# Surf Fishing on Indian Rocks Bch - recommendations



## tmilanese

Heading to Indian Rocks Beach in three weeks. Anyone surf fish that area before? Need some recommendations on what species I should be targeting that time of year. I have a variety of rods for long and short distance casting. Thanks.


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## SloppyTilapia

What bigger, more notable beach is close to Indian Rocks? FL has way too much coastline to begin to guess where that is.....maybe more folks can chime in afterwards.


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## tmilanese

St.Pete/Clearwater beaches.


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## John Smith_inFL

Did you Google the area to see what fishing areas are available ?
My guess is that you need to just check it out when you get there. If you have room in your car
for a cart, take it. Some places are a LONG trek from the parking lot.
Looks like a couple of bridges in that area might be a good try.


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## tmilanese

I've got a house on the water.... not far to trek... With a cart...  ... just need to know what lures/spoons/jigs to throw into the surf with my light rod. I haven't fished that area since I was growing up and back then everyone used LOVE LURES ... dating myself.


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## SloppyTilapia

I hear that Doc's Goofy Jigs are made in that area? I bought about 15 of them several years ago and have caught Ladyfish, bluefish, flounder and pompano on them at St. George Island. Surely, they would be a good bet there as well?? I like the ones with a double hook and feather. I also like to throw a big chugger/popper early or late in the day when the surf is pretty flat. Have had big sharks follow it up to knee deep water before. Blues and trout and Ladyfish love it, too.


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## tmilanese

Thanks Sloppy, I'll grab some of those goofy jigs.


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## tmilanese

Anyone use UNFAIR LURES in the SURF?


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## SloppyTilapia

Never used them....but did a quick Google search on them. They look sexy, but I find it hard to fish most minnow/rapala/ "plugs" in the surf. The wave action seems to kill the designed action of the bait and they are hard to cast into a headwind.


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## Steve_VA

I just got back from Indian Rocks this weekend. Spent the week there and surf fished 3 days. The first day I caught an 18 inch Jack and a few keeper size mackerel . The next 2 days I got skunked. I did break off a rig while fighting something tho , not sure what it was or how big . I also had hundreds of nibbles from bait thieves . I caught my fish on a pompano rig, I had no luck with the river rig at all. Some days 3 ounces was holding and on the windier days I needed 6 ounces to hold. I left my sand flea rake in Virginia by mistake and was too lazy to dig for them on the beach. I stuck with fresh dead shrimp and cut squid . If I had it to do all over again , I would use a lighter liter then 30 pound test , maybe 20 instead, I would have free lined some pinfish and I would have of course got some sand fleas .


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## John Smith_inFL

any day on the water is a good day (unless of course you get sunburned and dehydrated)

NEXT time, make your bottom rigs with 20# flouro leads and 1/0 hooks with _*FISHBITES*_ to thwart off the thieves !!


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## Raymo

the bait thieves are skip jacks and needlefish...when fishing in the surf there, its lures for in close or be prepared to deal with thieves...get your castnet and free line the greenbacks you can find there...also can put them under a popping cork...best fun is sending a pinfish out as far as you can on a bottom rig either early in the morning, or as you are watching the sunset...jumped tarpon that way before...


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## tmilanese

Was there from 9/5 through 9/11... battled pin fish using fish bites and live greenbacks. You could catch as much bait as needed but the pinfish would hit them within 30 seconds of them hitting the water. Caught over 12 specices from the beach during the week: needlefish, pinfish, croakers, whiting, spanish mackerals, small bonnethead sharks, ladyfish, pompano, jacks, jacks with green stripe from eye going backwards (rudderfish?), small drum, and a few others I'm forgetting. Only lure that worked was a small spro jig which I caught a few jacks with. Not a very fruitful trip but very enjoyable for the kids..... I'll be search for a new location to rent next year along the west coast... oh wait a minute... my son hooked a good size mullet right in the lip with while using live greenback.... rare????


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