[lazy guy]

Greetings from the West Coast! I'm new to surf fishing, but I just got a 12' ugly stick and Daiwa Jupiter 5500. I'm getting better at casting, but the torque makes it hard to keep bait like shrimp or squid on the hook. Any suggestions on technique or type of hooks to use?

Thanks in advance
Lazy guy.

 

[Digger]

Well I guess the first thing is to have bait that is as fresh as possible. What size fish are you after?

 

[lazy guy]

The size of fish varies. For surf perch (~10 inches or less) I try to use sand crabs (assuming I can dig up some big enough), but I also use squid or shrimp for sharks or bat rays. These could get to be 3-5 feet, although I haven't caught any that big. I've had some (limited) success catching jack smelt - ~14 inches - on shrimp.

-Lazy guy-

 

[TunaFish]

LG,
When I visited my brother in San Jose, we went to Half Moon Bay and used anchovies, when they thaw out, the bait would fly right off our hooks, we'll next time I visited him, I went to Walmart to pick up some elastic strings (find it in the material department). Just break a piece around 1 inch long and wrap it around the bait (no need to tie a knot), and believe me , your bait will stay on the hook.
Hope this helps.

 

[Sandcrab]

First time I ever heard about squid falling off the hook on the cast. Squid is one tough bait and lasts forever. Maybe you need to relook how you are cutting the squid up for your hook.

Does the squid strips fall off the hook or just the tentacle section?

 

[Joey]

try rubberbands. another interesting method is panty hose. use it like a small mesh bag and place the bait inside and tie off the ends.

 

[lazy guy]

Thanks for the tips. I've tried rubber bands but didn't have much success. The elastic strips and panty hose sound interesting.

I never have trouble with squid strips, it's only when I use a whole squid that things fall apart. And anchovies (dead ones) don't hold together at all.

I'll try some of these and let you know!

-LG-

 

[Cobia Seeker]

Try this...Take your squid and clean it skin it and wash it. After that cut into bait strips and put in a conainer with table salt. Let sit in fridge for a couple of days and it will come out nice and white and tough as shoe leather. Also it will last for ever in the fridge

Been doing this for years and it really works.

For those of you who know what Pedue Peelers are thy the same thing with this squid and guess what??? Well you will find out.

 

[oldsalt]

Why go to all that trouble when you can buy a can salted and sented for $4.00

 

[inawe]

just as long as you dont use duct tape try any the above

 

[Surf and Turf]

Cobia Seeker, is that "forever in the fridge" mean freezer or fridge? I have been keeping them in the freezer, but it takes awhile for them to thaw.

 

[ShoreBird]

I got Jeros magic string which is elastic.I
used it to keep fresk clam on my hook

 

[LongRanger]

"I'm getting better at casting, but the torque makes it hard to keep bait like shrimp or squid on the hook."

Hi Lazy Guy,

I'm going to guess from your quote above that you have a number of things going on. First, I suggest that you follow the comments above concerning fresh bait. Second, give circle hooks a try. Third, you may be trying too hard. The 12' Ugly Stick has a naturally smooth action. So you need to start the cast slow and accelerate into the cast up to the release. If you stop the rod causing the tip to whip back you will lose your bait. Therefore you must complete the swing with smooth yet powerful following through. Once you release the line let the rod continue forward until the sinker is heading out to sea. The rod should be pointing at 45 degrees to the ground while the sinker is in flight.

 

[peter thain]

try this,

get a piece of 1" dia pipe [plastic or metal] and cut off a 1" long piece then cut a section out lengthways that is roughly a 1/4 of the circumference. tape this to the rod where you hold the line for casting so your finger comes up against it when you have hold of the line. check to make sure it doesnt catch on the bail, if it does trim accordingly. this gets rid of a lot of the snatch and makes the release a lot smoother because it shortens the distance between the spool and release point.

regards peter

 

[julesvaughan]

my husband and I used the panty hose with rubber band for clam, and it worked ok to keep the the bait on, but the only thing we ever caught on it were oyster toads. I was wondering, the shrimp, I have a hard time getting it to stay, and get robbed alot. could you use the cooked salad shrimp? I would think it would stay on better, but would the fish hit it once it had been cooked? any help would be appreciated. We switched to the clam snouts for awhile, they seem alot tougher and stay on the hook better,we used them with circle hooks and in fact caught some small drum on them.
Jules

 

[PlankCaster]

Are those "fresh" dead anchovies or frozen? The frozen tend to fall apart faster than the fresh. The elastic string works great.
Tight lines and popped riggers