When anglers are going out for a day on the beach to fish, most of them are simply looking to have fun catching several fish and its a bonus if they can take some home for dinner. So, is there an optimum live bait to use to improve your chances of catching fish all day long? Instead of making a specific hook, line, and sinker setup to target pompano, such as a pompano rig with sand fleas for bait, why not use a setup that'll catch the attention of multiple species? This will improve your odds, especially if you think about all the considerations for each fish species. For example, you might not have much luck if you target pompano in the heat of summer when pompano tend to run along the east coast of Florida in the winter months when the water temperature is in the low 60s.
Regardless of season or water conditions, fish will continue to be attracted to a hook if the proper bait is used. To target the widest variety of fish, the best bait to use while surf fishing is shrimp. Shrimp will attract more fish species in comparison to sand fleas, which are primarily used for targeting whiting and pompano. Shrimp is food for bottom feeding fish species and also the species which strike in the middle of the water column, such as redfish and snook. Shrimp is effective as bait in both the live and dead conditions.
By reading through the table below, you'll be able to see the baits and lures that work for several fish species, particularly the fish commonly caught from shore here in Florida.
| Target | Best Bait |
| Catfish | squid, mackeral, cut baits, shrimp |
| Whiting (Kingfish) | Shrimp, sand fleas, small crabs, clams, soft plastics |
| Pompano | Sand fleas, shrimp, fiddler crabs, fishbites, bucktail jigs |
| Redfish (Red Drum) | Crab, shrimp, mullet, croakers, twitchbaits, soft plastics with jig heads, swim baits, crank baits, bucktail jigs |
| Black Drum | Blue crab, shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, clams, oysters, scented soft plastics |
| Bluefish | Menhaden, eels, finger mullet, minnows, diamond jig, bucktail jig, spoons |
| Snook | Shrimp, crabs, pilchards, mullet heads, soft plastic shrimp, topwater lures |
| Spotted Sea Trout (Speckled Trout) | Mullet, shrimp, menhaden, croakers, pinfish, Heddon spook plug, spoons, diamond jig |
| Spanish Mackeral | Shrimp, silvery baitfish, spoons, gotcha plugs, diamond jigs |
| Shark | mackeral, bonito, mullet, menhaden, bluefish, stingray, pencil popper, spoons |
The Best Live Bait for Surf Fishing: Live Shrimp!
Live shrimp is a great bait for many fish species, so its a no-brainer when it comes to using it for bait when fishing. If you're new to the activity of surf fishing, you may be wondering where can I get live bait to fish with? Most of the time, we buy our live shrimp from the local bait shop. We usually will do this on our way out to the beach, stop in first thing in the morning and snag 3 dozen for a good day fishing. Depending on your location, bait shops will usually sell live shrimp for somewhere between $4 and $6 per dozen. If your local bait shop has multiple species of shrimp, just be sure to pick one native to the area. Our two guides will help you find a reputable bait shop whether you're of the Gulf or Atlantic Coast of Florida. Live shrimp is really the best bait to use when surf fishing to ensure lots of fish biting action.
You can also catch your own shrimp to use as bait. This is something we do when we're on a family vacation somewhere and we're looking for fun things to do. We'll usually find a nearby inshore creek and head out there with some cast nets at low tide the night before a day of fishing. We pick low tide because it seems like there's more shrimp concentrated in the same area during low tide than any other time. Our young kids love when we do this since they love picking the shrimp out of the cast net and tossing back the baby ones. To do this method, you'll need a couple things:
- cast net (we recommend Betts Old Salt Bait Cast Net)
- bait cooler with aerator (We recommend the Engel Live Bait Cooler)
To learn how to throw a cast net, watch this video:
Once you have shrimp, you'll need to put them in the bait bucket filled with water and with the aerator on. To keep your bait shrimp alive overnight, there are a few things you'll need to do:
- Keep air bubbles going. Shrimp need oxygen in the water to live and the bubble box is what gives it to them! Keep it running from the minute you catch them up until the end of your day fishing.
- Keep the water temperature cold by periodically adding ice cubes to it and keeping it covered and in the shade
- Keep the water clean by removing any shrimp that die
Now that you've got your hands on live shrimp, how do you prep them and put them on a hook as bait?
If you plan to do passive fishing, that is, fishing with your rods resting in rod holders or sand spikes, you'll be using circle hooks. For circle hooks, the best way to hook a shrimp is between the eyes and brain. Here's a video from Salt Strong that demonstrates how to hook a live shrimp between the eyes and brain with a circle hook:
If you are doing more active fishing, where you're holding the rod and planning to set the hook, you'll probably be using a jig head. Another video by Salt Strong shows how to hook a live shrimp through the tail for the best presentation:
The Best Dead Bait for Surf Fishing: FRESH Dead Shrimp!
If you look back at the table at the beginning of this article, you'll see that dead shrimp is listed as a good dead bait for nearly every fish species that's commonly caught from shore in Florida. Some of the fish are particular smell-sensitive and want the smelliest bait you can give them. For these reasons, we'd say the best dead bait for surf fishing is FRESH (not frozen) dead shrimp. The thing about a lot of fish is, they're lazy, opportunistic eaters and they'll choose to eat the dead bait just because it's easier. Frozen shrimp can have mushy meat and some of the smell might be less natural than fresh dead shrimp, depending on how it was frozen.
Fresh dead shrimp is easier for the fish to target, but can also be easier for the angler. There are some unique advantages to using dead bait, such as not needing to keep it alive! You could avoid all of that work with the bait cooler and aerator and simply keep the fresh dead shrimp on ice in the cooler. This could be your best bet if you plan to start your day really early, before the bait shops open. Fresh dead shrimp is usually available at bait shops and even grocery stores and can keep for a couple days on ice. Another bonus: its usually quite a bit cheaper than buying live shrimp.
The disadvantage many anglers experience when using fresh dead bait, is catching catfish. Catfish are not everyone's favorite to eat and many anglers even call them “trash fish”. both the Gafftopsail and Hardhead catfish species are commonly found when surf fishing in Florida and they're both majorly attracted to smelly fresh dead bait.
The Best Artificial Bait for Surf Fishing: Fishbites OR Fishgum!
As far as artificial bait goes, you really have 2 high-performing options: Fishbites and Fishgum. We are personally accustomed to using Fishbites, but Fishgum has recently become a competitor in the market. Fishgum is made in the USA in the Florida panhandle and comes in several color varieties, such as red, orange, yellow, and green. Each color of Fishgum bait is the same scent–a unique approach in which the manufacturer combined the scents of clams, sand fleas, and shrimp into one irresistible scent. They call this a “buffet of scents” in one bite.
Fishbites is also made in the USA, in Saint Augustine, Florida. Unlike Fishgum, Fishbites separate the scents into individual products for clam, sand flea, squid, and shrimp. Fishbites has a longer history of performance than Fishgum, but anglers are seeing success with both options. Whether you're using Fishgum, or Fishbites, you can't go wrong. The best artificial bait for surf fishing is Fishgum OR Fishbites! These are both great when paired with a pompano rig and fished with spiked rods while you relax on the beach. Our luck with artificial bait has been so high that we made sure to include Fishbites in our Getting Started with Surf Fishing for Under $250 Guide.
The Best Artificial Lure for Surf Fishing: Bucktail Jigs or Spoons
When using artificial lures for surf fishing, anglers are looking for something that'll resist corrosion since its in a harsh saltwater environment and something with long casting ability. When using a lure with a lot of aerodynamic implications, they're also going to be looking for something that minimizes line twisting. Fishing with artificial lures requires the fisherman to actively work the lure to present it as intended to the fish. This differs from the type of fishing you would do with something like Fishbites since that's usually done with spiked rods. The hands-down best artificial lures for surf fishing are bucktail jigs or spoons. Keep reading for more specific recommendations.
Bucktail jigs and spoons are two of the easiest lures to present and result in consistent hook-ups for us every time we toss them out. Almost anything will bite a bucktail jig and they're available in all sorts of weights and sizes. We'd recommend starting out with a 1/4 oz SPRO Prime Bucktail Jig in Crazy Chartreuse. This size has a 2/0 hook which we recommend as a good size for targeting Pompano in our article What Size Hook to Use for Pompano in the Surf. We usually start with the yellowish colored one, but we also carry pink and white versions in case the fish aren't biting chartreuse that day. To present it properly, we suggest casting it out, letting it hit bottom, then jerking it forward in a quick motion and letting it fall it again. Repeat this process and you reel in the line. This action mimics a sand flea jumping in and out of the sand and we have really great success when we do this.
Spoons are a necessity in your tackle box for surf fishing. A spoon is a great lure to use for mimicking the movement of small baitfish. A great one to keep in your tackle box is the the Acme Kastmaster 1 oz Chrome with Single White Bucktail Hook spoon which flutters irresistibly in the surf, minimizes line twist, and resists corrosion. Over time, you may need to replace the teaser, but this is one spoon we keep coming back to. We'd recommend getting a size a variety of sizes in case you feel you need a heavier or light one in the water conditions for the day. The Kastmaster is so good to us that we included it in our list of Must-Have Equipment for Beach Fishing. To fish with it from the beach, cast it out, let it fall to the bottom, jerk it forward a couple times (with a pause moment in between) and then do a steady retrieve to reel it back in. You'll usually get a bite pretty quickly after a cast if you do this way. As you do your slow retrieve, you can pump the rod a few times to let the spoon shimmer and reflect on the way in.
Although we recommend bucktail jigs and spoons to have the best odds, you can still have a lot of success targeting specific species with topwater plugs and twitch baits. The Heddon Zara Spook plug is used by many to target speckled trout. When using the spook plug, fishermen will usually use the “walk the dog” method of pulling the plug across the surface of the water.
Twitchbaits such as the MirrOlure MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbaits work great for catching snook and refish from the beach. This particular twitchbait has a rattle to help attract the fish with noise. Twitchbaits are known for side to side and darting action to mimic baitfish behaviors. To fish with a suspending twitchbait, your best bet is to do the jerk-jerk pause method. Try it out and let us know how you do!
Final Thoughts: Best Bait for Surf Fishing
There are several considerations that may help decide which bait to use. You can succeed with surf fishing with live bait, dead bait, artificial bait, and artificial lures. The type you choose has different applications and different pros and cons. If you want to fish with the rods in rod holders or sand spikes, you should stick with live, dead, or artificial bait. If you want to do active fishing where you control how the lure is presented, you should opt for using an artificial lure. Lures last the longest if you take care of them to resist corrosion, followed by artificial bait such as Fishbites and Fishgum. Live and dead natural bait doesn't keep that long but can result in more hookups. No matter what bait or lure you're fishing with, we wish you good luck out on the water.
Tight Lines, Y'all!
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