Drifting Easy by Sue Foster

“What can I catch in the surf in August?”

Summertime surf fishing means pan fish! Kingfish (also called whiting or sea 
mullet), croaker, Norfolk spot, small “spike” trout, very small snapper 
blues are generally the fare.  The biggest mistake anglers make is trying to 
fish the surf like they do in the spring and fall. If you go out there with 
a big ol’ hook and a big slab of bait, you may catch a big shark or ray, but 
the likelihood of a nice striper or big bluefish is “slim.”

“They are small and silver with a few black stripes and a turned down mouth… 
We’ve been tossing them back… What are they?”

Kingfish! And they are wonderful to eat!
 There are two varieties of them in the surf, thus sometimes they look a 
little different at times. The Northern kingfish has a long spine on the 
first dorsal fin and a barbel on its chin. It has dark, irregular bars or 
stripes on its body. The first two bars form two distinct V-shapes. These 
bold markings and a dark longitudinal stripe behind the pectoral fins 
distinguish it from other species of kingfish. The markings on Southern are 
not as prominent and do not form the V-shaped pattern. The Southern Kingfish 
does not have a long spine on the first dorsal fin and can run a little 
larger in size. The Northern Kingfish averages 10-14 inches and rarely gets 
much over a pound and a half.

The Southern Kingfish has indistinct bars, stripes, or blotches on its sides 
and can run up to two pounds.  Both varieties can run together, and 
personally, I think the Northern ones taste a little sweeter, maybe because 
they have been in cooler waters up north! But regardless of the variety, 
whether Northern or Southern, they are both absolutely delicious. It is one 
of my absolute favorite fish both to catch and to eat.
“How do you catch them?”
First of all, the kingfish have small turned down mouths. Big hooks won’t 
cut it!  Get yourself a pre-made kingfish surf rig made with size no. 6 or 
no. 8 hooks and little surf floats. There are several of them on the market. 
Sea Striker makes a couple of them that work just great. I like the one with 
the two little wide gap gold hooks with the little round balls. It is called 
an SSSKF-2 Spot, King and Mullet Rig. Another one Sea Striker makes is 
SSSKF- Kingfish/pan fish surf rig made with #8 hooks. This rig is made with 
Pacific Bass hooks (long shank hook) and one-inch floats. This rig has a big 
loop that you slip your sinker into. The rig with the round balls has a snap 
for your sinker that I like a little better. I also think the wide gap hooks 
hook the fish quicker.
Use whatever amount of sinker weight that just barely holds the bottom. Use 
a pyramid or hurricane type sinker in the 2 to 3 ounce range to start. Then 
use heavier if need be.

 Bait up your hooks with bloodworm, Fishbite Artificial bloodworm, and 
little pieces of fresh or fresh frozen bunker, or small strips of California 
box squid. You can also use combination baits of bloodworm or Fishbite 
Bloodworm with a little strip of squid or fresh cut bunker or spot. Kingfish 
also like shrimp, so bait shrimp, fresh shrimp bought off one of those 
trucks on the side of the road boasting fresh shrimp from North Carolina, or 
Fishbites Shrimp strips will also work (I like the pink color.) Some people 
swear by the Fishbites clam in orange too. But when it comes to Fishbites 
for kingfish, the all time favorite is the Bloodworm flavor. If you buy 
another flavor use it in combination with the bloodworm ON THE SAME HOOK.
It’s like an ice crème sundae. You can buy a cup of vanilla ice crème and 
that’s OK. And you can buy a jar of hot fudge and that’s OK. But when you 
but them together IT’S WONDERFUL! Almost all fish LOVE combination baits. 
That’s two baits ON THE SAME HOOK!  Worm and squid… Bunker fillet with some 
Fishbites Bloodworm Alternative… Shrimp and bloodworm…. Be creative! 
Experiment!
“Sometimes shrimp works for the kingfish and sometimes only worms will 
 work!”
That may have something to do with the variety of kingfish you are catching. 
Southern kingfish are more likely to take shrimp or cut bait, while Northern 
Kingfish are more likely not to take those baits and prefer bloodworm, 
Fishbite Bloodworm Alternative, or crab such as fresh peeler crab.  Some 
days the two varieties run together and other days you will only catch one 
or the other!
The other advantage to using bloodworm or Fishbites bloodworm alternative as 
one of your baits in the surf is Norfolk spot. Norfolk spot run with the 
kingfish and REALLY like worms. They are also great to eat if they are big 
enough to fillet or dress whole, but they also make GREAT fresh bait.  Scale 
and fillet the spot and cut into small strips. Put it on with the worm and 
you have a really good fresh bait to put on your hooks. Small sea trout 
especially like fresh spot fillet and worm combinations.
“How far out should I cast?”
Kingfish and other pan fish are often close in, just beyond the first 
breaker. What I do is this. Cast out as far as you can, then very slowly 
bump your rig back in towards shore. This way, you can find out where the 
fish are biting and then when you get bites you can cast to that spot.  The 
“bite” can change with the tide as well. On the high tide, the fish can be 
in VERY close, but as the tide goes out, the fish can move out further.
“My line went slack!”
Kingfish have a tendency to run towards the shore when hooked. If you get a 
bite then a slack line, start cranking! There’s likely to be a fish on the 
end of the line!

Kingfish and other pan fish tend to bite better early in the morning and 
towards dusk. In the heat of a hot sunny day, the “bite” can quit.  Always 
try to get up to the beach as early as you can, especially for kingfish. Sea 
trout and croaker can be nocturnal and tend to bite at dusk and after dark. 
After dark, it is best to have some cut bait such as fresh spot, frozen 
squid, or fresh or frozen bunker to add to your worm. The larger croaker in 
the surf seem to be biting primarily after dark. Fish for them the same way 
as you would for the kingfish and you should be in luck!
If you have one of those cloudy drizzly days, the fishing can be good all 
day as the sun does not come into the shallow water and scare the fish to 
the depths. Also, a light easterly breeze is ALWAYS the preferred wind on 
the beach in the summer. It brings in slightly cooler cleaner water, it 
brings the fish closer to shore, and it keeps the biting flies in the 
marshes where they belong!
If you wonder why fishing one day is GREAT and fishing the surf another day 
at the same tide or time of day is totally DEAD it probably has a lot to do 
with the way the wind is blowing.
“Are croaker as good to eat as kingfish?”
They are good but have a lot more bones. Their meat is not as white and 
flaky and they have more of a fishy taste than kingfish. Kingfish and spot 
are a whole lot easier to fillet for sure!  Croaker have a large head and a 
large rib cage.  Even though kingfish may look smaller, the fillet is 
larger.
“Do I need a big long surf rod?”
Actually no. In the summer, a lighter 8 or 9 foot rod with a reel strung 
with 12 to 15 pound test is all you need. These fish are small and are more 
fun to catch with a lighter rod. You can even use your bay spinning outfits, 
BUT keep them out of the SAND!

Good fishing…
 




 
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