Surf Fishing with Cut Bait: How To and What You Can Catch
Surf fishing with cut bait is a popular method of surf fishing across the coast of the United States. In this article, we’ll be talking about how to go surf fishing with cut bait and what you can catch on cut bait.
Whether you’re surf fishing on the west coast, the east coast, or the gulf coast, surf fishing with cut bait will always be a good choice and productive method.
After fishing the surf in San Diego for more than 10 years, you might think, “I’ve caught everything here already… where to next?”. This was me 3 years ago. I began thinking about Mexico to the south, Malibu/Santa Barbara to the north, and on a more adventurous level, Australia. But, before I got too far down that road, I did a little bit of research and networking and came to the realization that there was so much more to catch here in San Diego.
There are actually more than 25 different common species you can catch in San Diego’s list of common fish species and 5 main styles of surf fishing to catch them all (shown below).
- Carolina Rig / Sand Crabs
- Jerkbaits
- Swimbaits
- Cut Bait
- Reef Bait (shrimp etc.)
So, let’s talk about surf fishing with cut bait and what types of fish you can catch on cut bait.
What is Cut Bait?
Cut bait is generally defined as chopped up chunks of fish used for bait to catch larger species of fish. Using cut bait for surf fishing is a very natural way of “moving up the food chain” when it comes to fishing of any kind.
Here in So Cal, the order of operations is something like this:
Step 1: Catch Sand Crabs
Step 2: Use Sand Crabs to Catch Surfperch or Croaker
Step 3: Cut Croaker or Surfperch and Use to Catch Shark/Ray/Etc.
What Can You Catch While Surf Fishing with Cut Bait?
To answer the question of “What can you catch with cut bait in the surf?”, the truthful answer is anything. You literally never know what you might catch when you throw a chunk of cut bait out into the surf. Think I’m exaggerating? Take a look at this 53.5-pound yellowtail we caught from the beach a few years ago.
Yes, you can literally catch anything. That’s one of the many aspects of surf fishing that makes it so great! But, generally speaking, when surf fishing with cut bait, you can expect to catch one of the following species.
Common Species To Catch in So Cal
- Leopard Shark
- Soupfin Shark
- Bat Ray
- Shovelnose Guitar Fish
- Sevengill Shark
Common Species to Catch Other Places
- Drum
- Blue Fish
- Tarpon
- All Species of Sharks
What’s The Best Cut Bait for Surf Fishing?
Generally speaking, the best cut bait for surf fishing is the species of fish that naturally inhabits the waters you’re fishing. Here in So Cal, the best cut bait is surfperch and yellowfin croaker. What else will work? Here’s a list of some common options.
- surfperch
- yellowfin croaker
- mackerel
- mullet
- herring
- blue fish
- herring
For a complete list of the best baits for surf fishing per species, check out the linked article.
Best Rig for Surf Fishing with Cutbait
Your rig will vary depending on what you’re using for bait and what your target is, but in So Cal, the best rig for surf fishing with cut bait is the traditional 3-Way. See below for the traditional 3-Way and watch the video below for how to use this rig for leopard shark fishing.
Surf Fishing with Cut Bait: How-To
If you’re a visual learner, go ahead and watch the video below for an in-depth tutorial on how to go surf fishing with cut bait.
For a Step-By-Step guide, continue reading below.
Step 1: Get the Right Gear
Before you go out and try to surf fish with cut bait, you’ll need to get the right gear with the right rig. See below for my complete sharking set-up.
- Rod: Fiblink Moonsniper (12 or 13 feet)
- Reel: Penn Battle 6000 or 8000 (II or III)
- Mainline: 50-pound braid
- Top shot: 100-pound nylon coated mono
- Shark Rig: (Buy Here)
- Hooks: 7/0 Circles
- Swivel: 3-Way Barrel Swivel
- Crimps: AFW #6 Crimps
- Weight: 8-ounce pyramid or 6-ounce sputnik
Step 2: Catch or Buy Bait
The next step is to catch your bait. If you’d rather go buy bait, mackerel will work just fine, but catching croaker or surfperch is free, more fun, and slightly better as it’s fresher, more natural, will stay on your hook better, and just better in my opinion. See my page on surf fishing for surfperch for how to catch them.
Step 3: Cut Bait Into 1-inch Pieces
In the image below, you’ll see a piece of barred surfperch on one of my shark rigs. The image shows a 1-inch piece of surfperch with another 1-inch piece on another hook right next to the first. I want to clarify that this was a double rig I used to use. It works well, but I no longer use the double rig. Rather, the single-hook shark rig is completely sufficient.
Step 4: Bait and Wait
The next step is to bait your hook, cast, and set up a rod holder or just hang out and hold your rod. You’ll typically want to fish when condition are best (ie. low waves, wind etc). See the linked article for the best tides, conditions, and times for surf fishing.
Step 5: Hook Up and Land Your Fish
The next step is the best part. When a shark hits, there’s nothing like it. At times, it feels like you’ll either get spooled or the rod might fly out of your hands altogether. Just hang on tight, be smooth, pump when the shark isn’t running, lean back, and reel on the dip. See below for complete steps.
- Cast
- Set rod in holder
- Set drag so fish can pull line and not pull rod out of holder, but still tight(ish)
- Wait
- Bite (rod will go crazy)
- Pick up rod
- Turn drag knob 1/2 turn tighter
- Lean back
- It’s a circle hook. No hookset. Just tighten the drag slightly, let it complete its first run. The drag setting should be able to let the fish run, but it should also be pulling against you pretty good.
- When first run is over, begin reeling. Always lean back and keep tension. Reel when your leaning back becomes a straight-up rod, and dip the rod back down as you reel, preparing to lean back again.
- ALWAYS KEEP TENSION
- Repeat until you beach the shark (if the shark runs, let it run).
- Have a buddy grab the tail, bring shark up to wet sand, unhook, photo, RELEASE.
Hope this helps, guys! let me know if you have any questions about surf fishing with cut bait.
