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Surfcasting Mistakes

98K views 141 replies 66 participants last post by  chunkster 
#1 ·
What do you think are the most common Surfcasting errors?
  • Listening to people speculate about where the fish are
  • Bad Knots
  • Gear is too Light
  • Dull Hooks
  • No Pre Planned landing Zone
anyone else?
 
#137 ·
#6. Carelessness while Rockhounding.

#7. Underestimating/disrespecting the power of nature.

- I agree! Never underestimate the power of nature (e.g. water or weather). I have nearly lost a friend while surf fishing in Hatteras, N.C. when he got carried out to sea in a rip current. His temperature did not even register on the coast guard's eqipment when they finally rescued him from the sea some 2 hrs and 1.5 miles out later.

-Tackle-wise, I would say to keep it simple. I have over complicated lots of rigging only to find out that I caught the same amount of fish (if not more) on simpler set-ups that cost a quarter of the $.
 
#3 ·
4 and 5

I have a tendency to be sloppy with 4 on plugs and it's cost me a few nice fish.
I've seen a lot of falls and lost fish on the jetties due to #5.
 
#4 ·
I think a big mistake many surfcasters make is getting stuck in a rut . . .

Stuck on a lure, stuck on a spot, stuck on a style / pattern. . .

I see so many people fishing unproductive water or fishing a spot at the wrong tide stage. They were probably told to "fish the white water for stripers" 19 years ago by an "old timer" and thats all they do. They might have even caught a Kamikazee bass one day at low tide on the top of the bar at noontime, and that has only served to solidify their rigid pattern. Other guys only fish the "dark water;" some go so far as to just fish the holes on either the north or south side of a point.

It 's funny sometimes . . . just means more fish for me :)
 
#5 ·
I pretty sure the number 1 reason for me losing fish in any type of saltwater fishing is do to not checking and replacing my line enough. Last weekend I was trolling a tube'n worm. Before starting, I had checked and cut off about 10 feet of the 20 lb. mono I was using upstream of my rudder. I didn't check the 50 lb. fluoro running from the rudder to the tube. Guess what broke on the first hit of the day?

In Freshwater (LMB fishing), especially this time of the year, it's do to the fact I throw into the heaviest cover I can find. If I can't get the fish up top real quick, it's over.
 
#6 ·
Re: Surfcasting errors

striperjim said:
What do you think are the most common Surfcasting errors?

#1. Listening to people speculate about where the fish are when they dont have a clue.

#2. Bad Knots

#3. Gear is too light

#4. Dull hooks

#5. No pre planned landing zone

anyone else?
#6. Fishing with zim

#7. Fishing next to zim

#8. Fishing anywhere near zim

I could go on...... :)

Ed
 
#8 ·
for me it was knots, but now I'll re-tie them ten times before I cast if it doesnt look good.

also alot of people don't try new things, to me thats part of the fun!
 
#11 ·
I have to add not bringing a spare spool.
Dont know how common it might be but if you have a tendency for wind
knots or birds nests a spare spool is a must. Especially if your
a distance from your car and or your eyes are bad.
 
#12 ·
Jim funny you should say that I was out on a Buddy's boat on Saturday and got a really bad knot with the power pro in the middle of a bluefish blitz. I got the spare out of my surf bag and was back in it, and on to a ten pounder in two minuets. I have spares for all my reels but the 560, a spare for that was close to $50. @ Capital, but after Saturday I think I'll invest.
heres a picture of one of Saturdays many blitzs in J-bay.
 
#14 ·
No, wind knot with braided line on a spinning reel. Real P.I.T.A, but the benefits of using braid far out weight the occasional hassle in my opinion
 
#17 ·
fishing rockpiles after pulling an all nighter....really really tired + rocks + hooks=disaster. i call it sleepcasting while standing on a big ole pile of slick jaged rocks....mmmmmmmmm my favorite. now i nap in the truck when im really tired or i sleepcast from the sand. thumbsup.gif thats why i love the canal, man the waters cold, and boy am i lucky it wasnt deep.

oh, take the time to care for your rod as much as you do your reel, i kept cutting line and finally figured out my rod tip was the culprit...lost a few nice plugs learning that lesson.
 
#18 ·
Tsunami Storm lures with defective hooks, I'm not too upset about it because I lost Blues, no cows. Whenever you use one of those weighted rubber lures, give them a tug first so you can see if the hook won't come out.


I still abide to nothing can grow wrong like fishing Coney Island Pier.

Oh yea another bad decision would be to target False Albacore on 6 lb. Test.
 
#24 ·
yea sure ya do!, netted some nice size peanuts to fish with yesterday for this morning. came out at 5am to see the chunkers not doing anything so set up the spey rod as the peanuts engulfed the surf with nothing on them again. will get ready for the run to begin. i needed the doubletime at work or i woulda went out last night on my buddies boat as he was into blues and 15-20lb bass.



 
#27 ·
Re: Surfcasting errors

Only I can do this one.
Buying spare batteries for the headlamp and forgetting that they were AAA not double A's while your out in no mans land.
Good thing for the uni knot. Easy to tie in the dark.
 
#93 ·
Re: Surfcasting errors

Only I can do this one.
Buying spare batteries for the headlamp and forgetting that they were AAA not double A's while your out in no mans land.
Good thing for the uni knot. Easy to tie in the dark.
I've done this. I've also loaded up the van to head out to a predetermined spot and then just zoned out while driving and missed my turn :smiliedoh:. Once I snapped back into reality I figured I would just keep on going and try some new water.
 
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