200 yards off shore, so just out of reach. You will have a blast down there, from what I've seen a lot of people use live bait and chopped bait for the best results. Be sure when you go over the causeway you keep an eye out for the guy or lady in a beat up pickup with a food stand selling some fresh shrimp, yummy for dinner appetizers, their huge.Oh almost forgot, get a small pole if you have one and bring it to the intercoastal waterway. That is what the causeway goes over and it is a salt marsh with some spots near the bridge where you can launch small boats. Great spot to go crabbing or fishing right there, check it out!P.S.- rinse your poles really well after each use!

[rebbierae]

Uh, I'm pretty sure he's back already--that was from 2004!

[Whelan]

Next person to bring back a 3 year old thread is getting spammed, lol!