Thread: Definitions of surf fishing for sharks???

And on the subject of non educated beach goers. We went down to Bolivar Pennesula last year for a week. Bolivar is 27 miles of public accessible beach. Our beach house was beach front so every morning I would get up early and fish and just leave my truck on the beach all day because we were on and off the beach. Everybody seemed to be fishing cause the bulls and speaks were everywhere in the surf. 3rd evening maybe 30 minutes before dark a car literally blocks me in they park so close to me. Mind you there 27 miles of beach. I have 2 lines out and in sand spikes and have a light rig I'm casting. The family gets out pops the trunk and throws fire wood out, gets coolers, chairs etc. aggravated was a understatement from me but I just kept fishing. Hook a red, lady runs over with a camera snaps a pic and goes back to there little party. I release red and grab another whiting head and run circle hook through it. And mind you there kids are all under my lines swimming the lady runs back over and ask why the "blank blank blank BLANK, would I use a bait like that with people swimming. Taken by surprise and my wife in the back ground telling me to be nice. I nicely told her what I was catching and that is was working. So with a few more vulgar words she tells me how stupid it is to attract sharks from the deep blue ocean to come and attack her kids and that as a parent I had failed because my kids were in the water. That I needed help and to be taught a lesson. So not so nicely I told her that there is 27 more miles of beach and where she could go. So come to find out they are from Ohio. Needless to say the next day, Mr. game warden was on the beach checking everyone. So I suppose she called in and said fisherman were gonna get people killed. But warden knew what was going on. I told him about the situation I had. He said I handled it better than most. Just wish people were more educated when they tried to ruin a good thing.

Thanks Pier. I plan on fishin sun up till the beach goers fill it up. And then after they are off the beach a little before dark and maybe a little at night. I'm just trying to get it right while I'm down.

Good advice and attitude Surfman!
I try to stay away from high density locations when targeting pompano or even casting plugs & jigs too.

Originally Posted by Surfman75935

Thanks Pier. I plan on fishin sun up till the beach goers fill it up. And then after they are off the beach a little before dark and maybe a little at night. I'm just trying to get it right while I'm down.

That's my approach too and so far has always worked fine for me in Alabama. There have been a few times where the bite starts cranking up at 9-10 when I'm about to pack it in, usually with fishing moving down the coast, so depending on time of year that starts overlapping with the sunbathers. The place I usually stay has a nice stretch of undeveloped beach between condos and houses down on the peninsula, so I usually head that way and have some distance anyhow, but if the bathers get close I usually just figure it's their turn so I head west a little and put some distance there.

It does piss me off a little since I'm the one who was up before dawn while they were still sleeping it off in the bed, but I'm there to enjoy myself, and, in the end, it ain't my beach.

However, if I'm hooking big reds or the pomps are swarming, all bets are off and they can kiss my ass til the fish quit biting.

Yea. Just ridiculous to have to give up and turn in if the fish are biting to sun bathers but like said not our beach. But the week I'm there I'll try to keep fisherman a good name.