This time of year the best place to get your bait is on site and it's free. The best surf fishing bait for this time of year and my hands down favorite bait to use in the surf can be caught at most beaches. If they aren't present at the beach your fishing you may want to consider trying another stretch of coast. Beaches that hold lots crabs will generally hold lots of fish too. Now I'm talking about perch and corbina so if your after halibut or batrays then you'll need to plan on bringing some bait. For the crabs try to find the softest shcll crab you can possibly find and don't try to use any crabs bigger than your thumb. That's already too big in my opion. I have the most luck on multiple small crabs. You don't need throw them far out at all. About anymore than 40 feet from shore might be too far depending on conditions. You should be able to see corbina feeding on the crabs in literally a couple inches of water. Half there body will often be exposed out of the water as the dart around when the waves wash up. If you don't bit on your crab with a 5 minutes change and try another. Soft with eggs is the best. Use a Carolina rig and line no heavier than 6lb actually 4lb is what I use but 2lb is too light. Good luck. Oh yeah and keep moving work your way down the beach. If your getting bit and the bite stops just look for similar conditions that produced the bite as make your way along the beach. YOu should to good the surf fishing is fantastic right now.