surf fishing

[RowdyW]

I'm in Florida & if you are 65 or older (THAT"S ME) and a resident you don't need a fishing license for saltwater or freshwater. You don't need a hunting license either. Just show your drivers license or resident I D card for both. Lucky to be a resident!     RUDY

[Newell Nut]

Being 65 here does have some benefits for sure. A few other states do the same thing for outdoor sportsmen.

[SacFly]

When I head to the beach to fish bait I'll always take 2 rods.  That way I can try different baits and have them at different distances from shore.  If I change bait once or twice with no action I'll start hopskotching my sand spikes down the beach every time I rebait.

There have definitely been times where this made a difference.  10 bluefish on bunker chunks, but 2 bass on clam, nothing on bunker but 6 bass on sandworms, etc..  Often I'll throw a bunker head on one and a smaller piece on the other.  It also lets me keep a bait in the water if I want to throw a lure on one of the rods.

If the fishing is really good I don't even have enough time to tend 2 rods.  If the fishing is crappy I really don't think that 4 more rods would make a difference.

[Makule]

Some places in Hawaii limit a person to two rods concurrently.  I used to cast out 7 when I was younger and didn't mind the amount of work that many entailed.  Now, two seems to be pushing my limit.

[steelfish]

........ the big rod and tied to a stake, not your rod holder, to keep it from doing the water ski to oblivion while your distracted with the small stuff....

this sounds like a nice idea, but I think you can save your rod from water ski to oblivion if you left the drag open and use the clicker alarm.

[Fisherman Paul]

For big fish, i mean big fish ide use only the 1 rod, if you
use 2 rods and you happen to hit both rods at same time,
that's spells bye bye to 1 rod set up .

If on the other hand you are fishing for say bass
and flukes (unless spinning) but beach casting in
mind here, ide use 2 rods, 1 rod a lob in close (hint, hint )
and other rod right in that surf, nice cast sort of
80 yards or so maybe 100 but no more, 60 yards is
plenty on most occasions.

3 hook flapper on rod in close and 1 hook clipped or
flapper, depends how far you want to cast that second
rod.

3 rods on a beach there is no need, if you ain't catching
with 2 rods you ain't going to catch simple as.

Also 3 rods is damn hard work.

You will find though if you hit a beach just at the right
time you will hit fish every cast so 1 rod in that case
is a very wise choice, happened me and a fishing buddy
many years ago, we had 40+ in 1 hour it was nuts, two
weeks later same place, same bait 1 fish between us.

Big tip, a beach that has no fish during the day can come alive
at night time. Tide can also play a huge part on success
or blanky blanky, also if the fish ain't there you could
have 10 rods fishing with not one bite, keep it simple
and best advice given to me, get to know your venue
in the more you fish it etc etc etc

In a match/open you are only allowed 1 rod.

[Capt Ahab]

Here in NJ, DE, MD VA and similar east coast beaches we will run up to 8 rods per man - different baits, depths, distances, etc.  You spend the whole time on your feet changing baits if you do that

In the spring I typically run a 4 rod set - using bunker on 2 and sand fleas on two  - drum fish on fleas and stripers on both baits.

If I want blues I will also add a mullet rigged rod

[OldSchool]

In theory you have two rods out then you have twice the chance. I have found in practice one rod, hanging onto it attentive catches the most fish.

[Steve-O]

No Surf here in la la land to cast into....

However the good news is just this year Fish and Game DROPPED the Second Pole Permit, which I had purchased the previous 7 years for an additional $15. 

Carp angling is usually 2 plus poles where permitted and here once the feeding frenzy is on after your "obligatory sacrificial hour or two" then the second pole gets stowed.

$34. for 365 days from date of purchase.

now if they would only give us Carpers corn back as a bait.....but that's another story.

[steelfish]

No Surf here in la la land to cast into....

However the good news is just this year Fish and Game DROPPED the Second Pole Permit, which I had purchased the previous 7 years for an additional $15.  , Carp angling

carp fishing sometimes is similar to bait surf fishing, long poles and long casting reels, I used to have a surf fishing combo that was favorite on carp fishing forums

cabelas predator carp rod + daiwa Emcast sport 4000

just trow as far as you can, take your chair, your diet coca or adult beverage and relax..oh well, pay attention to the rod bell or reel alarm

[tristan]

If I were sharking, it would be one rod, like Daron.    For smaller species, I've used up to 3; two in holders, one in hand fishing for bait or small keepers like whiting.    The two set rods are one cast distant, one nearer in...     Haven't been lucky enough to have both rods go off at the same time yet.   I do have a couple kids that can back me up if that did happen!

[D1FISHR]

It depends. I can walk a beach with a pack and rod, or park my rear and drown bait with two rods in sand spikes. There is a time and place for each.

[Three se7ens]

Just curious about licenses to fish in the ocean, as I live in NJ and we only have registrations as required but there is no fee. How do the other states justify Licensing Ocean fishing  Also someone mentioned that at age 65 he or she is not required to pay for a license. Here in NJ we have similar regulations on hunting and fresh water fishing Licenses, example If you are over 65 you are considered senior and pay a lesser fee or if you are 70 those licenses are free, If you are a Disabled Veteran all licenses are free. Does California offer the same exceptions? I was always under the impression that the oceans are public waters, and further more are not stocked or maintained by government. Commercial fish may be another issue. But recreational fishing I'm at a loss.

I have always fished with one rod on the surf simply because It was easier to move around while plugging, but I have seen guys fish with bait with as much as four rods in holders on the beach buggies.     

Georgia requires a license for fresh or salt water fishing.  If you fish salt water, you need a free SIP stamp.  The real pita though is that the license is good for a year or more from the day of purchase(I typically do 2 year every fall), but the SIP stamp must be renewed every spring, regardless of license date. 

[Swami805]

Here in CA. you don't need a license to fish on a pier on jetty but you can only use 2 rods. Most Saturdays I go to the local pier with 12 or 15 other knuckleheads and we all fish 3-5 rods. Fish and game shows up and starts asking who's rod this or that is and we all point at the bathroom or someone else or whatever we can to create a ball of confusion so the guy can't figure much out except there's alot of guys and rods. So far no tickets just one confused warden.
For lobster You need a punch card, $10, I've never caught one in season but I buy the thing anyway. Used to need one for steelhead too but you can't fish in any waters down here where they might be anymore.
I bet if you fished all of California it would cost over 100 bucks

[Gfish]

The only thing bigger than the Cailf. Gov. is the Fed. Gov. Doing anything with a "user fee" in Calif. seems to be more expensive than anywhere else. When I's a kid the fishing regulations were just a few pages. Now it's like a little book and takes 5 times as long as it used to, to find pertient info. When I used to fly fish there, I would catch & release all fish, use single barbless hooks and figured I was legal as long as the water was open for fishing, but even that became too complicated with seasonal closures on " sections " of rivers and what not. I understand the need for more regulation, especially with advances in Bio. Science such as Fish Population Dynamics, which tell a-lot about aquatic ecosystem health, but there's gotta be a point of deminishing returns both for the over-regulation and the cost of licensing. I read where the Nat. Marine Fisheries Service used to be like a commercial fisheries development and assistance agency for The U.S. Fishing fleet, now it's main(sole?)purpose is regulatory.
Gfish