Surf Fishing Report

2012-01-27T18:41:00.000-08:00

Rain gave way to sunshine this week so it was time to go down to the beach and make some bait. The surf has been up lately but today it has begun to subside and provided for some good conditions.

Went down to my favorite mud hole and made some bait. Ghost shrimp and sidewinder crabs were plentiful. Also found this cool sea slug. Didn't forget that I also had a pocket full of grubs knowing how vicious perch can be this time of year for the plastic. It was extremely cold and I had to wear gloves. Turns out that they worked out well with the sidewinders—pinch away boys!!

Started out with ghost shrimp and immediately hooked into a couple nice walleye perch…

Switched to the sidewinder and it wasn’t long until a couple palm sized and then larger perch crushed the bait.

Hooked on my last large shrimp and threw it out into the current. Bammmm...Another big perch.

This weekend we'll see the swell diminish and strong Santa Ana wind conditions. Even though we don’t have a great pattern of tides this upcoming week there should still be some good fishing--'cause fish get hungry and when the surf is up it’s hard to eat!

I’ve been working on my MLPA (Marine Life Protection Act) pages for http://www.fishthesurf.com/. They should be up and completed in a couple of weeks. You will find an explanation of this fiasco and pages including question and answers from the DFG and a complete overview of the closures including where you can and can not fish. You can visit the page by clicking here

Our store now offers the official laminated MLPA closure maps. There are three maps in all and you can check them out in our store. Hope you have a great weekend out there and catch a bunch of fish!
Bill

Catching big perch with shore crabs...

2011-12-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Beautiful weather this week meant it was a great time to go down to the rocks and collect some bait. Had no problem putting together a few sidewinder crabs and littleneck clams. Then it was down to the beach to look for some early winter perch.

Spawn time has begun and now that the water had cooled I knew it was a great time to use the sidewinder as bait.

My first few casts brought a number of nice perch…

Followed by a bigger one
Bigger…
Bigger…
And Biggest…

What an incredible bite. Three over 13”, two over 14” and one monster over 15”. I know there is a bigger one out there I just haven’t figured out how to trick him out of his hole and onto my hook-It’s just a matter of time my friend!

This weekend and upcoming week are bringing some great tides. Our only big threat will be from the weather and a coming front. Provided that doesn’t have too much wind with it, fishing should recover quickly.

Here are a few tips for the upcoming weeks: I like to use sidewinder shore crabs and clams this time of year. Grubs dipped in hot sauce also work well all the way through winter. On the open beach, I fish them on the Carolina Rig and use a 3/4th ounce-sliding sinker. But many of the largest perch this time of year will be right down in the rocks. So move down to a lighter slider (about 1/4th oz) and cast your bait very close to where the rocks meet sand.

These big fish are spawners so if you have to eat one do so-otherwise; please put them back as quickly and gently as possible. That way next year they will be even bigger and might be that record fish you have always been waiting for!

If you are looking for more info about how to find, keep and hook sidewinders and other baits be sure to get a copy of my book either in print or now available at Amazon for your Ereader...

http://www.fishthesurf.com/
Check out our gift cards and tackle here...
Home of the All-in-One Surf Tackle Kit

2011-11-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Magdalena Bay Mexico
Last November...

Today we leave for our mission (ok, so it's a fishing, surfing, diving trip and more) from Long Beach to La Paz Mexico. The trip's a bit more than 1200 nm. We will be stopping at several small villages along the way to drop off food, clothes and fishing equipment. The highlight of the trip will be giving a fishing clinic to the village at Man O War Cove (just inside Magdalena Bay). It goes without saying that to teach one to fish is more than just fun it's also a way to feed a family. Locals here have so little equipment, with many fishing and feeding the village with only tin cans and fishing line. We hope to teach them some new techniques and provide them with some great new equipment and baits. Thank you to United Anglers, Sav-On Tackle in Santa Fe Springs (thanks especially to Manager Roger Eckhardt) and fishthesurf.com for providing all the equipment and a lot of encouragement!

I will be posting pictures of our trip as we make our way down the Baja peninsula on FaceBook so if you have not "friend"ed me yet please do so. I have not figured out how to add text but hopefully the daily pictures will tell the story.

And talking about stories, here's a quick update of this week's surf fishing.

Beautiful conditions met me at the beach earlier last week and I had no problem making ghost shrimp, cams and a few mussel for bait in the bay. I made my way down to the sand and found small surf, glassy conditions and biting fish.

Using the Carolina rig and a very light sliding sinker my first few casts were hammered immediately and it was good to see that there were some nice sized walleye perch biting.

A few casts later a beautiful barred surfperch...

Followed by a couple big yellowfin croaker...

This fall has produced some of the largest yellowfin croaker in years. I don't see that changing much with the exception that it is now time for the spotfin to begin biting. With the cooling water, croaker have begun to key in on clams and mussel. This is something we always see at this time of year as the sand crabs have gone into hibernation and the tiny shore clams have come to the surface to feed and spawn.

Tides for this week and next look great. There is definitely a pattern going on--when the full moon is out fishing is best in the afternoon and evening. When no moon periods are around, like near Thanksgiving, the fishing is incredibly good all day long!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and Veteran's Day--Thank you Vets!!

I'll see you again in December--so until then friend me on FaceBook and good fishing!

Bill

Surf Fishing Report

Catching big perch with shore crabs...

Springtime Perchin' in the OC...

Perch, Yellowfin and Spotfin Croaker in the OC