what rig to use when beach fishing?

[Matt]

going beach fishing and was wondering what rig to use:

mainly using fake squid lures, and soft plastics...



not targeting any fish in particular - just want to catch a fish with a lure :)

and what methods when using these fake squid lures or any lures in general..



but question is mainly for the rig type



thanks!

[BeachBum818557]

You want to present your lure as naturally as possible, so you dont want to add any weights or floats. You can put the plastics on a Bucktail or leadhead. Cast it out and depending on what fish you want either bounce it off the bottom or reel it in slow enough to keep it in the middle of the water column.

The trick is that you cant just walk down to the shore throw your lure out and expect yo catch fish. You have to essentially hunt them when using lures, since bait attract them to you with the scent. But obviously your lure doesnt have a scent or a strong scent as bait does. Look for where there are sand bars- the waves will get really big or maybe even break way out by themselves. Look for holes- where the waves seem to get really small or disappear for no reason/without breaking. The deeper water essentially swallows the wave and it doesnt break. Finally look for rips in the tide. When the wave breaks and the water is being ulled back into another wave look for where 2 waves seem to collide together.

Those are all targets for your lure since the larger fish wait to ambush smaller fish in those areas. Hopefully they think your lure is a smaller fish.

Tight Lines

[Artie664]

Valid points bum, the problem with the method you have chosen with squid baits is, it won't work. Because squid are a deep water animal that shallow water (shore line) fish don't know anything about. Now if the beach you are fishing is off rocks that have a steep drop off to the bottom maybe it would make a difference but as far as the soft plastics go you are dead on using grubs, 10" red shad bass worms (they work in all salt water in so cal) and swimbaits that look like the local bait fishes. Since the species vary all over the world you can catch from a beach and you felt it not important to mention where you are in the world. Suggesting what rig to use, what depth or presentation on our part is limited to a basically directly tied on lead head and soft bait that presents the bait on the bottom by bouncing it. if near to rock jetty cast as close to it as you can (trying to allow it to drop to the sand) without getting the baits into the rocks. Be ready to pull (what bites there) hard and out of the rocks where the fish live as they will come out of their hiding place and pick up what looks like food on the sand bottom and immediately take it back into their hole. There are some big fish in rocks

[UltimateFishingTackle843]

I'm not really sure what type of fake squid you have. If it the are fake strip of squid then I would Carolina rig it with about 18" of leader. The key is to let your bait move around freely on the surf. I've also have some success on using small swimbaits with small leadhead, these worked great for us in SoCal.

http://www.ultimatefishingtackle.com

[Fisher_King672]

Great answer's from Artie and BB, (thumbs up guys).

I just want to add a couple things.

Well, #1, we could answer your Q 75% better if we knew what part of the World you plan to go fishing on, (lol). If you are in the US, know that East Coast to West Coast fishing can differ because of species and "underwater terrain". Also, North & South on BOTH Coasts can be quite different!!!

So, if you could add your location we could give a bunch more info......

#2. Although I understand that you want to be "casual" about what hits your line, in most instances you MUST target a specific species of fish because there are specific lures, baits and presentations that work for specific fish.

(I think I needed to use at least one more "specific" in that last sentence! LMAO)

Example- If your in South Florida and wanted to catch Pompano or Spanish Mackrel you'd want to use the appropriate lures and rigs designated for those species.

Best Rig????- The most common rig for beach fishing (using bait) is the pyramid or egg sinker rig with a 1-2/0 hook. BUT, what hook type, what bait type, longer or shorter leader, Fluorocarbon leader, is designated by location and species of fish.

Best "Lure"???- The most common, inexpensive, lure is a larger curly-tailed Grub (6-8"). The color, jig-head type & weight is designated by species & location.

What does all this mean to you?

Tell us WHAT beach you will be fishing, in what City and State!! (LOL)

Hope this helps ya? Hope to hear back from you........

PS- If you're fishing in, (or around), Florida here is a decent website with all the info you need. Much of the Rig info can be used in other areas of the country- http://amelia-island-fishing.com/fishing/rigs/index.cfm