When surf fishing on the coast of Florida I regularly hear “I don't have a surf rod. Can I fish with my smaller 6ft or 7ft rods instead?” The simple answer to this question is YES, as long as the rod is strong enough to throw a 1 or 2 oz weight. As a matter of fact, there are many instances when my shorter rods, 6 to 7 ft in length, did better on the day than my longer rods designed for surf fishing. This is usually the case when the fish I am targeting are running closer to shore. The best rod to surf fish with is the one you have. While you might not be able to throw as heavy of a lure or throw your bait as far, a 6 to 7 foot rod can catch fish from the surf.
How to surf fish with a 6 to 7 foot rod?
As stated above, a you can easily surf fish with a 6 to 7 foot rod. The important thing when doing this is to know the limitations of the rod and work with its strengths. There are two methods of fishing that you can do from the surf: spiked fishing, and active fishing. Based on your rod you can accomplish one or both of these styles of fishing from the surf.
Spiked Fishing
Spiked fishing is the most common approach to surf fishing and involves casting out bait into the surf, placing the rod in a rod holder, and waiting on a bite. This style of fishing needs a rod that is rated for about a 3/4oz lure weight. With my 7′ medium-heavy G Loomis rod, I usually cast out a Pompano Rig with a 3/4oz sinker and have brought in some nice sized fish from the surf.
Here are some of our go-to products for spiked fishing:
- Exact Design Sand Spike/Rod Holder
- G Loomis NRX Inshore 7′ Medium-Heavy Inshore Spinning Rod
- Shimano Stradic 5000 Saltwater Spinning Reel
- Pompano Rig
Active Fishing
Active fishing involves a continuous casting and retrieving and is usually associated with jigging, spoons, and other artificial lures. This style is more in line with how the shorter rods were designed. I regularly keep a lighter tackle rod on hand when surf fishing to walk up and down the beach to sight fish for red, snook, and pompano. When doing this I am usually casting out 1/2oz jigs all the way up to 1 3/4oz spoons. You can certainly make a day of surf fishing doing just this style of fishing.
Rod Characteristics
In order to determine what you can do with your existing rod you should understand the characteristics of your rod. Most rods have marked somewhere on the blank characteristics of the rod in terms of length, action, and power. Pictured above is the information from my U.S. Real fishing rod. As you can see this rod is 7′ medium-heavy Power, moderate Action rod with a 10-25lb Line Weight rating and a 3/4 – 1 3/4oz Lure Weight rating. This rod has never let me down when spiked fishing or active fishing.
Length
The length of the rod is pretty straight forward. It is a measurement from the butt of the rod to the tip. A typical surf rod is 9 to 15 foot in length. This length of rod provides more potential energy for longer casting as well as helps keep the line high up out of the surf. Shorter rods, in the 6 to 7 foot range will struggle a little with getting bait way out there past the second trough. Lucky for us, most fish caught from the surf are much closer in to shore and well within reach of the shorter rods. The limitation comes in on really rough days when the fishing line is below the surf which can drag your bait off target and cause tangles. If you are going out fishing with your shorter rods, check out the local surf report and make sure the conditions aren't too rough. If you're interested in reading more about how to choose a surf fishing rod, read our article here.
Action
A rods action basically defines where on the rod the bend or flex takes place when pressure is applied to the tip. Action is defined in terms of speed which range from slow to moderate to extra fast. Generally, the faster the action the further toward the tip of the rod is where the flex will start. Extra fast (sometimes known as tip flex) rods have an edge on casting accuracy as well as fish control where moderate rods have the edge when casting heavier lures. Action isn't a huge limiting factor when fishing with a shorter rod but a moderate or moderate fast action is preferred. Faster action rods are preferred with active fishing and slower action rods are preferred with spiked fishing.
Power
Rod power is an indicator of a rods strength and/or stiffness. Power tells you how much a rod will flex when put under a load. Power is assigned in terms of a range between ultra light to extra heavy. The heavier the rod power the stronger or stiffer the rod. Rod power is also a leading factor in the line and lure weight rating of the rod. Most rods also have this rating indicated somewhere on the blank. If not, a quick search on the internet will tell you this information. For spiked fishing I recommend a rod Power of medium-heavy or higher. This will usually correlate to at least a 1 3/4oz lure rating which is enough to get you on the water. For active fishing from the beach I recommend at least a medium power rod. Active fishing requires a much lower power rod compared to spiked fishing.
Line Weight Rating
The line weight rating of a rod tells you a recommended range of line weight for the rod. The line weight does not tell you how big of fish you can catch but instead the lb test the line should be used on the rod. The higher the power the higher the line rating. This rating however does not easily determine the ability to use the rod for surf fishing.
Lure Weight
The lure weight is probably the most informative value on the rod outside its length. the lure weight is a recommended range of weight, usually in ounces, that the rod is designed to cast. Casting a lure inside this range will provide the most efficiency with the cast. The closer you are to that 2oz mark on your lure rating the better off you are for spiked fishing. I regularly cast out a Pompano Rig with a 2oz sinker with my 7′ medium-heavy power rod with a 3/4oz to 1 3/4 oz lure rating. If the lure weight is at or below the 1oz mark I will typically reserve this rod for the traditional active style fishing. Read more about lures in our Surf Fishing Lures article.
Get out and Fish
As I said earlier, the important thing is to get out and fish.It is obviously best to have the right tool for the job, however this should not keep you off the water. Grab what you have, understand your constraints, and get out there and catch some fish!
Tight Lines Y'all!
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