Thread: Surf fishing distance

Is their any advantage to fishing 300 to 600 yards out? If so what would be the desired distance and what would I catch. I have seen people use a bait cannon and wondered if it's something that could be used around the Alabama shore line.

To reach that distance, most folks just walk out on the pier.

The feeding fish are likely to be at your feet in the first trough, assuming you are not fishing among thousands of beachgoing folks.

I'm hoping to swim out to the bar and cast an eel or blue crab out for a stray cobia. Sounds crazy but it can just stay in the sand spike while I pompano fish. With my luck cut bait or a live ly is going to be eaten by a shark out that far.

Surf fishing is all about the structure of the beach, sandbar, bait and the predators feeding.
No advantage to distance as there simply is no ideal distance, it is an ever changing variable.
You could have Specks/Blues pushing bait right up on the beach and just have to flip a spoon 10 yards at them in the trough.
You could have tarpon blowing up on mullet on the bar and not be able to cast 150 yards to them, and a quarter mile own the beach the same bar is only 50 yards.
Pomps feeding in a cut, rays on the bar, small-medium sharks in the trough or large outside the bar in deeper water
An inlet, a point, or you could wade/swim out to the bar and be fishing in knee/waist deep.


On the other hand if you're targeting med-lrg sharks you ideally want to be outside the bar in deeper water.
Most people would simply use a yak to take their baits out the 100-300+ yards in 10', 15', 20'+ of water.
In areas with heavy surf, dangerous rocks/currents and whatnot, that is generally where you find such contraptions as bait cannons.

Thanks ChileRelleno for your insight. I just wasn't sure if I could use something like that out their. I don't have a Kayak and don't plan on swimming out in the water much.