Once the rig is tied to the main line at­tach a pyramid- style sinker to the snap swivel. Weight depends on current; however, most anglers seem to favor a 3- to 5- ounce weight to anchor the leader. Put a piece of bait on each hook and you're ready to cast. Live Bait or Artificials? A variety of lures can be used to entice different species. Ask at the local bait shop what is working. Popular choices are 1/ 2- to 2- ounce metal spoons or jigs. Bluefish, redfish, jack crevalles and even tarpon will strike artificials. Bounc­ing bucktails, spoons, jigs and swim­ming plugs over the surf's bottom struc­ture can be effective. On the west coast of Florida, anglers use musky and pike tackle to entice finicky snook. Many surf fishermen prefer to use live bait. Start by purchasing fresh shrimp or frozen clam bits from the local bait shop. Rig these tasty morsels up and catch lady­fish, whiting or bluefish. Cut those up into chunks or strips and you'll have plenty of fresh bait. Another fun option is catching sand fleas sidebar with sand flea picture and definition?. Standing on the edge of the water, use your hands or a sand flea rake ( available at most oceanside bait stores) to dig down into the sand as the waves recede. You'll find these tiny shelled crea­tures that are the size of a quarter. Grab and place them on a hook. Attach the bait to circle hooks to provide a solid hook set without deeply hooking Black Drum: quartered crab, shrimp, clams, sand fleas Bluefish: cut bait such as strips of mullet, whiting, ladyfish Flounder: live finger mullet or shrimp Jack Crevalle: cut bait, mullet, metal spoons Pompano: shrimp, sand fleas, clam bits, small jigs Redfish: cut bait, sand fleas, metal spoons, buck­tails, swimming plastics Seatrout: mullet, shrimp, jigheads with squid strips, bucktails, swimming plugs Spanish Mackerel: metal spoons Tarpon: live mullet or whiting, metal spoons, buck­tails, surface poppers Whiting: shrimp, sand fleas, clam bits 70 Continued at Page 73

Dave Gill practiced C. P. R. on this huge 58- inch, 63- pound redfish while surf fishing this past autumn. He was using a live mullet on a 10/ 0 circle hook. He's also caught large redfish on cut bait such as fresh whiting. 71