Surf Fishing Bait: What’s the Best Bait for Surf Fishing?
The best bait for surf fishing isn’t the same everywhere you go… but there is a “formula” that remains steadfast no matter where you’re fishing. The best surf fishing bait is the prey that your target species naturally feeds on.
In this article (use this list to navigate within this page):
- Best Surf Fishing Baits
- Best Bait for Each Species of Surf Fish:
Some of the best baits for surf fishing include the following:
Live Bait
- sand crabs (sand fleas)
- shrimp
- sandworms, bloodworms, lugworms
- crabs
- anchovies
- grunion
- sardines
- mullet
- mackerel
- herring
Frozen (dead) Bait
- clams
- mussels
- squid
- shrimp
Cut Bait
- croaker
- surfperch
- mullet
- mackerel
- herring
Lures
- jerkbaits
- plugs
- swimbaits
- bucktails
But, the best way to figure out which surf fishing bait to use is to figure out which baits work well for which species of surf fish. Below, we’ll break down the best surf fishing baits per species.
Best Bait for Corbina, Spotfin Croaker, and Yellowfin Croaker
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- sand crabs
If you’re looking to catch any of these three species (corbina, spotfin croaker, and yellowfin croaker), sand crabs should be your number one option. Since these fish regularly feed on sand crabs along the shoreline, it’s pretty much a no brainer. Sand crabs will be your best bait for surf fishing.
Other Popular Baits:
- blood worms
- lug worms
- mussel meat
- clam meat
- Gulp sand worms (artificial)
- Fish Bites EZ Flea (artificial)
- Z-Man CrusteaZ 2 inch (artificial)
- I always recommend having at least one artificial option in case you can’t find live bait etc.
Best Bait for Surfperch
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- mussel meat
- Gulp sand worms
- local grubs
Being one of the most popular species caught in the surf on the west coast, there’s an abundance of options for surfperch. In my experience, mussel meat comes in at number one. The most popular option however, is a 2-inch Gulp sand worm. Another extremely popular option is your local bait maker’s grubs. it shouldn’t take you too long to find out who’s making bait nearby and odds are, they’re pretty good grubs.
The only reason sand crabs aren’t atop this list is because you typically catch more croaker and corbina with them and while sand crabs disappear in the winter, surfperch fishing heats up.
Other Popular Baits:
- sand crabs
- blood worms
- Lucky Craft FM 110 lures
- lug worms
- mussel meat
- clam meat
- Gulp sand worms (artificial)
- Fish Bites EZ Flea (artificial)
- Z-Man CrusteaZ 2 inch (artificial)
- I always recommend having at least one artificial option in case you can’t find live bait etc.
Best Bait for Halibut
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- Lucky Craft FM 110
- live grunion (and similar sized baitfish)
- Keitech Fat Impact Swing paired with Warbaits Weedless Jighead
When you’re surf fishing for halibut, it’s important to know where they spend their time and what they prey on. Although they spend most of their time on the bottom, they’re feeding on baitfish that pass above them. For that reason, anything that mimics small fish is a good option.
Other Popular Baits:
- Battlestar 115 (promo code SFSC)
- Calissa
- frozen anchovies (and similar sized baitfish)
Best Bait for Shovelnose Guitarfish
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- big sand crabs
- squid
If you’re specifically targeting guitarfish, and even more specifically, big guitarfish, the two best baits are big sand crabs and squid. While you can catch them on squid and cut bait, you have better odds of weeding through the sharks, rays and even corbina, croaker and similar species by using massive sand crabs.
Other Popular Baits:
- smaller cut bait
Best Bait for Leopard Sharks and Soupfin Sharks
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- cut surfperch, yellowfin croaker, and mackerel
Hands down, the best bait for catching larger-model leopard sharks and soupfin sharks is cut bait. Specifically, fresh croaker, surfperch and mackerel have the best rates of success.
Other Popular Baits:
- squid
Squid and other types of cut bait including stingray and bat ray. Note, with squid, you’ll often get more smaller sharks and rays. Cut bait will get more sharks and bigger sharks.
Best Bait for Sting Ray and Bat Rays
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- squid
The number one option for targeting rays in the surf is squid. No bait will catch more rays than squid. although, most anglers don’t deliberately target rays, it’s a good thing to know that you’ll attract rays with squid.
Other popular Baits:
- cut bait
Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Rockfish and Sheephead
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- shrimp
Although you can catch calico, sand bass and rock fish on lures consistently, the best bait for these species is shrimp. Additionally, the best bait for sheephead is shrimp. Fish around rocks and reefs with shrimp and you’ll hook-up soon enough.
Other Popular Baits:
- squid
- small cut bait
- frozen grunion/anchovy
Best Bait for White Sea Bass
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- swimbaits
- jerkbaits
The best bait for catching white seabass in the surf is going to be anything that mimics bait fish. technically, live grunion, sardines, or anchovy would be ideal, but those are tough to come by for the average surf angler.
That said, lures like the Keitech Fat Impact Swing paired with a Warbaits Jighead or an Owner Sled Head, or even Texas Rig Style, along with lures like the LC FM 110 are the best surf fishing bait for white seabass.
Opaleye Surf Fishing Bait
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- shrimp
- mussels
- peas
The three best baits for opaleye fishing are shrimp, mussels, and peas. An interesting selection you might be thinking. I’ve personally only used shrimp and mussels, but there’s a large number of anglers out there who swear by frozen peas.
Other Popular Baits:
- sand crabs
- clams
Sargo Surf Fishing Bait
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- ghost shrimp
- shrimp
- mussels
Sargo are an interesting species. The best baits for sargo are ghost shrimp, mussels, and shrimp. You’ll find near piers and/or rocky areas and they also spend a lot of time in bays.
Other Popular Baits:
- sand crabs
- clams
- squid
Best Bait for Striped Bass
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- Lucky Craft FM 110
- Keitech/Warbaits combo
- Keitech/Sled Head combo
The best bait for striped bass is similar to that of halibut and white seabass. Anything that mimics live baitfish. So jerkbaits like the LC FM 110, and swimbaits like the Keitech Fat Impact Swing paired with a Warbaits Jighead or an Owner Sled Head, or even Texas Rig Style are good options.
Striped bass will also bite on live bait if you have the means of making it. They’re a predatory fish and will eat anything that looks like a small fish.
Other Popular Lures:
- bucktails
- top waters
- poppers
- spoons
Best Bait for Pompano Surf Fishing
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- sand crabs (sand fleas)
Pompano are very similar in diet to corbina, croaker, and surfperch on the West Coast. Sand crabs are the best bait for pompano surf fishing.
Other Popular Baits:
- shrimp
- squid
Best Bait for Redfish
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- cut bait
- shrimp
- crabs
The best bait for catching redfish in the surf is a 3-way tie. Cut mullet, live shrimp and crabs are also popular options. While it’s possible to catch redfish on lures on a regular basis, bait is still a more popular option.
Other Popular Baits:
- squid
- spoons
- skimmers
- jerkbaits
- swimbaits
- topwaters
Some anglers will use squid to catch redfish from the surf and lures aren’t out of the question either. Jerkbaits like the LC FM 110 will work just fine along with spoons, top waters and swimbaits.
Best Bait for Black Drum
Best Surf Fishing Baits:
- live shrimp
- crabs
The two best baits for black drum (or “big uglies” as they’re commonly known) are live shrimp and crabs. These guys are basically spotfin croaker on steroids and even though they don’t fight as well pound-for-pound, given their sheer size, they’ll easily put their not so distant relative to shame.
Other Popular Baits:
- oysters
- clams
Best Bait for Tarpon
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- cut mullet
The best bait for tarpon fishing is cut bait. To be specific, fresh, cut, mullet is a favorite bait for tarpon. While they’ll go after lures as well, most big tarpon are caught on fresh cut mullet.
Other Popular Baits:
- cut bluefish
- cut lady fish
- lures
Other types of cut bait will work, like blue fish and lady fish. Additionally, since tarpon feed on live baitfish as well, all different types of lures are a good bet too.
Best Bait for Whiting
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- sand crabs (sand fleas)
The best bait for whiting is sand crabs or sand fleas as they’re commonly known in the gulf coast. Whiting are basically a smaller version of the corbina that we have on the west coast.
Other Popular Baits:
- blood worms
- lug worms
- mussel meat
- clam meat
- shrimp
- Gulp sand worms (artificial)
- Fish Bites EZ Flea (artificial)
- Z-Man CrusteaZ 2 inch (artificial)
- I always recommend having atleast one artificial option in case you can’t find live bait etc.
Best Bait for Speckled Trout
Best Surf Fishing Baits:
- live shrimp
- lures
Clearly, like sand crabs, live shrimp is an extremely versatile bait. While it’s commonly accepted that live shrimp will catch more speckled trout (spotted sea trout) than lures, lures might weed through the smaller catches and other bycatch to get you that trophy speckled sea trout. many jerkbaits and swimbaits will do very well with these fish
Other Popular Baits:
- If you can get your hands on some live croaker, mullet, or other similar baitfish, you might have a great shot at catching a larger-model specked sea trout.
Best Bait for Blue Fish
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- squid
- cut bait
Fresh squid, and cut bait are the two best baits for blue fish. As for the cut bait, use mackerel, mullet, bunker, or even sardine and you’ll be on a blue fish soon enough.
Other Popular Baits:
- spoons
- jerkbaits
- live baitfish
Best Bait for Bonito
Best Surf Fishing Bait:
- live sardines/anchovies
- jerkbaits and swimbaits
The best bait for bonito fishing is live bait like anchovies, sardines, or small mackerel. Bonito will also bite on lures like the LC FM 110 and swimbaits like the keitech 4.8-inch fat impact swing and many other lures. Trust your eyes. If your lure looks like a small bait fish… it’ll probably work.
Other Popular Baits:
- spoons
- crocodiles
Best Bait for Snook
Best Surf Fishing Baits:
- live shrimp
- bucktails
- swimbaits
- jerkbaits
Snook are another interesting species of surf fish that will regularly bite on a wide variety of baits. Again, live shrimp will do the trick for just about any species that will come near the bottom. If you’re looking for those trophy-sized snooks though, pick up a bucktail or swimbait of sorts.
Other Popular Baits:
- crabs
Thanks for giving this a read and if you think I missed a species that’s a commonly caught surf fish, reach out below in the comments section and I’ll add it to the list. I hope this helps you pick out the best bait for surf fishing!
