Saving Money when Surf Fishing

Tips for Angling on a Budget

In tough economic times, saltwater surf fishing is a very attractive option for the angler looking to have a great fishing experience and not dent their wallet. You don't have to own a boat to surf fish, which means you don't have to gas one up, and you don't even have to pay admittance on a fishing pier. You just find a nice, fishy-looking stretch of beach and go to it.

The most expensive part of surf fishing is your rod and reel combo. You don't want to skimp too much here, as a good surf rod and reel will last you a long time if you care for it. However, when it comes to terminal tackle and bait there are several options you can explore to make inexpensive surf fishing even cheaper—and still catch as many fish as the fella down the beach. Try some of these money-saving tips when you go surf fishing this season:

Tie your own rigs. You don't need to buy fancy looking rigs for surf fishing. Although there are rigs for sale in the tackle shops and department stores that have all kinds of beads, bobbles, spinners and floats on them, they simply aren't necessary and they aren't more effective. Yes, these rigs will work, but most of the time a simple bottom rig with just a leader, a weight, and a hook is a better rig for surf fishing than anything you can buy. It certainly is cheaper to make simple leaders from components. All you need is a little leader material (or heavy line), appropriately sized swivels and hooks, and sinkers. If you are using live bait, a simple fishfinder rig is easy to make. If you're using cut bait then just tying a one or two hook high-low bottom rig is just fine. Don't worry about all those rigs that have floats on them to "keep the bait away from crabs" since that's just a sales pitch-- most crabs can swim up to your bait just fine, float or not.