Everyone loves the beach during the summer. It’s the time of year when families who don’t live on the coast flock to the surf, and many of them are hoping to sneak in a little fishing during their annual vacation. I often hear from readers and podcast listeners who don’t have easy access to saltwater but who want to catch striped bass, big bluefish, giant flounder, and more.
But here’s the reality many of them don’t understand: Summer is not the ideal time to catch these coveted fish throughout much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Those glamorous species are thickest long before Memorial Day and while you’re eating Thanksgiving dinner. This is a bummer for some people to hear, especially those with kids who are just looking to bend a rod. The good news is that if you’re willing shift your goals, the summer months can offer some of the easiest fishing of the year for small but delicious fish.
From the Carolinas up to New England, three members of the drum family invade the bays and surf every summer: croakers, kingfish, and spots. What these species lack in size they make up for in abundance, and if you can land enough, you’re going to have one hell of a good fish fry. Catching them doesn’t require deep insider knowledge of local spots or the perfect point in the tide, either. If you’ve got a rod — practically any rod — and the right bait and rig, you’re likely to be successful on any part of the coast in mid-summer. Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know to get yourself (and the kiddos) on a mess of saltwater “panfish.”
Saltwater Species for Summer Surf Fishing
Photo by Joe Cermele
Atlantic Croaker
The Atlantic croakers’ range extends from roughly Massachusetts to as far south as the Caribbean. Croakers get their name from the drumming or “croaking” sound they make to communicate underwater. These fish are pale tan or silver in color with faint brown or gold spots. The world record weighed 8 pounds 11 ounces, but fish measuring 8 to 14 inches are most common.
Kingfish
Sometimes referred to as “king croaker,” these little guys are not to be confused with king mackerel, which grow big, live offshore, and are also called kingfish. There are southern and northern varieties of kingfish, and they often intermingle in the lower Northeast and upper Mid-Atlantic. Kingfish are gold or silver with dark brown striation marks, and they have longer bodies and dorsal fins than croakers.
Spot
Also known as a “spot croaker,” spots get their name from the single dark polka dot found just behind their gill plate. They also have vivid yellow tails. Found throughout the Gulf and Atlantic, they rarely exceed 14 inches in length.
Rods and Reels for Saltwater Panfish
One of the best aspects of chasing these smaller saltwater targets is that they don’t require any specialty rods and reels. Sure, a 9- or -10-foot surf rod might come in handy on occasion if you need to cast far, but you often don’t.
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Likewise, most traditional surf outfits are going to completely overpower these fish. So, while they’re effective, you won’t get to enjoy their scrappy fights. If you and the family are headed to the coast from your inland home, any rod you’d use for trout, bass, or catfish, is perfectly fine for spots, croakers, and kingfish. Even in the surf, these fish are often the thickest in the shallow wash or the first deep trough, which rarely requires a cast longer than 50 feet to reach. When I target these fish on our boat with my son, I give him a 5-foot ultra-light trout rod, and it makes even the smallest croakers feel like trophies.
Rigging Up for Saltwater Panfish
The nice thing about targeting kingfish, spots, and croakers is that one rig covers the bases for all three. They eat the same foods, have similar sized mouths, and hunt in the same areas. By far the most effective presentation is a high-low rig, which features a swivel at one end to connect to your main line, a loop or snap at the bottom for your weight, and two dropper loops in the middle that present the hooks perpendicular to the main leader. One is positioned closer to the sinker (the “low”) and the other closer to the swivel (the “high”). This configuration presents baits in two parts of the water column, and it works just as well from shore as it does from a boat.
You can learn to tie your own high-low rigs, but they’re also easy to find pre-made in tackle shops. It’s also common to see them with bright, pill-shaped floats ahead of the hooks. These help keep your baits suspended off the bottom but also act as visual attractors, which come in handy in roiled, sandy surf. If you do tie your own rigs, remember that smaller and lighter is better. Fifteen-pound fluorocarbon is ideal and you’ll want tiny hooks — either a number 8 circle hook or a size 12 long shank J hook.
As for your sinker, you’ll want it to move around, especially in the oceanfront surf. Pyramid sinkers are commonly used when surf fishing for larger species, as they anchor heavier baits to the bottom. But spots, kingfish, and croakers like to roam around the shallow break line like a wolf pack. A bank sinker or casting sinker with a round profile will get pushed around more by the waves, helping your bait encounter more panfish on the hunt for a meal.
The Best Baits for Saltwater Panfish
Bloodworms
Without question, there is no more potent bait for croakers, spots, and kingfish than fresh, live bloodworms. The scent that these long, ugly wrigglers put out is downright intoxicating. But there is a downside. Bloodworms are one of the most expensive saltwater baits on the market. They can cost upwards of $30 a dozen — if you can even find them, that is.
Historically, tackle shops throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic stocked them year-round. But nowadays, thanks to the decline of commercial worm digging operations in Maine, supply cannot always meet demand. Furthermore, bait shop owners routinely complain that the average bloodworm is much smaller now than it used to be. Even though you only need a tiny piece on the hook, that $30 tub won’t last very long if the bite is good.
Fishbites
Luckily, there is a far more cost-effective alternative to live bloodworms that’s really close to being just as productive. Fishbites bloodworms are synthetic strips that come dry in the package, so they’ll never make a mess or stink up your tackle bag. They feel almost like soft leather and feature a mesh strip in the center that helps them stay on the hook. Upon hitting the water, the strips rehydrate and release a baked-in bloodworm scent that gets the fish all charged up.
Personally, I rarely use anything other than Fishbites for these three species. Since one strip provides more than a dozen baits when cut down, a bag can last almost the entire summer, and, because the strips are so tough, I can catch multiple fish on one piece before I need to change it up.
Squid
Though not quite as powerful as a bloodworm, frozen squid provides a happy medium between fake bait and expensive natural bait. It’s much cheaper than bloodworms and even Fishbites in some cases. One squid can also easily provide a day’s worth of bait as long as you cut it into tiny strips. Squid is also very tough, so it’s more difficult for these little bait stealers to rip it off the hook. It doesn’t have quite as potent a scent as Fishbites and bloodworms, however, so you might have to freshen up your rig more often.
Grass Shrimp
If you can get your hands on a pint of live grass shrimp, you’ve got yourself some panfish candy. This is not easily done, however. Occasionally you’ll find a bait shop that stocks live shrimp, but most anglers who rely on live shrimp seine their own in grassy sections of bays.
The next best thing to live grass shrimp is frozen or dehydrated grass shrimp, and you’ll find these in most bait shops. I’d argue that these make better baits than squid in terms of getting more bites, but they’re also more delicate and easily stolen. Bottom line: Buy more grass shrimp than you think you’ll need because you’ll go through them quickly.
Clams
Frozen or salted clams also make excellent panfish baits, and they’re typically inexpensive. One quart of them will usually get you through the day because you’re only using tiny pieces, but, like grass shrimp, clam is easily pulled off the hook. The thicker, more rigid feet of the clams will stay on longer, but the guts and belly — despite having the most scent — can fly off during a long cast and will get picked off very fast. So, be ready to strike at the first nibble.
Finding Saltwater Panfish
The abundance of these small drumfishes is seasonal throughout much of their range, and this coincides with their annual spawning run. Water temperature also plays a role, as these fish are more comfortable in warmer seas than other, larger species in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
When water temperatures in the surf peak in July through early October, you can connect with one or all of these saltwater panfish on practically any beach. If you’re looking for the best numbers, beaches that have a pronounced trough or drop off close to the break line at high tide are ideal. Tides are also important, with the outgoing tide often producing the best action in the surf.
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But spots, kingfish, and croakers can be found throughout bay systems and up coastal rivers. (You can even find them in shallower, featureless stretches in some areas.) Any public dock, bay beach, or bulkhead has potential in the summer, although the closer you are to an inlet the better. Inlets allows fresh ocean water to enter the bay with every tide. This water is often cooler, and the fish know that tidal current will stir up the sand and mud in the bay, exposing forage like worms and small crabs.
Boating anglers should focus on channel edges in the bay. During high tide, the fish will gravitate to shallower flats, but as it falls, they’ll often cruise the drop along a channel and feed heavily in the tidal flow. Any submerged rock bars or humps you find in the bay can also be loaded up with fish.
Cooking Saltwater Panfish
Spots, kingfish, and croakers are all fantastic on the table — some would argue even better than their cousins, the redfish and flounder. Of course, as with perch and bluegills, you’ll need a mess of these saltwater panfish to make a meal for the whole family. That’s why the goal isn’t just to catch a couple. You want to hit the motherlode.
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There aren’t any special tricks to cleaning the se fish, but it’s worth investing in a short fillet knife. A 4-inch blade with plenty of flex makes the work quicker when you’re staring down a five-gallon bucket full of croakers.
The meat of all three saltwater panfish species is mild and sweet. Although it’s hard to beat a classic beer battering and frying, don’t be afraid to broil or sauté these fish. The fillets of larger fish can be grilled with the skin on for a “half shell” presentation commonly used to prepare redfish.
