The Complete Book of Surf Fishing [Paperback]

Al Ristori (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2008

A full color guide to catching more and bigger fish from the beach—from a leading expert.

Fishing from beach or rocky coastline presents challenges not faced by anglers who head out to sea. Written to open new frontiers to the old hand and provide advice to novice surf fishermen, The Complete Book of Surf Fishing will be a boon to all coastline anglers. Author and licensed charter captain Al Ristori covers the basics of traditional surfcasting, with well-illustrated instruction on casting big rods in big water. He covers the gamut of tackle that does duty in the surf—conventional gear, spinning gear, fly tackle, and light tackle—and discusses the full range of bait, lures, and flies. Most importantly, he tells you how to find fish. Whether you are casting on the East Coast, Gulf Coast, or West Coast, with Ristori's tips and tricks and decades of know-how, you will know where the fish are when they are most likely to bite. Everyone needs advice from an experienced fisherman once in a while, and now no angler plying the surf will have to do without. 100 color illustrations

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Al Ristori is a frequent contributor to the Salt Water Fisherman. He also writes a regular saltwater column for the Newark Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) and is the conservation editor of the Fisherman magazine. He has authored several books, including Fishing for Bluefish, North American Saltwater Fishing, and The Saltwater Fish Identifier. He lives in Manasquan, New Jersey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (May 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602392471
• ISBN-13: 978-1602392472
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice pictures, few things to learn, August 25, 2009

By 

Jose I. Cañedo Torres "[e-mail]" (Baja California, Mexico) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Book of Surf Fishing (Paperback)

I bought the book believing i will learn a lot, however i did not learn as much as expected.
Pros:
*Nice pictures and good quality paper.
*Easy to read and fun on a rainy day.
*Low cost.
*Recommendations about the tackle, the best of the book.
*A few pictures about casting

Cons:
*No drawings about fishing line or fishing strategies. Only drawings availables are at Appendix 2 and are about knots for hooks, not for lures, and are pictures no drawings.
*NOT the complete book of surf fishing. It is far from a "complete book".

If you are a beginner on surf fishing, you will hardly find a "complete book on surf fishing", you will need 2-3 books that covers different topics, but not this one.

Not recommended for surf fishing learning techniques or strategies. However

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Overview of The Sport, September 8, 2009

By 

Andre De Bardelaben "Andre de Bardelaben" (Western PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Book of Surf Fishing (Paperback)

I had done some surf fishing when I was younger. Now that I'm approaching retirement I've decided to get back into it. The fish haven't changed much, but surf rods and reels have changed quite a bit since I bought my equipment in the 1970s. Everything, from rods and reels to lines and hooks, is lighter, more powerful, more specialized and more sophisticated these days. While I'm certain I could still catch fish with my old gear, I'm sure that some new stuff will make my efforts more fun and efficient. The instructions in this book are clear and the photos are sharp and very helpful. Long-time sharpys won't learn much from this book, but newcomers and casual surf anglers can pick up enough information here to get them into fish often enough that they will want to stay with the sport and become more expert at it.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Help Getting Started, June 25, 2009

By 

Thomas Grover (Naples, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Book of Surf Fishing (Paperback)

This book is a good place to start if you are looking to fish the surf. It gives practical and useful advice to help you, but like any sport you won't read yourself to competence. You have to just get out there and do it!