A simple kit that will leave you better prepared for the surf all season long.
Surfcasters obsess over preparation and ‘being prepared’. Sometimes this can have repercussions, like the guy you see with 90 different things hanging off his surf belt, or the dude that blew out his back because he had a custom 24 tube surfbag made so he could never be caught without the right tool for the conditions at hand. While these examples are largely satirical, they’re funny because they’re actually believable. Being prepared doesn’t mean you’re always prepared for every possibility, it means you’re equipped with the tools and the knowledge to pack smart before you leave the house or the truck.
One thing that happens a lot is you might pack your plug bag based on what it feels like at home and then arrive at the water and find that the light winds in your back yard are actually a howling 25 knots at the beach. No worries, you dig into your backup stash and replace some light plugs with stuff that’s better equipped to handle an onshore wind and sloppy seas. But then three of those seldom-used plugs are sporting rusty hooks that look like they were recovered from a sunken WWII U-Boat.
If you’re completely unprepared, you’re either going for it and hoping your tetanus shot is up to date, or you’re trying to use your thumbnail and fishing pliers to pull a couple hooks off of other plugs to replace the rusted ones. At the very least a surfcaster should have a pair of split ring pliers in his or her vehicle and they should never be taken out of there! At least then you can swap the hooks from one plug to another without the shocking pain of a split ring carving out a little throbbing nook under your thumbnail! These words are being spoken from experience!
A better mode of operation is to set yourself up to be fully prepared. Get yourself a Plano Box. I like the Plano Stowaway Deep 3600 for this purpose. Then place an order for packs of your most often used hooks; I try to have 25 of each size in the box. You can dump then into their own slots or just put the bags in there. You’ll also want to put a few packs of split rings in the kit – I use Spro Power Spit Rings in sizes 5, 6 and 7 – a 50 pack of each goes into the box.
For those times when you want extra toughness or an extra sharp hook, you may want to add some premium trebles and inlines to the kit, I have been very happy with Tsunami Salt-X trebles, Owner ST-66 or BKK Raptor-Z are also good choices. For inlines the BKK Lone Diablos are top of the podium in my opinion with Owner Zo-Wires taking a very close second.
Over time, and as seasons come and go, you’ll find other things that you want to keep in the box. A selection of small trebles and splits for albie season is always a good bet. A few packs of various sizes of TA Clips or Spro Prime HD Snaps might save the day when you run out of leaders. A few packs of circle hooks might save you when you find yourself in a situation where the fish will only take live or chunked bait.
The last couple items that I feel are must-haves for the ‘car kit’ are tools. You definitely want split ring pliers, a really good pair that’s readily available is the Daiwa D-Vec Split Ring Pliers; the 5-inch pair will fit better inside your kit. But, of course, you can use whatever pair you’re the most comfortable with. Another important tool is pair of pliers capable of cutting a hook and the Cadillac of these pliers are, of course, the Manley Super Pliers, with a powerful side cutter and grippy jaws, these pliers will cut and open trebles like a boss. They may also come in handy if you or a friend ends up with a hook stuck in their hand or somewhere else in their body.
Any surfcaster that assembles this kit is going to be well-prepared to handle just about any surprise situation Mother Nature might throw your way. You’ll also be prepared to make hook upgrades if rust is a problem or if a dream scenario arises and you’re feeling under-gunned. These things do happen! And lastly, if someone should end up with a hook buried past the barb, those Manleys will prove their value in mere seconds. Be prepared and you’ll never be surprised again!
