# Jekyll equipment question



## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

I'm going to Jekyll toward the end of July and wondered if someone could suggest what basic equipment I should take? I've fished freshwater for nearly 40 years and have a bunch of freshwater gear (nothing heavy though - 7' rod, 3/8 oz capacity is the biggest) but have never fished surf. 

I don't want to spend a lot of money on equipment because I don't know if I'll get the wonderful opportunity to surf fish again, but then I don't want something that will fall apart halfway through the week. 

We're flying, so that limits how much I can take. I just bought a 10' Shakespeare spinning rod (1 - 4 oz, 15 - 25 lb test line), and am eyeing an inexpensive TICA spinning reel on ebay that holds about 170 yds of 20 lb test. There's also a Penn that's about the same price.

I'll probably fish both bait and jigs. I'll pick up sinkers & hooks wherever I can find a bait store around there. 

A friend told me he quit fishing the pier because it's too crowded now, so I guess I'll go other places on the island.

For my one and only surf rig, am I going in the right direction? Are 100 yd casts the norm? Maybe I need a bigger outfit?


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

First off, Welcome to P&S! Glad you stopped by! Hope you'll spend some time reading and take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that is here. Also keep us posted about your trip.

Second, I have yet to EVER see Jekyll Pier very crowded, even on weekends. You'll have no problem getting a spot to fish.

You won't be using that 10 footer on the pier, because of the roof. Bring that 7 footer you mentioned and you can fish the pier some, and you can fish the surf on either end of the Island. 

Big long casts are not necessary on the ends of the island...The boat channels are relatively close. But what you will find necessary is pretty heavy lead to keep bottom, should you fish the outgoing tide. Might need as much as 8 oz.

I'd plan on setting up on the North end of the Island, throwing the 10 footer far as you can, and throwing the 7 footer closer in. Should have it all pretty well covered.

If you'll use the search feature, I've put LOTS of Jekyll Island info on the board, and I'm sure you can find things that will help you.

Again, welcome, and good luck!


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## gasurffish (Jul 27, 2003)

*Bait and Stores*

There are several bait and tackle shops in Brunswick also on Jekyll the IGA at the strip shopping center usually has frozen bait shrimp and squid ( somewhat high though) there is also a store which has some limited tackle, rigs and I believe it also rents fishing equipment.


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## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

Since getting up early this am, I've done a crazy amount of searching and reading on this board. Awesome advice! But I'm wondering now if the 1-4 oz 10' rod is too light. Is 2 oz of lead + bait going to be OK if I don't fish outgoing tide?

On the reel, how much line do I need to spool? If it's rated for 170 yds of 20 lb mono, it will hold a lot more if I use braid. Is 170 yds enough?

I'd buy a huge amount of gear if I had the money, just because I love it. But I'm trying to keep to one all purpose surf rod/reel and supliment with my bass stuff.


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

jdarylh1 said:


> But I'm trying to keep to one all purpose surf rod/reel and supliment with my bass stuff.


Whew...Good luck having just ONE all purpose surf rod....There is no such thing my friend. If you get bit by the saltwater bug like I did, you better get a part time job to buy tackle.

I just THOUGHT I had a bunch of cash tied up in my bass gear... 

If you fish the north end or the pier on the incoming tide, you should hold bottom with 2 oz and small baits on the light rod, close in, and throw a 4 oz and bigger bait with the ten footer, as far as you can....


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## gasurffish (Jul 27, 2003)

*Tackle*

I started out inexpensive and the tackle lasted barely a year . Got bit by the bug and have steadly progressed in tackle quality. When the tied is running 2 oz will not hold on the beach, you can get sinkers with wires protruding which will help anchor and not get stuck as the wires will give when reeling in..I like braided line get more on the reel and resists kinking or snarling. I currently use spinning equipment and have found the lines out there are vastly differant. I hope to educate my thumb in the future .


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## Surf Fish (Dec 16, 2005)

jdarylh1 said:


> Since getting up early this am, I've done a crazy amount of searching and reading on this board. Awesome advice! But I'm wondering now if the 1-4 oz 10' rod is too light. Is 2 oz of lead + bait going to be OK if I don't fish outgoing tide?
> 
> On the reel, how much line do I need to spool? If it's rated for 170 yds of 20 lb mono, it will hold a lot more if I use braid. Is 170 yds enough?
> 
> I'd buy a huge amount of gear if I had the money, just because I love it. But I'm trying to keep to one all purpose surf rod/reel and supliment with my bass stuff.


Well.... the 10' rod should be plenty for starters. Just because it's rated 1-4 oz. doesn't mean you can't toss 5 oz, or 6 oz if you need to. 

A 4 oz pyramid sinker holds as good as a 6 oz bank sinker does. You can buy sinkers with wires in them, some people call them sputnicks (sp?). There are some pictures here:

http://amelia-island-fishing.com/fishing/tips/surfsinkers.cfm

A 4 oz with wires holds as good as a 6 or 8 oz without.

You probably don't need 20lb test main line either, I've used 15 or 17lb for years and as long as you use a shock leader (so you don't pop stuff off when casting) you'll do OK. 170 yards is plenty unless you hook a 150lb tarpon, and you probably don't have to worry about that happening.

The other thing about surf fishing is that farther is not better in all cases; lots of times you catch fish very close to the beach in the first cut, you don't need to cast half way to Italy.

If you buy a rod that is rated to 8 or 10 oz, you won't have much fun trying to throw a jig with it. And the heavier stuff gets, the more limited you are in what you can do with it. 

Most of us fish for "big fish" but in reality, most of what we catch is not big. You can catch a big fish on light tackle, but fishing all day and catching whiting on a 12 foot heaver with 8 oz of lead isn't a whole lot of fun. 

I caught a ton of small blue fish on a six foot fresh water spinner (rated 3/8 to 3/4 oz) using a 3 oz sinker last fall and that was a whole lot more fun than catching whiting on a 15' surf rod with an 8 oz sinker. 

Is 2 oz enuff on your 10' rod? Hard to say, depends on how the current is, how windy it is, how choppy the water is. With a 10' rod I'd probably start with 3 oz, but I'd take a couple 4's and 5's and 6's along just to make sure I have them if I need them.

I'd recommend this. Take your 10' rod, fill the reel with 17lb test mono, tie a 30 or 40lb test shock leader on, get a couple bottom rigs and some sinkers from 2 to 6 oz, and go have fun.

Since it's your first time surf fishing, not much sense in going to the beach with a ton of gear; you might not even LIKE surf fishing. If it really blows your dress up, and you can't wait to do it again, come back and tell us and we'll tell you about another $5K worth of fishing gear you can buy.

And don't forget to learn to tie a Bimini Twist. If you can't tie a Binimi Twist, you can't catch fish no matter how big your rod is....

P.S. I assume you are familiar with the fact that you can slice the end of your index finger off with braid and a six ounce sinker. If not, do some reading about braid before you use it.


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## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

I like the 2 ideas about the sinkers w/wires. Less weight, holds as well. And Surf Fish, thanks for the reality check. I often go nuts on researching stuff and tend to get obsessive!

10', 17lb, 170 yds, misc "wire" sinkers and have fun. Sounds perfect. I was getting a little concerned about having to get a massive heaver. Sounded like too much work and I wasn't planning to fish for stripers or tarpon anyway.

I can't believe how different surf fishing is from freshwater. I'm having to learn new knots, learn about shock leaders, learn about getting body parts sliced off with braid, learn new fish, etc. The list seems endless, but it's all very interesting.

In terms of "blowing my dress up"  I can't think of any kind of fishing I wouldn't like except maybe trawl nets! This inexpensive gear will last through this vacation, then if I get to go more often we'll have the $5K discussion.


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## lynnpier06 (Jun 3, 2006)

*sputniks*

dont know if you know what a fish finder is yet because you said you fished bass mostly, but its pretty much a carolina rig, what im getting at is i probably wouldnt use the sputnik sinkers on a fish finder, i did it once and it did one hell of a number on my line. It turned my hook leader and shock leader into slinky line after i untangled it and i found myself retying for that reason until i broke down and just used heaver conventional weights. I learned from my ignorance though. Hope you like the saltwater, great fishing opportunities out there!


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## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

Hmm......now something more to think about. I like both the fish finder rigs AND the sputnik sinkers. I'm trying to visualize how it would screw up your leaders and can't figure it out. Did you have the kind of sputniks where the wires fold back on retrieve?


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## Surf Fish (Dec 16, 2005)

Look at this page, at the illustration of the first rig on the list "General Surf Rig". That's what I'd use in a fast current with a sputnick....

http://amelia-island-fishing.com/fishing/rigs/index.cfm


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## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

2 baits are better than one. But what I'm wondering about is the way the sinker is rigged. When I'm freshwater fishing for carp or catfish and use a big egg sinker, there's no way I'd catch anything if I didn't let the line slip through it, kind of like the fish finder rig.

The general surf rig makes the fish pull a 4 oz or so sinker. Isn't that a problem? Maybe not to saltwater fish? BTW, very informative website. I bookmarked it.


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## Surf Fish (Dec 16, 2005)

jdarylh1 said:


> 2 baits are better than one. But what I'm wondering about is the way the sinker is rigged. When I'm freshwater fishing for carp or catfish and use a big egg sinker, there's no way I'd catch anything if I didn't let the line slip through it, kind of like the fish finder rig.
> 
> The general surf rig makes the fish pull a 4 oz or so sinker. Isn't that a problem? Maybe not to saltwater fish? BTW, very informative website. I bookmarked it.


Actually, in many cases it's not a problem, it's a bonus. If you use circle hooks, the tight line and the weight of the sinker will set the hook for you; all you have to do is wind in the fish. 

My dad refuses to use anything but a two hook bottom rig when we fish surf or piers, and I can't think of any kind of fish I've caught that he hasn't...


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## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

Well, no harm in trying. I can always switch to fish finders if it becomes a problem. 

Dang, I want to go NOW! End of July is too far away!


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## gasurffish (Jul 27, 2003)

*Fish Finder Rigs*

I like to experiment with differant rigs and will quite often have several rods out baited differantly. Also the same with sinkers when tide is low I will not use a pyramid sinker because they get hung up but will go with a Bank sinker , when tied is moving and I'm in the current then a sinker with wires will hold. If not to many lines out a egg sinker is interesting as it will drift. Just some ideas.


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## bigphil (Jul 9, 2006)

Yep I am a newbie here but getting the saltwater bug. Been fishing Jekyll and St Simons pretty hard the past couple of months.

My suggestion would be the red fish rig on this page http://amelia-island-fishing.com/fishing/rigs/index.cfm. I've been using that and having pretty good luck. Just change out the 36" leader near the hook with a steel leader and you will be good. We mostly have been catching sharks. Anywhere from about 20" up to 4'. Also caught a couple big manta rays last weekend. Been using 2 and 3 oz of weight with no problems.

As for line weight. That's up to you, but I can tell you that we have had plenty of fish break 20lb mono. My reel holds 300 yards of 20lb mono and I have had it stipped off to where I can see my spool. Fish the south end of the island. Go to the park there and hit the beach. All we've caught off the North end is small sharks 2 1/2' or less. I don't know if you own a cast net or not. If not use your smaller rod with the two hook rig and shrimp to catch bait for your bigger rod. The mullet have been running up and down the coast of St Simons for the past month. We've had plenty of bait out there. It's been tougher to come by on Jekyll. We've had to catch small whitings and blues to use as bait and pick menhaden out of the shrimp seiners nets.


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

Welcome, BigPhil...

Sounds like you ARE getting the bug. Keep us posted of your progress!


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## bigphil (Jul 9, 2006)

Yeah, I've got it. Every since I hooked that Manta Ray on monday morning and it came up out of the water several times.


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## jdarylh1 (Jun 24, 2006)

bigphil said:


> As for line weight. That's up to you, but I can tell you that we have had plenty of fish break 20lb mono. My reel holds 300 yards of 20lb mono and I have had it stipped off to where I can see my spool.


Bigphil - Now there's a choice for you.....heavier line and you'll get stripped or lighter line and you'll get broken off. That sounds like a lot more excitement than 8" whiting. Guess I'm screwed. I think my Penn will only hold 250 yds of 17 lb. but I'll sure give it a try. A friend caught a 5' hammerhead off the beach using raw steak.

I'm going with other friends who do serious shrimp seining, so I'll probably be able to collect all kinds of misc. bait out of their giant seine.


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## bigphil (Jul 9, 2006)

Yup, you should have plenty of bait. Just encourage them to either seine very early in the morning (before sunrise) or around midnight. All the seiners during the daylight hours seem to do is kill baitfish, or give us bait. 

I've heard from the shrimpers that that action is a little better on the North end of the island.

You should be alright with 17lb line. It wouldn't be any fun if it wasn't a challenge.


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