Trips on the Chesapeake Bay chasing cobia, family fishing in the surf of the Outer Banks, and a bucket list trip to the Gulf Stream to chase tuna were all accomplished. While all those trips are memorable, I’m not sure there is anything more relaxing than sitting on the beach, your favorite cold beverage in hand, staring out at vastness of the ocean waiting for your rod to bounce.
The entire Ball Family Crew recently got back from our annual trip to Perdido Key located on the Florida panhandle, and while most people go to the beach solely for rest and relaxation, for me it’s a full week of fishing. There are several fishing piers located with in a short drive of Perdido Key/Pensacola along with numerous surf fishing access spots and Mobile Bay and Perdido Bay are a stone’s throw away.
In the past one mistake that I have rectified is thinking surf fishing requires huge rods and reels along with heavy line and giant weights. If you are heading to the beach on vacation with the kids or family any standard fishing rod you currently have is more than enough to catch fish. In fact, often downsizing your offering will increase your chances of catching fish.
I typically deploy a 7’1’’ medium heavy spinning rod with a 3500 size reel spooled with 15-pound braid to a 10-12 flounder leader with a pompano rig and the smallest weight that will hold bottom. Usually, a 2–3-ounce rig will do the trick. I l like to tip the pompano rigs with cut shrimp and some fish bites or fish gum and this rig will often keep you in the action for whiting, croakers, baby Jack’s and the occasional drum or shark to keep it interesting.
The key for me to surf fishing is identifying where your “break” or sandbar is. Where we fished there was a sandbar within 10 yards of the beach, so a short cast just past the bar was often more productive than bombing the cast as far as you could.
Now back to the rest and relaxation part of the trip. Amanda and my mother-in-law definitely have the surf fishing part down pat. They sit in their chairs enjoying the sunshine and whatever they keep in their cups (I suspect daiquiris) , while I frantically run back and forth between rebaiting hooks and taking fish off the hooks. Between casting rods, baiting hooks, removing fish, and telling them when a rod had a bite, they kept me running all week. I won’t lie though, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing their smiles and watching them experience the joy that fishing brings me. Our last Friday the fishing was so good Amanda made us go back to the bait store for more bait because “she wanted to fish all day and catch all the fish.”
With the set ups I mentioned above we caught whiting, baby Jack Crevalle’s, pompano, and blue runners to our hearts content, and on the small spinning set-ups the fight is fun. Amanda also managed her first shark, and I caught a baby cobia from the surf also. In the mornings I would walk the surf mixing between a casting spoon and a popper and caught ladyfish however I think we were there a week or two early for that bite to really get good.
Now this area is a truly an outdoor paradise with lots of opportunities to get out and explore. The highlight of the trip for me was getting out with an old buddy (Neal) from Virginia who now lives in the area and crossing another adventure off the bucket list. Neal has his aluminum rig set up for flounder gigging with two spotlights on the front connected to an independent battery and let me tell you what, those lights are bright!
We put in Perdido Bay to catch the last part of the evening bite, and I caught a baby Jack Crevalle that made for a beautiful sunset picture as the Blue Angels flew past. As darkness covered the bay we focused our attention to the flounder. Neal had never been to this particular bay, so we weren’t sure what to expect and unfortunately the water’s visibility was poor, and we had to focus on water less than two foot deep to be able to see the bottom.
We kept our focus and after about an hour I thought I saw a flounder tucked to the bottom and Neal confirmed it was in fact a flounder. We turned the boat around and made the pass again and I had the gaff ready. I got in position and stuck the gaff in the flounder and flipped it in the boat and fist bumps ensued.
Next time you are headed to the beach keep these tricks and tips in mind as they work here in Virginia Beach, the Outer Banks or anywhere there is sand and water. The kids don’t care if the fish are six inches or two feet, the memories will last a lifetime. As always you can reach out to me on Instagram @Psuaaron.
Trips on the Chesapeake Bay chasing cobia, family fishing in the surf of the Outer Banks, and a bucket list trip to the Gulf Stream to chase tuna were all accomplished. While all those trips are memorable, I’m not sure there is anything more relaxing than sitting on the beach, your favorite cold beverage in hand, staring out at vastness of the ocean waiting for your rod to bounce.
The entire Ball Family Crew recently got back from our annual trip to Perdido Key located on the Florida panhandle, and while most people go to the beach solely for rest and relaxation, for me it’s a full week of fishing. There are several fishing piers located with in a short drive of Perdido Key/Pensacola along with numerous surf fishing access spots and Mobile Bay and Perdido Bay are a stone’s throw away.
In the past one mistake that I have rectified is thinking surf fishing requires huge rods and reels along with heavy line and giant weights. If you are heading to the beach on vacation with the kids or family any standard fishing rod you currently have is more than enough to catch fish. In fact, often downsizing your offering will increase your chances of catching fish.
I typically deploy a 7’1’’ medium heavy spinning rod with a 3500 size reel spooled with 15-pound braid to a 10-12 flounder leader with a pompano rig and the smallest weight that will hold bottom. Usually, a 2–3-ounce rig will do the trick. I l like to tip the pompano rigs with cut shrimp and some fish bites or fish gum and this rig will often keep you in the action for whiting, croakers, baby Jack’s and the occasional drum or shark to keep it interesting.
The key for me to surf fishing is identifying where your “break” or sandbar is. Where we fished there was a sandbar within 10 yards of the beach, so a short cast just past the bar was often more productive than bombing the cast as far as you could.
Now back to the rest and relaxation part of the trip. Amanda and my mother-in-law definitely have the surf fishing part down pat. They sit in their chairs enjoying the sunshine and whatever they keep in their cups (I suspect daiquiris) , while I frantically run back and forth between rebaiting hooks and taking fish off the hooks. Between casting rods, baiting hooks, removing fish, and telling them when a rod had a bite, they kept me running all week. I won’t lie though, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing their smiles and watching them experience the joy that fishing brings me. Our last Friday the fishing was so good Amanda made us go back to the bait store for more bait because “she wanted to fish all day and catch all the fish.”
With the set ups I mentioned above we caught whiting, baby Jack Crevalle’s, pompano, and blue runners to our hearts content, and on the small spinning set-ups the fight is fun. Amanda also managed her first shark, and I caught a baby cobia from the surf also. In the mornings I would walk the surf mixing between a casting spoon and a popper and caught ladyfish however I think we were there a week or two early for that bite to really get good.
Now this area is a truly an outdoor paradise with lots of opportunities to get out and explore. The highlight of the trip for me was getting out with an old buddy (Neal) from Virginia who now lives in the area and crossing another adventure off the bucket list. Neal has his aluminum rig set up for flounder gigging with two spotlights on the front connected to an independent battery and let me tell you what, those lights are bright!
We put in Perdido Bay to catch the last part of the evening bite, and I caught a baby Jack Crevalle that made for a beautiful sunset picture as the Blue Angels flew past. As darkness covered the bay we focused our attention to the flounder. Neal had never been to this particular bay, so we weren’t sure what to expect and unfortunately the water’s visibility was poor, and we had to focus on water less than two foot deep to be able to see the bottom.
We kept our focus and after about an hour I thought I saw a flounder tucked to the bottom and Neal confirmed it was in fact a flounder. We turned the boat around and made the pass again and I had the gaff ready. I got in position and stuck the gaff in the flounder and flipped it in the boat and fist bumps ensued.
Next time you are headed to the beach keep these tricks and tips in mind as they work here in Virginia Beach, the Outer Banks or anywhere there is sand and water. The kids don’t care if the fish are six inches or two feet, the memories will last a lifetime. As always you can reach out to me on Instagram @Psuaaron.
