Thread: Go to surf rig- only one rod and reel setup

If you only had one rig- rod, reel, line, bait rig, and bait for fishing the surf, what would it be? Specifically...

what length and action rod?
what size reel?
what type and poundage line?
what bait rig and weight (Carolina rig, dropper rig, pompano rig, etc)?
what bait (and cut into what size pieces if not fished whole)?
where in the surf are you throwing?
what fish species are you targeting?

Now I have a couple of reasons for asking this. First I'm a lure fisherman who occasionally fishes with bait so I'm no expert on the bait side of things (though I have caught surf fish on both lures and baits). Secondly, I'd love to fish every kind of rig out there, but I only have so much time at the beach and I want to focus on catching fish and less time on tinkering with rigs that I think might catch fish. I think a lot of "tourists" over complicate this, me included.

7' medium action with a 2500 series spinning reel spooled with 8# mono.
Caroline rig, smallest egg sinker possible, swivel, short 12# mono leader & a #4 baitholder.
Some fresh shrimp chunks & Pink FishBites.
From right at your feet in the trough to over the sand bar.
Whiting & pompano, with an occasional redfish.

No expert here by any means but thought I'd give my 2 cents. My "go to" cause it's all I've got is a 7' med heavy rod with a Shimano 4000 with the rear drag setting. I'm hitting the beach first light and throw a spoon while I look for a cut in the sand bar. if the spoon ain't working I'm going to a Carolina rig and fish the 1st trough near a cut with a small hook and shrimp for whiting and the like. if that dries up going to go to a 3" gulp shrimp on a jig. all using the same rod with 10# stren low-vis mono and a 25# mono leader.

A 7ft to 7ft 6 rod 10 to 17# test rated with a popping action. That would be fast enough for some things but slow enough to not always rip treble hooks out.
I would build it on a Rod Geeks or North Fork blank.
Cork grip because that's what i like but with 6# foam core to reduce weight and not be so dead.
Reel would be a daiwa BG 2500 sw. Loaded with 15# J braid by daiwa. FG knotted to a 10 to 30 # floro leader depending on species.
bait/lure/bubble all would depend on where/water/tide etc.

One rig is all I got, then I got to have what Carl and SO got. Hard to beat the all around ways to use it in the surf.

I was in the process of typing the things i'd use, but its easier to say, "just use what Carl uses"

Depends on conditions, time of year, etc. If predator fish are around I'm going to target them first out as far as I can cast. Especially if i see birds and feeding schools. If not, pomps and whiting where the waves are breaking.

My best recommendation would be to have a rod rigged with a lure (1oz silver casting spoon) and one with a fish finder rig as Carl mentioned. Taking 10mins to change out your lure/rig will often cause you to miss a feeding school going by.

All above are good combo options. For true all around you may want a 3500 or 4000 series. My 2500 loaded with a good amount of 15lb braid got spooled a handful of times last trip. The 4000 is still sporty but gives you the line needed when hooking a jack on that spoon you are casting.

7'6" uglystik inshore select with a mitchell 198- or if you want to go the cheap route use a Penn pursuit ll 4000 with 14 lb fire line and a leader that matches your application.

Seems like you guys are using pretty much the same gear as me. One surprise is how many of you are using a Carolina rig. Are you guys using sand spikes and fishing stationary or holding your rods and casting and working the bait back toward you? I've typically run some kind of dropper rig with pyramid weight held stationary in a sand spike so I could focus on throwing a plug/lure with my other rod.

We use a Carolina rig to for cast and retrieve mostly, though we sometimes let current move it along the bottom. Drop, and double drops go in the sand spike, like you said.