Friday, August 10, 2007

Warm Water Means Good Fishin'










The ocean this morning was blown by a light southwest wind



The water temperture continues to go up and fishing seems to get better every week. Today I fished both in the moning and evening--squeezing work in between.

This week has produced some great catches in the Huntington and Newport areas. We saw it all this week with days that produced perch, corbina, spotfin, leopard sharks, yellowfin croaker and more! The best spots I found were in Bolsa Chica, near the cliffs in Huntington and between the Newport jetties. With that said, there were many area I didn't fish but everywhere is probably great!


Both sand crabs and mussel have been working great--with most of the biggest fish caught on fresh mussel.

Look for this weekend to have some great tides but be very crowded. Next week holds some promising tides that fade away near the end of the weekend.

Now's the time to get down there and catch some fish. It doesn't matter--both morning and evening are great.





Saturday, August 4, 2007

Friday Evening's Catch...






Today's weather was typical of Orange County in the summer with a strong afternoon wind and warm seas.



This week's surf has been small, as it always is when the US Open of Surfing comes to Huntington Beach, and the water temp is 72 and climbing.

As has been the case all summer, sand crabbing has been fantastic. This is the size of crabs that have been working best. As usual a nice cool piece of kelp is used to keep the crabs refreshed.





It was good to see that their were some nice beds of crabs visable at low tide. We all know that most crabs are caught at high tide so when we see beds at low tide in the surfline, we can be assured that the fish will be feeding in these areas.




While catching bait this afternoon it was great to see the corbina sliding up and down the beach looking for crabs. Everyday there seems to be more and more corbina and the bite should be good from now until the end of September.




The elusive corbina was not to be caught today but the perch fishing is still great. A good mix of 10-13" inch fish were fun to play with and release.





It looks like next week's morning and evening high tides will be great for surf fishing and collecting bait. My plan is to fish the upcoming morning high tide for corbina--a great tide as this is when they are sliding up the beach looking for crabs. And to fish the out-going high tide in the evening for perch and croaker.



I've been using the Carolina Rig with 6lb flourocarbon and a very sharp split shot hook (you can find these in my store http://www.fishthesurfstore.com/servlet/StoreFront ). Many of us lose fish or just get bites because our hook is not sharp enough. Surf fish inhale your bait, crush it, exhale your bait and repeat. To have any chance to hooking the fish while the bait is in it's mouth you need a very sharp, thin hook. If you've been surf fishing and you get bites but no fish this is why.


A great report from John in Ventura this week lets us know that the crabs are out in numbers on the beach and the fishing has picked up as the water warms up. Check out this nice perch that jumped on a Glup! sandworm. John's been fishing the carolina rig and 6lb test too.

Take a moment to 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! With the summer surf fish promotion 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!Take advantage of this offer and buy my book where you'll learn everything you'll need to know to be a great surf fisherman.
PLEASE CATCH AND RELEASE WHENEVER POSSIBLE.... SO WE HAVE A FUTURE!