Where to buy gear for making surf fishing rigs? A question many of us who fish the surf with long rods struggle with since most local tackle stores don�t support well long distant surf casting.

Sure, we can go to Amazon or eBay and find rig making components, but we lack confidence the rig components offered will help us be successful. And often, we cannot find the component because naming or description are not consistent throughout the range of products used in surf fishing. Perhaps what you seek is an online store specializing in surf fishing that would give greater confidence in your purchases, especially when working against a limited budget.

First, a little background before getting into specifics.

Casting distance is the most crucial aspect of surf fishing. A good caster can choose the distance to fish, but for most novices, the furthest is the best. Anglers of average build and casting power can throw a 5-oz sinker 100 to 150 yards.

A 100-yard cast is one football field, while the world record cast is three football fields or 300 yards. If you follow John Holden�s casting instruction you can expect to throw with practice a 5-oz weight 100 yards. (See http://johnholden.co.uk/store/ for a pdf book on long distance casting.) To put distance in perspective, the transition from stained to blue water along the Texas Upper Gulf Coast is at least 300 yards offshore with the first sandbar wave occurring 100 to 200 yards offshore.

Can your rod support throwing a 5oz weight? Check your rod, it states the lure weight range that was used to design and build the rod. It may say �lure 1 � 3 oz� or �lure 6 � 10 oz�.

I use a bank sinker (5, 6 or 8-oz) when practicing my casting technique in a local field. I switch to breakaway spider sinkers in the same weight range when I go fishing. These sinkers are mostly egg-shaped fishing weights with the addition of holding wires. The wires increase holding force in the surf and current since they dig themselves into the seabed or get their grip among rocks or even seaweed. When pulled with sufficient force, the wires snap backward releasing the sinker. Both sinkers�bank and spider-- cast very well because of their shape.

There are other versions of the spider sinker. A sputnik sinker, which is generally easier to find in local tackle/bait stores, is available with a long tail to improve holding strength. In contrast to the breakaway sinker, the wires used in sputnik sinkers do not collapse when pulled upon by a fish or reeling, but the wires can be bent into any shape envisioned by the angler to improve holding power.

I have never tried to throw it 100 yards, but pyramid sinkers do offer another possibility.

When fishing, the pulley rig is a very good rig for distance casting given its aerodynamic nature resulting from clipping the bait near the sinker. When a fish takes the line with a pulley rig, it pulls the sinker up off the seabed which helps set the hook while avoiding snags over rough ground. See Fishing by Rigz at https://fishingrigz.com for a comprehensive review of rigs and rig making components.

If you have never used pulley rig with a bait clip before, expect to add up to 20 yards to your casting distance when compared to a non-clipped bait. It is amazing how much drag a bait will add to your cast when the bait hangs free and helicopters as the rig sores through the air. And without a bait clip, there is a strong likelihood you will cast off your bait in a power cast unless the bait is secured to the hook with a rubber band, bait elastic, or dental floss.

You should become familiar with bait clips. You can make your own, purchase individually, or buy integrated with the sinker�see Fishing by Rigz for an overview of what is commercially available. Performance�i.e. bait release on splashdown�can vary between types of bait clips. If you do not know what you are looking for they can be hard to find or make.

The rigging components I buy from the local tackle shop are main line, shock leader material, rigging line, hooks, swivels, and beads. I buy sinkers, T-swivel, bait clips, and various fishing accessories online; the following being the prominent stores.
Corpus Christi - http://www.breakawaytackleusa.com/
England - https://www.breakaway-tackle.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home
England - https://www.veals.co.uk/index.html

The two Breakaway stores (England and Corpus Christi) work independently and together to develop products targeting surf fishing. They have similar but different merchandise. The IMP bait clip is perhaps their best collaborative effort. The breakaway spider sinkers with built-in bait clip are only available from the Breakaway store in England.