If you have been following me awhile, you know that the Fishing Syndicate FSG SP 800MH (10-20) is my “rod that stays in the car.” It’s the rod I had two of my best shore catches ever on last year…a 36″ halibut from shore on the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110, and an almost world record shortfin corvina on the mini jig from Reaper Slow Pitch (below).

When you catch a really memorable fish on a certain rod, you tend to fall in love with that rod. That being said, I’ve gotten back to fishing in the surf a lot lately, and I’ve been doing it more often than not on a different rod, The Fishing Syndicate FSG SP 800M (8-14).

What’s the difference?

Both rods come from the Fishing Syndicate Bays and Lakes Spinner family. I’m going to talk about the differences between the rods, but let’s first get on the same page in terms of “shore fishing” and “surf fishing.”

Surf fishing in my mind is fishing that is done specifically on the sand, facing into the ocean waves. Shore fishing to me includes surf fishing, but also includes any other fishing from shore…off jetties, off the wall that I fish on a lot at Estero Beach, and even pier fishing.

Surf Fishing

Surf fishing includes the long rod, bait-and-wait type of fishing. But typically when I say surf fishing, I’m referring to the light line, Carolina Rig type of fishing that I first learned (from my Surf Sensei – Randy Toji, and Robert Danelen) and caught my first fish (barred surf perch) along the beaches of Southern California.

The picture above is from this week at Playa La Mision, about a half hour south from me in Rosarito Beach. I had to put it in context of the other pictures in my phone though because it could just as easily be the beach I fished in South Santa Monica Bay (Los Angeles) last week, or the North County San Diego beach I fished earlier this week.

When I’m fishing in this kind of environment, I like to use the 800M in a Carolina Rig (C-rig for short) setup.

I pair up the 800M with a Shimano Nasci 2500 spinning reel. The reel is spooled with 8# mono. I typically use a 1/2 oz. bullet-style slider and a bead on the main line (right). The mainline terminates to a swivel. From the swivel, I use about 18″ of 4-10 lb. fluorocarbon (depending on time of day, size of fish present, and environment: sandy vs. rocky) and terminate to the hook which is anywhere from from size 10 to 2 depending on the size of bait, and what the fish are willing to bite. If I can get away with a bigger hook, the fish have a harder time swallowing the hook…making it easier on the fish and for me letting them go. Most of the time, I’m using 4# fluoro on the leader and a size 8 hook.