Red Tide Out Warm Water In...

As warm water rushes into the area the red tide is beginning to fade away!

Over the last few days the red tide has begun to disappear and warm water in the mid 60's is splashing up along the beach. Warmer weather this week should also help the water temps and bring even more fish into the surf.

Fishing today was great and just seems to be getting better. Using sand crabs, ghost shrimp and lug worms we managed more than 30 perch in the 10" to 14.25" range and one large yellowfin croaker. I'd guess the yellowfin was over 20inches--but who knows as it had plans that didn't included staying long enough to be measured!

As usual I've been rigging with the carolina setup. Now that it's summer I'm using a short leader of 6lb fluorocarbon and the lightest sliding sinker possible. My sinkers are 1/4th ounce to 1/2ounce depending on the size of the surf (heavier for larger surf).

There are some great high tides this week in both the morning and afternoon. The best tides being in the evening when high tide will be over 6feet. These high tides are great because of the large amount of water movement that covers structure, holes and troughs. These tides are also great because they provides the best time to catch crabs for bait.

Looking ahead, next week we'll have some very low morning tides which will be great for finding and mapping the inshore holes and troughs on your favorite beach. Low tides like these are also a great time to fish areas like jetties and rock outcroppings. With a super low tide you can fish areas that are not always accessible during the rest of the season. I like to fish from the sand and cast to the edge where rock meets sand (especially the very end of a jetty).

So far this year I have seen very few corbina--probably because of the red tide. But now is the time to begin targeting them. Because sand crabs are just beginning to amass on the sand's surface you still have a chance to bait corbina before you have billions of crabs to compete with. As the summer goes on, corbina will find their favorite spots to feed and there's stiff competition out there when you have one crab with a hook in it and they have billions to choose from.

I had a great report from John in Ventura this week. The water is warming up on the central coast and the sand crabs are now everywhere. The perch bite has been good in the morning and even in the afternoon after the wind has come up and washed kelp into the surfline. It shouldn't be long before the corbina and halibut begin to flush into the central coast beaches.

Talking about halibut, later this week we'll see another grunion run and a good chance to get down to your favorite beach and catch some halibut. Grunion always bring halibut into the surf to feed. To learn more about grunion and their scheduled runs click on the grunion on the left side of my web page below the navigation bar: www.fishthesurf.com

I don't know if you've read my latest article in Fish Taco Chronicles that has just come out this week--but if you haven't and don't take the magazine email me a note with your name and address and I'll send you THIS MONTH'S COPY FOR FREE (email address: fishthesurf@mail.com). The magazine's packed with great articles on surf, salt and fresh water fishing by some of the top experts in each field. Don't wait too long as last week's free offer has the magazine flying out the door!

Also, take a look at my surf tackle store where you'll find all the gear that I use at the beach at very reasonable prices--and you don't even need to leave your computer to place an order! For the month of June you'll receive 20% off your entire order by typing the words: THANK YOU in the promotion box--and this discount is not just on one item but your complete order!

With surf fishing so good what in the world are you waiting for? I hope to see you down there!