Lures in the Surf

[irma01]

I am going to Vero Beach on Sat and Sun. Plan to surf fish with lures. never done before, only bottom fished. Any help on how to work the lure would help. Hope to make SI also. Hope hte weather is not too bad.

[repair5343]

Just like fresh water.
Cast it in real it out.
I'd use something flashy like Gotchas or if theres some boil in the surf throw a large bait that looks like a small mullet, actually just about anything will work in a boil.
Just keep it moving, maybe with some jerking action.

[saltwater junkee]

yeah...the gotcha plug is a really good bait. just throw it out and reel it in moderatly fast with a twitch or two every now and then.

[BoatlessFishing]

Colder water means in most cases slow down the fish are cold and Lazy.

Aggressive Fish, Mackerel, Jacks, BlueFish, Cuda, Aj's, Blue Runners these fish hit faster moving baits with out a doubt.

As for Color: should imitate bait in the water.
Dark Backs and Light bellys are what I like.

As for the way I use Lures,

Surface Lures and top water plugs:
Top Dog, Zara Spooks, Skitter walks,
Adjust Retrieve to achieve hits

My types of retrieve:
Steady Retrieve
Steady retrieve with very light twitch
If those fail, slow it down or Pick it up

Depth running lures:
Youzuris, Mirror, XRaps, Bombers BPS. Line
Fast steady retrieve
Fast steady retrieve with sporadic rod tip jerks
Fast steady retrieve with rythmic rod tip jerks
Rod motion jerks can be from 6 inchs to 2 Foot pulls "Pulls are exactly like it sounds"

I start my cast with this formula in mind and slow the retrieve and jerks if I don't recieve hits as I have worked with lures for sometime and I have found and have noticed that most people as they start to get hits pickup on the Zone "if that's what you want to call it" and the more you fish like this, the faster you can get into this frame of mind and produce fish. ( Its a Feeling you will learn in time so practice.)

When fishing the Beach use Parellel to the Beach.
Look for Birds Diveing or Pods of bait.
Work the Trough if there is one.
Work the beach side of a Sand Bar.
Work the ocean side of the sand bar if you can. This side produces bigger fish more consistently.

When fishing Bridges use with current.
Work edges of Land.
Allow Lure to go under or come out, the fish hang on the shadow lines.

There is alot more to it but this is the best I can do in the written word.
Hope it helps, the Boatless Fisherman....aka....Tommy

Check out my personal site: Boatless Fishing (http://www.boatlessfishing.com)

[eamakatu]

My favorite top walkers are Super Spooks and He Dogs.
I have these in different colors and will go from one color to the next until I find the color the fish can see. I have a snap swivel attached to the end of my line (power pro 20lb test). Switching up lures is fast and easy with a snap swivel.
My favorite colors are:
Super Spook:
Okie Shad
Chrome
Bone
He dog by Mirrolure Co.:
I don't know what they call it, but it has a yellow back, a gold chrome belly and a red painted "chin". It is by far my favorite lure and most productive for specs. With this lure it is not unusual to catch a spec, striper and redfish all in one day.