Florida Chapter Anastasia State Park Gathering 2006

[Ira]

I prefer saltwater too, because even if you catch a junk fish like a barricuda, it's fun.

Talk about junk fish, we catch a lot of ladyfish. Even that is kinda fun because they'd flip and jump like a real sport fish. We'd also cut them up and use them for bait.

Might as well service the reel and replace the line that's on there. Also, what kind of weights should I have on hand?

We'd wade out till it got about waist deep then cast out.

Waist deep for you is probably over my head. I might as well just stay on the beach, close to my rum and Coke.

Yes, fishing on the beach down here with cans or bottles of identifiable liquor is a no-no. So me got thermos to put my goodies in!!!

[cracker39]

While in Maryland, I worked on the Pax River NATC for 9 years and surf fished off the beach there (in the Chesapeake bay). There was a sand bar about 40-50 yards out that was about 3' deep at low tide. We'd wade out to the bar to make our casts, sometimes up to neck deep between the beach and sand bar. Sometimes, we'd get a strike before we even got back to the shore. I bought a small inflatable boat and would row out quicker than wading, sometimes past the sand bar, cast two rods, and row back in trailing the lines out was I went. Sometimes I'd have my bait out 80-100 yards and caught more fish that way. It was quite a job reeling them in from that distance.

I was surf fishing one time on that beach and hooked something that I never saw. It wasn't a ray because you can feel the vibration of their wings flapping. My line just started going out slowly and I couldn't stop it. I set the drag just below breaking point, and it just kept on going, slow and steady until it emptied the spool and broke. To this day, I still wonder what I hooked.

[asianflava]

First time we went out to the coast here I noticed that the hardcore fishermen had Kayaks strapped to their trucks. We found out that they used them as "bait runners" doing the exact thing that Dale described. I have an inflatable Kayak but the collapsable paddle broke before we could get some good use out of the boat.

Dale, Maybe you hooked into Chessie.

[Ira]

I went to check on my surf rig yesterday, which was leaning on a wall in the backyard, and the rod cracked because the core had rotted!

It's been out there forever because I figured the freshwater rain wasn't going to hurt it. I was wrong.

The reel looks fine. It's a Shakespeare Titanium or Platinum, can't recall, but I don't see it listed on their web site. (Must be discontinued.) On it, there are specs for 20, 30 and 40lb test, so does that mean I shouldn't use 10?

I had bought it as a combo, so I'm assuming the new rod I buy should be the same length. I always wanted an Ugly Stick, but I know those aren't cheap. Also, do you think the diameters of the eye/guides (what's the term for those things?) matters at all, as long as the rod length is the same as before? I think it's 10-foot, but I'm just guessing. I didn't check it last night.

Good news is that I HADN'T thrown out my rod holders.

Dale, when I first moved to Florida, I did the same thing once with a Sevylor inflatable in Sebastian--but to go clamming. Are those clamming beds still good? This is like 13 years ago, but my friend and I didn't have much luck. (Like 3 clams!)

We didn't care that much anyway, because we went to a fish store and bought dozens of clams, brought them to the bar when we returned home, and just lied to everyone.

Are there any good spots for us to camp in Sebastian? And what about near the River? I love that part of the state.

Funniest thing about my clamming incident was my friend waded far out before I got the boat inflated, and I saw this big fin sticking up near him. I thought it was a SHARK and started screaming at him! He started laughing his ass off, because of course, it was just a dolphin.

Then there were dozens of them.

[cracker39]

Ira,

These answers are based on my experience and opinions, others may have other suggestions.

The reel looks fine. It's a Shakespeare Titanium or Platinum, can't recall, but I don't see it listed on their web site. (Must be discontinued.) On it, there are specs for 20, 30 and 40lb test, so does that mean I shouldn't use 10?

YES you shouldn’t. 10 lb test is fine for freshwater fishing. On a surf rod, you have a good chance of breaking 10 lb just by casting. Surf rods are for catching larger fish and should have heavier line on the reel. I’d go with 20 lb.

I had bought it as a combo, so I'm assuming the new rod I buy should be the same length. I always wanted an Ugly Stick, but I know those aren't cheap

The ugly stick is primarily for bass fishing, or in saltwater, pier of boat fishing. It would be too stiff for surf casting. Most surf rods are more limber than any ugly stick and you need some flexibility in the tip end of the rod to get the inertia needed to send the bait and sinkers out farther. I don’t gauge a rod by the price, but by the action. I always check that. Of course, a lot of the cheaper rods are too flexible overall. They should be stiff at the butt end, but have some flexibility toward the tip.

Also, do you think the diameters of the eye/guides (what's the term for those things?) matters at all, as long as the rod length is the same as before? I think it's 10-foot, but I'm just guessing. I didn't check it last night.

If you’re using a spinning reel, and personally, that’s all I use in salt water, the rear guides need to be larger than with a casting reel. I checked my surf rods (I found 4, not two), and the two I’ll bring were bought as a rod/reel combo. They are 10’ and the rear guides are 1 ¾” inside diameter. The other two older rods are about the same. The guides become smaller from butt guide to the tip.

Are there any good spots for us to camp in Sebastian? And what about near the River? I love that part of the state.

I haven’t checked out camping at Sebastion yet, but I’m sure there are campgrounds. I don’t know if they allow camping overnight at the jettys or not. They do at Tampa, at the piers at the north end of the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

I checked the tides for that weekend for St. Augustine Beach, and they should be close to those at Anastasia. Fishing is best on a moving tide, and IMHO the incoming is better than outgoing. Low tide is around 5AM, 6AM and 7AM for Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sunrise is around 7AM. I’d want to be on the beach an hour after low tide, or about sunrise. But, evening fishing with low tides 12.5 hours later than the morning low tides would be good too. But, sunset is around 5:30PM and we'd need some flashlights or lanterns.

[Ira]

Dale, it's a spinner, but they've been making Ugly Sticks as surf rods too. I remember this from a few years ago, that they wanted to start capitalizing on the name for other models.

http://www.shakespeare-fishing.com/prod ... -big.shtml

What's weird is looking at my 20-30-40 rating on the reel, and the ratings on this list for 10-foot rods, maybe mine ISN'T a 10-footer, since none of them match.

Dang, now I want to leave work early and go home to measure my rod.

[cracker39]

Dang, now I want to leave work early and go home to measure my rod.

I wouldn't touch that line with a 10' rod...er, I mean 10' pole.

OK on the ugly stick. I didn't know they made surf rods. I'm going to WM today, I'll check them out and let you know what I see that I'd like (but won't buy as I have 4 already). Just make sure the tip isn't too stiff if you buy one. If you hand a 5 or 6 oz weight off the end of the rod, it shouldn't bend any from the middle back, and from the middle to the tip, the bend should be more toward the tip.

In fact, I wouldn't worry about getting one just for this trip. I have spares you can use if you want to. I generally use two rods unless the fish are biting good, then I just use one. It's a job to have a fish coming in on one rod then get a strick on the other and you need to grab it to set the hook.

[Ira]

I wouldn't mind buying one because I've been so fishing deprived for the last few years. I'd like to learn where to go in my area off the surf, how to rig, what to go for, when to go for it, etc.

The two piers we have for pier fishing right near me pretty much stink 90% of the time, and I never go off-shore in a boat. (My poor friends don't own any, and my rich friends don't invite me.)

Thanks for checking at WM. That's where I planned to buy anyway, with my wife's 10% discount.

[cracker39]

I'll probably run to WM in an hour or two. My wife needs more caffein free Pepsi and I need more hardware for my wind deflector mods and storage box I'm building for my truck. And, it'll give me an excuse to browse the fishing section, even if I'm not buying anything right now. I guess I should replace my fish line. I'll test it first to see if it's still good.

I'll be happy to share my limited knowledge of surf fishing with you, and I'm sure others will too. I haven't done any real surf fishing in nearly 10 years, so I'm pretty much surf fishing deprived myself.

[Woody]

Surf fishing I am there we'll be surf fishing right along with you guys I am bring my gear also. I was a fraid I was going to be alone trying my luck

[cracker39]

Surf fishing I am there we'll be surf fishing right along with you guys I am bring my gear also. I was a fraid I was going to be alone trying my luck

NOT A CHANCE!!! When I'm near water, I have fishing tackle with me.

[asianflava]

Yes Shakespeare (Ugly Sitck) makes surf rods. If you have a spinning reel you have to get a spinning rod. Spinning rods have the large bottom eyes and are made to flex with the eyes pointing up. Casting rods have small eyes and are made to flex with the eyes pointing down. If you use them in the wrong way, they will break.

You can camp at Sebastian, on the South Jetty on the other side of A1A. Of course the North Jetty is where you want to go. The South Jetty is a rock jetty, but I think it has a concrete top (don't remember).

[Ira]

Yes Shakespeare (Ugly Sitck) makes surf rods. If you have a spinning reel you have to get a spinning rod. Spinning rods have the large bottom eyes and are made to flex with the eyes pointing up. Casting rods have small eyes and are made to flex with the eyes pointing down. If you use them in the wrong way, they will break.

This is where after all of the fishing I've done in my life, I'm still an idiot about this.

What do you mean? I guess that by "casting," you mean "conventional," not spinning reels.

When I go to cast with a spinning combo, with the rod back over my shoulder, the eyes point up--but once I've casted and then sit down with my Budweiser waiting to catch Moby Dick, the eyes are pointing down.

Isn't this the same for ALL fishing with spinning reels?

[cracker39]

Ira, I PM'd you about the rods I saw in WM.

As for your question, casting is casting whether you are using a drum type casting reel or a spinning reel. I like casting reels for bass fishing, but for everything else, spinners for larger fish and spin cast for small fish. I just counted my rod/reel sets that I own, and came up with 24 total I've bought over the past 30-40 years (and some of them are that old). Sorry about that...I just can't resist buying fishing gear. I have two salt water boat rods and four surf rods that share 4 spinning reels. The rest are freshwater light to medium rigs with an asortment of casting, spinning and spin casting reels.

[cracker39]

Ira, you're right. On a spinning rod, when you have it level both the reel and eyes are beneath the rod. Unless, like some people, you hold the rod with the reel up and crank backwards with your right hand. That ain't the way to do it. The spinning reel should be hanging down. Most spinning reels today have reversable handles if you want to crank with your right hand. The casting reel sits on top of the rod.