Book excerpt: 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.