Happy Surf Fishing New Year!!

As 2007 winds down the weather is cold, the sea windy and the surf crashing upon the shore.

But who cares! I'm still going fishing anyway! And why you ask? Because it's fun and I only have a couple more days left before I need to fork out the cash for a new license. I'm planning on squeezing every stinkin' bit of fishing I can in the last few days.

Earlier this week the waves were tame and the seas flat--but everything is subject to change without notice!

The week had a wide range of conditions from smooth glassy seas to wind and surf. Early in the week the surf began to build through Christmas and has not tapered off. On "Swell Watch" the prediction is for the surf to subside today and be in the perfect range for fishing Monday through Friday of next week.

Take a look at the web cams and "Swell Watch" on my web page to keep in touch with the conditions.

Tons of small perch like this mean the big ones are coming!

This week we concentrated on live baits using lug worms, mussel and sidewinder crabs to catch fish. In all, the bite was very slow because of the large surf and surge--but as the surf calms down the bite will improve.

Watch the tides this week and try to fish the high and low tides swings. Make sure your in areas where the water is moving, especially those adjacent to areas of no water movement. As with last week don't be surprised if you catch perch, spotfin and yellowfin croaker or a corbina--that's just how good it's been.

This is one of the biggest Walleye Perch I've ever seen.

If you want to learn more about light-line surf fishing be sure to keep your eye on http://www.fishthesurf.com/ for dates and times of upcoming seminars.

In the meantime have a great and safe New Year, buy that new license, and get on down to the beach for some great local surf fishing!

Perfect Conditions for Surf Fishing...

Once the rain and wind of last week subsided we had beautiful calm days this week at the beach.

With almost no surf to speak of it was a challenge to find areas of moving water. One of the best places to start is near a local jetty. Find the area where rock meets sand and look for unsettled water. Fish like to hide and they don't like to work for food. That's why they generally hide in areas of foam, rocks and cloudy water.

They also will search for current. Today as the high tide peaked, water then began rushing off shore and made a small cloudy channel. In the middle of this mess and along the sides we had some great luck on perch and yellowfin croaker.

The best baits today were sidewinder crabs, mussel and frozen sand crabs. My friend "Mistah Sidewinder's" giant perch was taken on a large sidewinder rock crab.

This weekend looks good with warm weather and small surf. Because the water is so clear look for areas of moving water, rip tides, etc. These areas will be holding fish. Next week we have some pretty lame tides and a storm.

If you're like me and looking ahead to the Christmas week (when we all may be able to ditch for a few hours and go to the beach) we have some great conditions with a couple of the lowest tides of the year. If the weather cooperates it will be epic. Just look at the pics above and you know you should be at the beach!

Here's a look at the sidewinder crab and how to hook it.

If you need some tackle for the upcoming winter surf session take a look at my surf tackle store. http://www.fishthesurfstore.com/servlet/StoreFront

If you need some surf fishing advice or a list of must-have surf tackle drop Bill a line at: fishthesurf@mail.com

www.fishthesurf.com

Thanksgiving Surf Fish Road Trips

I just wrapped up a great week of surf fishing up and down the coast.

Earlier in the week we went camping just south of Vandenberg Airforce Base above Santa Barbara. This has always been a premiere surf fishing spot and we weren't disappointed.

Weather at Jalama can be unpredictable. The ocean on our first day was flat glassy calm. Although the waves were head-high and above we still had great fishing on 10-12" barred perch. The grub up here is like crack to these fish and you can catch one every cast.

One interesting thing was the large congregations of sand crabs that were easily collected at low tide. Even this time of year you can find crabs up north. Nature is impossible to figure out sometimes--down here in So Cal when the water drops to 60degrees you can say goodbye to the sand crabs--up north there still on the top of the sand waving to you!

I'm trying to wrap my brain around the reason why--and I'll let you know if I ever figure it out. Do you know?

The last two days still produced a great bite on small perch but the winds picked up and made fishing, and at times camping, difficult.

Our next stop after returning for Thanksgiving was Newport Beach.

The weather was just unbelievable. Not a breath of wind, small surf, clear water and shorts at sunset--is this November?

I decided that because the tide was so low--check out the crazy roller coaster on my tide chart on www.fishthesurf.com --that I would collect some mussel in Newport for fishing Sunday.

I couldn't resist taking my pole. I did wonder though, if there would be any fish--seeing that all the structure was well out of the water. Well, low and behold on my first six casts six yellowfin croaker in the 12" range in a row!

Spent the next hour catch and releasing as many as I could. At one point they were so balled up outside the surfline that the birds began to crash the schooling yellowfin. Once the sunset came it was time to head home and prepare for fishing Bolsa Chica on Sunday.

Sunday came and it was dark and cold!

I was ready to go well before sunrise and had a great assortment of bait: Lug worms (great bait at Big Fish Tackle in Seal Beach), grubs, mussel and sand crabs from Jalama. I was excited about the huge 7foot high tide and couldn't wait to get down to the beach.

To my surprise the surf was much bigger than the day before--but besides a few sets of waves everything else was perfect for surf fishing. We fished the entire length of Bolsa Chica, moving in the car several times, and found great fishing. We had a great day catching barred perch to 12&1/2", a healthy halibut and a dandy corbina.

All in all, a great week of surf fishing up and down the coast. I hope you take a bit of time yourself to enjoy the surf--the fishing can't get much better!

Be sure to do your Holiday shopping early at my surf fishing store www.fishthesurf.com.

Some items have limited quantities available so shop early before they sell out!

This week we had some great weather at the beach in Orange County but that was little consolation when the fish didn't bite!

A great report of a 15lb halibut being caught in Huntington Beach on a swimbait was the only really good news coming from the surf this week.

Although the water is clear the large surf along with the cooling water has slowed fishing. Look for the surf fishing to improve as the surf size diminishes and the fish begin to settle into the cooler water.

I'm off right now to fish near Pt. Conception in central CA and will report back this week with a catch report and pictures. Until then good luck and let me know what you catch!

As I sit in my home tonight and listen to the wind rip across the roof I feel lucky that I'm not out on the water or braving the blowing sand across the beach.

I've included some pictures of the surf and wind conditions. No place for the fisherman today as the surf and wind created havoc at the beach.

It was a good day for surfing and just watching.

This upcoming week and next weekend have some great tides. High tides in both the evening and morning will provide some great fishing once the wind dies down and the water settles. The current large surf will help to reshape the beach and should hold some good areas for fishing later this week.

I plan to hit the beach on Tues or Wed as the wind dictates.

Until then keep an eye on the beach at my beach cam page: http://fishthesurf.homestead.com/FTSTIDESMOONBEACHCAMS.html

As this week wore on, warm clear mornings were replaced by fog and a cool southwest breeze.

There are still good numbers of crabs to be caught while the water temp stays around 66 degrees. Other baits like lug, blood or nuclear worms are working great now also.

This week most of our best fishing was in specific spots where fish were schooling. Unlike in the summer, fish are not spread out this time of year. Barred perch, yellow fin croaker and this small leopard shark gave us the best fight on light-line gear.

This upcoming week and weekend will have some good tides and it looks like the water will stay warm and calm during the period.

I tried the nuclear worm for the first time and they work great. You get two monster worms for eight bucks and can cut or pinch them down to size for bait. They are very much like blood worms in color and casing and are much more hardy than lug worms. The best way to fish this worm is on the carolina rig. You'll need to thread a 5 inch piece up the hook, puncture the casing with the hook point and leave a 1 inch "tail" below the hook.

Take a look at my last article in Fish Taco and you'll find some good pictures of this technique. If you don't have a copy--shame on you!-- drop me an email and I'll send one to you for free. Here it is: fishthesurf@mail.com

Today was a complete 180 from yesterday's beach conditions.

Yesterday, sunny, warm, chest to head high surf from the south. Today, fog, wind and a fading swell.

South swells over the past few days have really brought the water temperture back up. Before last week's rain the water was about 60degrees today it's 68. Warmer water has brought the sand crabs back to the surface with a vengence!

This will bring the corbina and croaker back in to feed--Although first, we will need for the trash and kelp to subside which will happen over the next few days.

Yesterday and today's fishing was slow with a handfull of perch on the sand crab and grub.

This weekend and into next week there are some great tides and a diminishing south swell. Take one last time to catch some crabs before winter and enjoy some great fall surf fishing.

This entire week provided beautiful morning beach conditions with small waves and calm winds.

The perch bite still remains strong and will only get better as the fall settles in. The water temp has dropped in the last couple of weeks and slowed down the bite on the corbina but perch and croaker are still biting well.

The very last of the sand crabs are making their way to the top of the sand. We probably only have a couple of weeks before they are mostly gone for the winter!

It's your last time to collect crabs before winter.

So, as the water cools, look for them mostly at high tide near the high water mark or at low tide out from shore on the first sand bar past the inshore trough. Use a rake, as you can see on my "Bait" page or dig with your hands and sift through the sand.

I like to put them in a zip top bag with a packet of hot sauce and freeze them for winter.

Next week has some challenging tides for fishing. There will be very small swings in tide movement so look for areas where the water is moving the most (around structure like jetties , points, etc.) and you'll find fish.

The following week, the last week of Sept., will have some fantastic tides. So get your bait ready this week and you'll knock them dead (or catch and release) next week!

I've been using the Carolina Rig with 6lb flourocarbon and a very sharp split shot hook (you can find these in my store) Take a look by CLICKING HEREMany 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 of hooking a fish while the bait is in it's mouth you'll need a very sharp, thin hook. If you've been surf fishing and you get bites but no fish this may be why.

The past two weeks have seen some wild swings in local water tempertures. Last week the water had dropped to about 62 then rebounded to 68, just to cool off again yesterday to around 66, because of a strong West afternoon wind.


This has churned the water up and kept the temps below normal. We usually see the water cool to the mid 60 in October in part because of the shorter days. But this year it has come earlier and knocked the fish off the bite.
















A brace of perch with parasites

Fishing today was good with a handfull of small barred perch, many caught on the motor oil Slider grub. Grubs are good to use to find the schools of fish and then change to crabs or mussel to target larger fish.



Another effect from the cooler water is the disappearance of sand crabs. It now takes about an hour to gather 20 crabs and each day they seem to be getting harder to find as the water cools.


But that is not always bad. Cooler water and less food means the fish will look for other bait. This time of year is good for crabs and mussel. Also, the 1 1/2inch grub begin to work well--now through spring--for perch, yellowfin croaker, hailbut and the occasional corbina.



The upcoming two weeks have some great morning and evening tides. If your thinking of catching some sand crabs before they are gone for winter--now is the time! Place a handful in a small ziplock and freeze them for winter. To give them an instant kick and you more fish--squeeze in a packet of taco sauce before freezing. I guarantee it will drive the winter perch crazy!


I've been using the Carolina Rig with 6lb flourocarbon and a very sharp split shot hook (you can find these in my store) Take a look by CLICKING HERE


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 of hooking a fish while the bait is in it's mouth you'll need a very sharp, thin hook. If you've been surf fishing and you get bites but no fish this may be why.

Green Camo (left)

Motor Oil (right)

ORDER HERE

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.

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!

Another Day in Paradise...

Today has got to be a record.

I needed to get some soft crabs for fishing this evening so I waited for the tide to be just right and went down to the beach to make bait. From my car to the crabs and back was an astonishing 7 minutes. It took just 7 minutes to get fifty perfectly soft sand crabs and be on my way. Now that's service! Thanks Mother Nature!!!

Although the surf had picked up and the wind was skipping down the beach the fish didn't care one bit.

One after another we had a fantastic bite on 12-14" barred surf perch. I lost count at 10 because I was tired from dodging the pounding surf.

The fishing has been great all along the coast and will just get better as we move into August. Look for some great tides this weekend and into next week as we have a nice morning and evening high tide. Your best bait now would be the crab--which are everywhere--fished on the Carolina rig.

This time of year I like to use the carolina rig--rigged with a clear bead and a 6lb flourocarbon leader. Leader legnth is usually 18", but I'll make it shorter and my sliding sinker heavier if the surf is a bit larger.

If you need an example of the carolina look on my website: http://www.fishthesurf.com/ under rigging.

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! 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!