Surf Fishing North Carolina

There is countless numbers of lures to fish the surf. Hundreds of choices for the surf fisherman to sort through and decide what is best for them. I feel many of the lures are designed to catch the eye of the fisherman in the tackle shop as much as they are designed to catch fish in the water. The sheer array of choices can be overwhelming. Do you choose the bright shiney one, the one with an enticing rattle, scented or ultra realistically painted? It reminds me a bit of the Bruce Springsteen song “57 Channels and Nothing On.” I generally do not dismiss a particular lure out of hand, under the right conditions, anyone of the different types of lures might catch fish. My chief advice is to find a handful of lures you can master and stick with those. I like to experiment sometimes, however in general, I only bring four to five of my favorite lures with me when I walk the beach tossing lures into the surf. My list favorite four or five, may not be your favorite four or five. Choose lures you are comfortable using, willing to master, and are appropriate for the conditions.

 

 

Hopkins No-Eql

1) Hopkins No-Eql. This high quality stainless steel lure is usually my first, go-to lure. I can be found many a morning tossing this into the surf at sunrise. The shininess and swim action makes it for me an effective lure for Bluefish. The lure is very aerodynamic, working well in a difficult wind and high surf. I typically use one with a treble hook and a bucktail, however I know many users replace the treble and replace it with a single O’shaughnessy hook. These lures can be worked deep, so allow them to sink after the cast.

 

Mirrolure

2) Mirrolure. The Mirrolure is a twitch bait, mostly distinguished by the use of a mirror to produce a flashy, lifelike appearance. They come in a variety of weights and sink rates. I tend to use these with lighter tackle and fish it close to shore when I can find a noticeable slope or drop. I have had success fishing these in inlet waters on an ebbing tide. Cast up and across the current, and let it sink. Use a slow steady retrieve with a sharp twitch every few seconds.

 

Bucktail Jig

3) Bucktail Jig. Basically just a piece of lead molded around a single hook. They are dressed up with a bucktail skirted around the hook. They come in numerous shapes, sizes and colors. I like your basic plain white, torpedo shaped head and with the bucktail tied on with red thread. I experiment some with the retrieve. Sometimes using a slow retrieve, sometimes a fast retrieve. I do like to whip the rod upward on occasion during the retrieve. This action gives the lure a more realistic swimming action. 

 

Kastmaster

4) Kastmaster. Similar to the Hopkins No-Eql, it has great castibilty and can be fished all the way to the shore. Don’t discount the the shallow water inside the bar! The design is such that you can fish it along the surface, or you can allow it to sink and fish deeper in the water column. As you approach the shore, lower your rod tip so you can skim the bottom as the water becomes shallower and shallower.