# Night surf fishing: quick advice needed



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

Hi...need some advice about what time to go tonight. Low tide will be at 11:41pm, and high tide not until 5:29am. I have read it's best to go 2 hours before high tide, so that's 3:30am. By 3:30am, won't the night time cruisers have already finished their night time feeding frenzy? Tonight is the only chance to go...when would you go?

FYI, in Corolla, NC. Have 5 small spot/croaker in the aerator hoping to be drum food. Or shark.


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

I'd wait just until the tide starts moving in after slack, and have bait in the water by 12:30ish.


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

I appreciate the advice. Ended up not going since winds were a steady 15mph (and still are). I'm new at this but from what I understand, surf fishing is not worthwhile when the surf is rough and cloudy. Am I misinformed?


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

from thse facing beaches, the sustained W, WSW and SW winds will mess the fishing up. You may catch some croackers, spot and skates. It creates upwelling which makes the water COLD and dirty. Water was 75 something the other day, and is at 57 today. Hope that helps Richmonder.


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## Espresso (Mar 18, 2005)

Weather and condition plays a big part in fishing. That said, some of the most productive trips I've experienced have been in shitty weather. Downpour and cold/windy days but still manage great catching. Of course the same conditions also resulted in a big skunk. I love to fish on 80 degrees sunny days but it's more waiting around than catching on those perfect days.


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

Shitty weather is sometimes good fishing, but when it comes to the NC coast, an offshore wind is usually no bueno, like NT said.


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

NTKG said:


> from thse facing beaches, the sustained W, WSW and SW winds will mess the fishing up. You may catch some croackers, spot and skates. It creates upwelling which makes the water COLD and dirty. Water was 75 something the other day, and is at 57 today. Hope that helps Richmonder.


Man it sure was cold today. Took awhile to get used to the water. Bout froze my teets off! The croakers I have are still alive, so I changed their water and tried to feed em some shrimp. I think I'll go out with 'em around 3am when the thunderstorms have passed and try my luck.


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## OBX Rookie (Dec 22, 2003)

No disrespect Neil your advise was good but if this person is on vacation for the week and the conditions are not prime but still fishable I say go for it, you just never know what might swim by and one thing is for sure when you get home and you didn't even try...well you know how that fish story will end. Just saying


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

No worries. Low tide is 12:30am and I'm actually able to go out tonight. Will be on the beach at Dolphin St in Corolla no later than 2:30am if anyone is interested in joining. Have 5 live croaker and a few spot heads I'm willing to share.


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

I know I don't let it stop me either, I live too far away and don't get near enough trips ... unless it's lighting real close or sinkers won't stay put I'm there ... that's why they made Truck Fishing


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

7.62 said:


> No worries. Low tide is 12:30am and I'm actually able to go out tonight. Will be on the beach at Dolphin St in Corolla no later than 2:30am if anyone is interested in joining. Have 5 live croaker and a few spot heads I'm willing to share.


I'd sure join you if I could. Damn work!


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## OBX Rookie (Dec 22, 2003)

7.62 said:


> No worries. Low tide is 12:30am and I'm actually able to go out tonight. Will be on the beach at Dolphin St in Corolla no later than 2:30am if anyone is interested in joining. Have 5 live croaker and a few spot heads I'm willing to share.


Good deal hope you get into something.




surfchunker said:


> I know I don't let it stop me either, I live too far away and don't get near enough trips ... unless it's lighting real close or sinkers won't stay put I'm there ... that's why they made Truck Fishing


Bingo! thats all I am saying, takes me 6 hrs to get to the banks and like I said if its fishable lines will be 
in the water the rest is up to the fish gods.


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

OK, didn't get a line in the water until about 3:30 due to lightening and a potential storm. Turns out I would have been ok to go out earlier, but it's quite a walk and a hassle with all that gear only to have to turn around. 

ANYWAY, only got one bite but it was a blast! I hooked up with what I believe was a shark at around 4am and fought him for about 45 minutes before the line went limp. I am disappointed that I didn't land him but am PUMPED about the experience. I am new to fishing and could not believe how amazing it felt to fight such a powerful animal. The 50# leader was abraded about a foot from where it was cleanly cut. My fault for not using a wire leader, but I really did not think I would actually hook up with a shark! I jury-rigged a wire leader after losing the fish using a bluefish rig, but by then the sun was up. 

Needless to say, I'm hooked! I'm going to try to go again but the tide changes aren't exactly lining up with middle of the might fishing. Tonight high tide is 7pm, low is 1:30am, and high is 7:23am. A couple hours after high tide it will just barely be dark, and a couple hours before next high tide it will already be daylight. What is THE most important factor when it come to fishing for big fish at night??


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

7.62 said:


> What is THE most important factor when it come to fishing for big fish at night??


No offense here - but the "rules" are for people, not the fish. Sure, there are "ideal" conditions, but unless you are fishing commercially, it's sometimes best to say "to hell with the rules". JUST GO!

I have caught some of my best fish on days, times, and tides, that didn't follow "the rules". The most important factor to catching ANY fish, is to go often, and have a line in the water for as long as possible. Everything else is completely out of your control.


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

glad to hear you got hooked up ... now hit it again tonite ... sometimes we outsmart ourselves


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

7.62 said:


> Needless to say, I'm hooked! I'm going to try to go again but the tide changes aren't exactly lining up with middle of the might fishing. Tonight high tide is 7pm, low is 1:30am, and high is 7:23am. A couple hours after high tide it will just barely be dark, and a couple hours before next high tide it will already be daylight. What is THE most important factor when it come to fishing for big fish at night??


being out there with a line in the water... at night fish throw the rule book out the window... they have the cover of darkness to hide their movement... if you got water, fish... good luck and enjoy the rest of your vacation...


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

If I was there right now , I would sleep all day. I would be on the beach and have small gear out for bait fish etc. by 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.. Just at dark I would have the big stuff soaking. Pack it all up 2hrs. after sunup.


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies y'all. I really appreciate you taking time with a newb. 



HStew said:


> If I was there right now , I would sleep all day. I would be on the beach and have small gear out for bait fish etc. by 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.. Just at dark I would have the big stuff soaking. Pack it all up 2hrs. after sunup.


LOL, well if I didn't have two little rugrats (5 & 2) and a wife to hang with, I'd be on that schedule. 

I have two surf rods I can use at night. I had both rigged with the same thing; whole or some portion of croaker on a fishfinder rig. I'll have at least one so rigged tonight. How would you rig the other?


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

7.62 said:


> I have two surf rods I can use at night. I had both rigged with the same thing; whole or some portion of croaker on a fishfinder rig. I'll have at least one so rigged tonight. How would you rig the other?


Anything you can find in the surf. Pinfish, small whiting, mullet, etc. Take a sabiki rig out early, and see what you can pull off a pier or bridge. Then, put it to good use.

When all else fails, grab a carcass out of the trash can on the way down to the beach. There always seems to be some.


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

What size hooks you using?


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

I'd put both back out with fish finder rigs ... increase your odds 100%


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## OBX Rookie (Dec 22, 2003)

Good deal glad something was swimming by, like I said you never know. As far as hanging on to something after they pick up your bait well lots of things come into play at that point, good line, good drag, good knots and most of all a level head. No matter how much adrenalin is pumping through your veins when the battle begins if you don't show your opponent some respect till you find a weakness chances are the beast will win. Hope you find some more fun on the beach tonight, good luck!


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

FYI - I've been typin all these posts on my iPhone, and it's tedious so excuse the brevity as I make reference to your posts. 

When I hooked the (possible) shark the other night, I was using a 7/0 Gamakatsu circle hook with a quality 50# mono leader. My knots were solid as it was the leader that was severed clean. This makes me feel good because I was worried how good my shock knot was, but after a 45 min battle it was still holding strong. I am surprised the 7/0 would have hooked a shark, but since the last 1.5 feet of the leader was abraded, I think he was gut hooked. 

OBX- What do you mean respect? I let him drag for awhile before even attempting to turn him and reel in. Maybe I should ask for your definition of disrespecting a big fish. 

I went to the local tackle shop to get some wire leader, and the guy sold me some 9/0 j-hooks to go with, along with an 11/0 j-hook with like 6-8 ft of wire leader already attached. There's no way in hell to cast a fish-finder rig with that much leader, and I even found casting it as a cannonball rig difficult, so I cut back the leader to about 3 feet. I have to say, I do not like j-hooks as compared to circle. They don't hold bait for crap. I wasted a whole mullet on that 11/0 hook. I'm thinking I should have "sewn" it onto the line/hook. 

Anyway, no luck last night. I went out an hour after high tide (8:30) and fished until about 1am. Nada. Maybe some bait-stealing blues but nothing big enough to hook into. I wish I could have fished all hours of the night, but with kids and such, I have to be selective because I need to sleep SOMETIME. And it can't be during the day or the fam wouldn't be happy. That being said I wish I had set my alarm for an hour past low tide and tried my luck then. That's what I'm planning on doing tonight. 

So much for brevity!!


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

7.62 said:


> I am surprised the 7/0 would have hooked a shark, but since the last 1.5 feet of the leader was abraded, I think he was gut hooked.


Why be surprised? Small hooks can definitely catch big fish. It all depends on geometry, and how they take the bait. A small circular hook isn't so great when you are after bait slammers, but when they take, and start to chew a bit before "walking" off, you've got them every time.





7.62 said:


> with like 6-8 ft of wire leader already attached. There's no way in hell to cast a fish-finder rig with that much leader


Not true at all. 8 ft. might be a little long - but 6 ft. on a sliding sinker... really? I throw 11 and 13 foot rods, and I don't have much trouble with that kind of length on an Off the Ground cast. (even a Brighton cast in a pinch, if you don't need much distance)





7.62 said:


> I do not like j-hooks as compared to circle. They don't hold bait for crap.


J-hooks have landed more redfish than you can imagine. Not my favorite hook, but hard to deny their application.



7.62 said:


> So much for brevity!!


Brevity is overrated.


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## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

6 feet between your 6oz weight and however much a whole mullet weighs? I make no claim to being even a good surf caster, by on my 10.5 ft rod I couldn't get that to go past 40 yards. Cannonball did much better. I think I just need some casing lessons though so someone can point out the flaws in my technique. Many to be found, I'm sure.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

7.62 said:


> 6 feet between your 6oz weight and however much a whole mullet weighs?


Yep. It's your responsibility to ensure that you have rated gear and tackle, but yes, this is done.



7.62 said:


> I make no claim to being even a good surf caster, by on my 10.5 ft rod I couldn't get that to go past 40 yards. Cannonball did much better. I think I just need some casing lessons though so someone can point out the flaws in my technique. Many to be found, I'm sure.


No point in you or anyone else beating you up over technique. We all start somewhere. As long as you are willing to admit that you might be deficient in a specific area, there is hope of improving.

Sharks come in to feed at night, so 40 yards might be all you need. I don't know your beaches, so I can't say. Around here, (in many, if not most spots) that would do the trick. You won't catch the big beasts, but you'll find your slot at that range. You will have to ask your local anglers where the sharks hang.


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## OBX Rookie (Dec 22, 2003)

7.62 said:


> FYI - OBX- What do you mean respect? I let him drag for awhile before even attempting to turn him and reel in. Maybe I should ask for your definition of disrespecting a big fish.


I did it once, hooked up to something real big screaming off line and I decideded the fish had run long enough and it was time for me to be in control well did I feel like an idiot...yep! Some fish just dont belong on the beach for a photo opp.


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

August,full moon many years age me and two friends,cape lookout, tossed ( by gloved hand)out a chunk in a deep hole. old "hatteras" type 8/0 drum hook, 9' wire, penn long beach spooled with 30lb. dacron. Big boy took it and clicker started like a big drum,ran 5yd. stopped, picked it up again ran then stopped, ran again . I set the hook and off it went straight out. We were ready with a bucket of water and a rag to cool the reel with . It was a smoker. Tightened drag too much too soon. Stood there shaking and scratching my head for a while. That was the only big bite we got that trip .


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