Surf fishing is one of the most enjoyable ways of catching fish in the ocean. However, to succeed in this type of fishing, you need the best surf fishing rigs designed to handle challenging ocean conditions.
The right rigs should include a high-quality fishing rod, reel, line, lures, and of course knowledge and experience. You also need to know how to set up the surf fishing rig in the right way to encourage the fish to bite.
They should also be strong and knotted properly to withstand strong ocean currents and allow long casting.
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Best Rigs for Surf Fishing
In this post, we look at the top fishing rigs available on the market today and provide you with a buyer’s guide to help you make an informed decision.
So, without much ado, let’s dive into our list of the top rigs.
1. The Fish Finder Rig
The Fish Finder Rig tops our list of the best surf fishing rigs for several good reasons. Just like its name suggests, this setup allows the bait to find fish for you. It’s not only the easiest surf fishing rig to use but it’s reliable enough to get you some amazing catches as well.
It also comes with several unique benefits hardly found in other fishing rigs. For instance, the Fish Finder Rig works perfectly with a large bait, which means the ability to catch large fish. If you’re after a large fish for a family dinner, then you definitely need a fishing rig optimized to catch large fish.
The Fish Finder Rig is also quite easy to use even for beginners. It doesn’t require complex multiple setups and special tying in several places as other rigs normally do. The Fish Finder Rig has a simple minimal design that includes a hook tied to the lead and a swivel tied to the mainline. It also comes with a sinker for additional weight.
The best thing about this surf fishing rig is that it allows the bait to move freely with the waves and current. This basically means that the fish won’t easily notice the rig’s weight while chasing the bait before it goes for the bite. The Fish Finder Rig is set up in a way that will help you catch a lot of fish even in tough ocean conditions.
2. Bucktail Teaser Fin Strike Fluke Rig
Fin Strike Bucktail Teaser is another popular surf fishing rig that relies on a bucktail jig to entice the fish.
The bucktail jig and teaser attract fish to the bait. The hook is presented at the top of the rig to make the bait more visible to the fish.
When surf fishing at night using the Bucktail Teaser, make sure the hook and bait are around 18 inches. You can also add weight or use a heavier jig to ensure that the line doesn’t drift and to push the tackle deeper into the water.
The jig helps to catch the attention of the fish. The Bucktail Teaser is quite popular for catching fluke and other varieties of fish. You can choose your hook size and bait or lure depending on the type of fish you want to catch. Overall, the Fin Strike Fluke Rig is one of the best bucktail teaser rigs for surf fishing.
3. Sea Fishing Rigs Flapper Pulley Rig
This is a double and single hook clipped fishing rig that has become quite popular with surf fishers today. Many surf fishers are using this flapper rig because of its simplicity in terms of design, setup, and use. The rig is designed to suit every type of fishing method.
One of the best things about the flapper rig is that it comes with one, two, and three hook sets. It gives you more chances of catching fish in water. You can obviously catch more fish when using three hooks at the same time.
You don’t really need to use all three hooks at the same time. You can focus on keeping things as simple as possible and stick to just a single hook. This gives you a quick and easy setup and the ability to catch fish without missing opportunities.
Other surf fishers use two hooks because the setup allows you to place weights in different locations. For example, you can place one hook higher and the other one lower, which increases your chances of catching fish. If the fish tries to dodge the lower hook, it can easily be snagged on the higher hook or vice versa.
Most fishermen consider the flapper rig as the best option for fishing on rough ground, preferably with a single hook. This is because the single hook is less likely to get caught up on the rough terrain and ruin both your equipment and fishing experience.
4. Sea Striker DT34 Bluefish Fireball Rig
This is a unique rig with a different style compared to other popular rigs such as the Fish Finder. It’s nonetheless worth discussing in this surf fishing rigs guide because of its great performance in ocean fishing. Take note that setting it up by yourself can be quite complex which is why we advocate for buying a premade fireball rig instead.
This fireball rig may have a different overall construction but it does indeed have excellent performance. Basically, this type of surf fishing rig uses two swivels working on opposite sides. One is a regular swivel while the other one is a snap swivel.
The regular swivel connects to the mainline and the snap swivel is weighted to make sure that the bait drops down as close to the bottom of the ocean as possible without touching the bottom so as not to be snagged by the bottom sea dwellers.
The key benefit of using the fireball rig is that it allows you to use two sets of hooks, which makes it easier to catch fish. The double swivel design also gives your bait easy maneuverability in the water. If you choose to use the fireball rig, remember to pair the rig with brightly colored beads or any other flashier bait, especially if you’re catching fish that rely on sight to hunt for prey.
The rig also comes with the advantage of adjusting the size and design of the hook. The type, size, and design you choose will depend on the kind of fish you want to catch. The Sea Striker Bluefish Fireball Rig comes with ¾-inch red and yellow floats and a weight of 40 pounds.
5. AGOOL Fish Egg Sinker Weight Rig
The AGOOL Fishing Egg Sinker Weight is another good option to consider.
It comes in 4 or 8-piece ready rigs complete with a sinker, regular and snapped swivels and a stainless-steel fishing leader wire.
The rig is a perfect choice for bottom fishing and fishing for trout flounders. It’s also good for surf fishing for grouper cheeks, snapper, jacks, rockfish, halibut, striped bass, drum, redfish, and other species.
It comes in different sizes from 0.5oz to 2oz and in quantities of 2 packs of 4 pieces or 4 packs of 8 pieces. You can use the rig together with a hook or lure for better results.
6. Tailored Tackle Saltwater Surf Fishing Kit
This is a surf fishing ready kit that comes with an 82-piece tackle box complete with the tackle included. It’s a surf fishing rig but also comes with saltwater fishing lures as well as hook leader swivels that can be used with salt beach fishing gear or equipment.
The surf fishing kit provides you with a premium tackle that can be used to learn fishing on a saltwater beach.
The saltwater gear and lures include a spoon for casting and jigging, 5 grab bait lures, surfcasting popper lure, and 5 painted jigs. The surf fishing equipment includes two jetty rigs, two bottom rigs, and a Pompano rig for both live and cut bait.
You also get a 22-page surf fishing book written by experts to teach you how you can catch a wide range of fish species including striped bass, red drum, bluefish, flounder, fluke, snook, speckled sea trout, and many more.
7. Saltwater Fishing Bait Rigs
Made by Shaddock Fishing, a well-known fishing gear brand, Saltwater Fishing Bait Rigs are also quite popular too due to their excellent performance.
The rig is primarily made of high carbon steel and is quite effective in catching bass, trout, walleye, and other fish species. The set includes 10 packs of fishing rigs and 6 hooks fishing lures. It comes with redfish skin feather hooks, glow fishing beads, and tackles for both saltwater and freshwater fishing.
One of the best things about this surf fishing rig is its fish attraction feature. The set comes with a soft fish-skin rubber that provides great camouflage, a highly visible and attractive luminous tube, and bright beads that create sensory stimulation to fish.
Each rig has a swivel and pins at each end to protect the line from twinning and abrasion. It’s also a versatile fishing rig that can be adapted to suit different fishing locations and to catch different types and sizes of fish.
8. Fishing Leaders Catfish Pre-Tied Rigs
This is a surf fishing pre-tied rig that allows you to create your own high-low and bottom rigs without complicated operations. The fishing leader comes with a strong and durable 7-strand steel wire, two twisted wire arms, tooth proof, and easy lure attachment.
It’s designed in a way that separates different baits to ensure that the hooks run freely without getting tangled. You don’t need to know how to tie as it’s already pre-tied. You just need to attach the lure and hook to the monofilament fishing line and you’re good to go.
The rig also uses high-quality swivels, duo lock clips, and tight lines. All the parts are made of strong and durable stainless-steel material that has great abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance, which makes it ideal for use in saltwater environments.
The rig is perfect for targeting a wide range of fish species including pike, salmon, bass, herring, shad, muskie, chain pickerel, catfish, and many more.
How to Pick the Best Surf Fishing Rigs
Before we look at the necessary components for this type of fishing, let’s first discuss what surf fishing is all about. Contrary to what many people assume, you don’t really need a boat to fish in the ocean.
You can instead surf fish in the ocean without a boat. Surf fishing is an exciting way of catching fish right from the shoreline. All you do is toss your line into the water in places where there are waves to catch fish.
Unlike other traditional styles of ocean fishing such as pier fishing, in surf fishing, you catch the fish as they swim with the waves.
There are many types of fish that you can catch while surf fishing including barracuda, calico bass, bluefish, California halibut, gulf flounder, sharks, snook, striped bass, redfish, spotted seatrout, and many more.
What Gear Do You Need for Surf Fishing?
To enjoy your fishing experience and take home a good catch, you need to have the best rigs.
Here are some of the basic essentials to include in your rigs:
An Extremely Long Rod
A surf fishing rod should be quite long, preferably between 7 and 16 feet long. The long walleye rod will help to extend your cast.
A Perfect Fishing Reel
A combination of a long rod and a good fishing reel will help you to cast far and increase your chances of catching fish.
In surf fishing, you’ll mostly be using two-handed casting techniques to cast the bait or frog lure far into the ocean. You, therefore, need a good surf fishing reel to increase your overall success.
Weights
The best rigs for surf fishing should also come with weights to help get the lure close to the bottom without touching the bottom and getting snapped by creatures that live in the bottom of the ocean.
Conclusion
All the products discussed above provide excellent performance in surf fishing but for the best results, we highly recommend the Fish Finder Rig.
This surf fishing rig is designed to handle saltwater ocean conditions without corrosion, is strong enough to catch big fish, and as its name suggests, it uses the bait to find fish for you.
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