Anyone ever fished the Gulf coast surf

[mvortex]

I have fished plenty in the Gulf with bass tackle. Throwing gulp or real shrimp on jigheads. Even live pilchards/white bait, everyone calls them something different, free lined on circle hooks. I always use a fluro leader of at least 20LBs. you can also throw spoons on the beach if their are mackerel around, but you will want wire leader for that. Try to find a rock jetty or pass to fish with the outgoing tide. Fish can really stack up in these places. Don't forget to watch the spines on the saltwater cats, they will make you swell up for several hours.

[sweetwater]

I fish salt on the east and the least coast of Florida on a regular basis. While you could use you bass gear for salt it isn't a good idea. Sand will get into places it shouldn't be and destroy any moving parts with tight tolerances. That's besides the damage that salt air, mist and water can to every part. If that's not enough when salt fishing you just never know what you're going to catch. Get a mediocre size jack crevalle or a snook hooked on that bass gear and they could pretty much rip it apart at will. If you're beach fishing I'd recommend a Penn spinning reel that holds at least 300 yards of 20 pound mono and a 12 foot mh surf rod. (yes I've been spooled before with that much line on the reel) True salt gear should be made mostly from anodized aluminum and the interior parts should be sealed from the outside environment.

[jrrose03]

I fish salt on the east and the least coast of Florida on a regular basis. While you could use you bass gear for salt it isn't a good idea. Sand will get into places it shouldn't be and destroy any moving parts with tight tolerances. That's besides the damage that salt air, mist and water can to every part. If that's not enough when salt fishing you just never know what you're going to catch. Get a mediocre size jack crevalle or a snook hooked on that bass gear and they could pretty much rip it apart at will. If you're beach fishing I'd recommend a Penn spinning reel that holds at least 300 yards of 20 pound mono and a 12 foot mh surf rod. (yes I've been spooled before with that much line on the reel) True salt gear should be made mostly from anodized aluminum and the interior parts should be sealed from the outside environment.

sweet made an excellent point!... if you do decide to take fresh water gear, definitely make sure to clean the gear very thoroughly after each use with freshwater, i learned the hard way 10 or so years ago and didnt clean my gear... long story short the saltwater flat ate it up. I wash all my gear down now after each use for about 5-10 minutes.. reels rods bait knives.. and havent had an issue since.