Surf fishing for stripers.....the mystery

I'm new to fishing for stripers from the beach / any tips ?  

Rod lenght & action?
line weight ?
what kind of lures to use?
best time of day to fish for 'em?
If you don't see the birds working - where do you decide to blind cast?
Are top water plugs more productive than casting out hair raisers?
favorite lures to use?

please help a brother out  

Hey Joel-  


If this helps, no kissing is neccesary...!  

Almost all of my surf/striper action has been on the East Coast (Long Island NY); but I've been successful using techniques and tackle from both coasts. The East Coast seems to have a much longer tradition of surfcasting.

Rods-- longer is better, especially for big surf and big casts. I use a 10' Abu Garcia Conolon 200 spinning rod; medium action, rated for 1-5 oz. It was cheap-($50). On LI. 12' rods are probably most common- I've seen them up to 14'! Since I was flying back and forth, the 10' was easier to deal with.

Reels-- I'm using a Quantum Bluerunner Gold, BR470G, twice the cost of the rod, but with a smooth drag. Bigger spools allow for greater distance and more line, and when your stuck on the beach it's harder to follow a big one. Landing a big fish in big surf is tricky, too.

Lines--I use spectra on almost everything but my ultralights and flyrods. For surf, I've been using 30# spectra line, but you could go with 20# if you're using just light lures (plugs and softbaits) and want better distance.
I use 20-30# flouro for leader. In surf, the water visibility is minimal so leaders don't need to be more than 2-3'.

Lures--     1-3 oz

    Tins (East Coast)
    Irons (SoCal)
    Jigs (Pac NW)
          Kastmasters, Hopkins No-Eql, Pt. Wilson Darts, Diamond jigs, etc.,
          often with bucktails or feathers.

    Bucktail jigs and leadheads with soft plastics
            Fin-S and Bass Assassins; white or light colors in day, dark and      
            black at night.

     Plugs, 3/4- 11/2 oz, 6-9" long
             
               Topwater (Poppers)
               Atomics, Yo-Zuris...

                Swimming
                 Rebels, Rapalas...

       Bait rigs; usually a sliding sinker setup big enough to hold bait in surf    
           or current. To avoid crab problems use a cork or foam float (often      
           flourescent red) pegged 6" or so from your hook, which is sized to your bait. Bloodworms, clams (shelled) or cutbait (fish).

Time-- whenever you can go! I like early and late best; nights can be very good.

Where-- look for structure (on the Mid-Atlantic, stripers are called rockfish, for a reason.) Rocks and jetties are the obvious, especially where currents come in to play, and the stripers can ambush.  Even sand beaches have structure. On open beaches, I suggest scouting at low tide so that you can get an idea at where the subtle troughs and sandbars exist. The troughs only have to be 1' to attract fish. Especially look for troughs or cuts that are perpendicular to the beach-- these are outflow  (and undertow) areas for foods washed off the beach. Open beaches are usually best on the incoming and high tides. On ebbs look for points and places with current, in deeper water.

Hope this helps!

Joel,

Here are the main points of fishing stripers from the beach.

10 -11 foot rod.  Lami and G-loomis make some great rods.

3/4- 2 oz lure weight it best option if available in the rod you prefer.  This allows you to use jigs and metal with one rod.  You never know when run will appear.

I have only snapped my line one in 15 years of fishing for stripers from the beach and it was on my second ever fish.   I use 14lb line (your choice) with an 15 inch 20# leader.  Use a clasp at the end of the leader for quick changes as you can go from blind casting to run casting in seconds.  

Lures,

1/2 hair raiser with worm tail, such as the one's I gave you. This weight works best in super calm water and I have witnessed it out fish any other weight in these conditions.

3/4 hair raiser under moderate conditions will be you next bet.  You want to match the weight with the water movement so you can get the best action.  

1oz hair raiser will work best under rough conditions such as the ones we fished in on Tuesday.

If the birds are diving and the bait is jumping you want to throw poppers or mickey mouse jigs. I like the 2oz jigs. Rusty Hook has the best selection of sizes and shapes.

Casting spots,

Well I cant divulge all my spots but the one I took you to on Tuesday produces well, North end of rockaway, North end of Linda Mar, Ocean beach off Taravel or Sloat. All above spots but Rockaway are best with incoming or High Tides.

Note:  Best lures for blind casting are-  Hair raiser, then swim bait, yozuri,rebel, poppers (in structure)

Thanks for the info fellas   looks like I'll have to break open my piggy bank....again   .....it never ends   ....but it's worth every penny

It beats paying a therapist  

Joel... another consideration that I've picked up from my surf rod customers regarding baitcasting versus spinning setups...

For surface plugs such as poppers and jerk baits, many prefer a spinning setup because line may not spool tightly on a baitcaster with those techniques, causing increased potential for casting issues / birdnests with a baitcaster.

For night fishing, many prefer a spinning setup also because digging out a birds nest from a baitcaster at night can be very difficult.

Erik

Hey Pisco - what's a typical striper (size) caught  in your neck of the woods?

Erik - I prefer spinning reels - birds nest suck - especially when a hot bite is going on. It happened to me at Mendo  

Joel,

No stripers around here--- the closest are down in southern Oregon around Coos Bay and the Smith R. ( Although I read years ago that plants were attempted in the Columbia R.) I've only fished there once, 15-20 years ago. Almost all my striper experience was on the South Shore of Long Island, NY. (My grandmother lived near the beach, on Jones Inlet, until passing away (at 93) a couple years ago.)

My best striper was in the low 20s (by bathroom scale). Most were in the 8-15# range.  I would regularly read of 30-40# fish. A few years ago, was casting a plug at night, got a hit; it ran and never stopped. 300 yds of 20# gone in minutes. I don't really know what it was-- striper, shark, seal? I was a shaky mess the rest of the night.

We also use to enjoy bluefish (like a giant saltwater piranha), and weakfish (a type of croaker). No family left in the neighborhood, so after 40+ years of visiting, I don't know if, or when, I'll get back there again.

timing is everything, keep fishing keep you lure in the water. unless you can see a blitz out there, it is not necessary to cast too far, i have had stripers chase my surface lures into the wash to get them. i prefer at least 20lb test, just to deal with the surf, seaweed and rocks. i like to throw plugs, i cannot say they catch more fish, but they are more fun.  some guys climb the cliffs and swim to rocks on calm days, but i have not done much of that.