Surf Fishing At Its Best!

Classic summer conditions awaited me today at the beach.

Decided to make bait last night during the evening high tide. I'd have to say--the sand crabs this year are as good as they get. They have a great variety of size and a good number have soft shells and millions of orange eggs! I think you'll find them at high tide at almost any beach now.

I'm still waiting for the corbina to flood the beach so today I decided to go south to one of my favorite rock areas in Orange County and was glad I did!

First bait, a sand crab on the carolina rig, was all I needed to keep me busy for the next 20 minutes. I've been using 6lb main line and 6lb fluorocarbon leader when fishing near the rocks and today thank goodness I did!

On three consecutive baits I hooked into three consecutive spotfin croakers--with my largest going about 7lbs.

Thanks to my friend KC for taking my picture just before he hooked into the potential world record spotfin croaker. Unfortunately, after 20 minutes into the fight he lost the battle and the leviathan swam back into the sea. Good job KC, next time he's yours!

As a consolation KC did hook into this nice face mask. We're still looking for the diver--hope he's okay!

This weekend and next week have some great tides in both the morning and evening. Get down there, find some crabs, tie on the carolina rig and catch some stinkin' fish!

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 July 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!

The Corbina Hunt Begins...

Gloom was a welcome site this morning as I walked across the beach.

We decided to go in search of the elusive corbina today (but sadly, with no success).

Walked a good distance along the beach in Newport and didn't see one corbina feeding in the surf. There were good signs of crab beds but the fish just haven't come up on them yet. All reports this week up and down the coast haven't mentioned corbina by name with the exception of San Diego.

There's no doubt the red tide slowed their move north but the water now looks much better. With that said, there's no sign of red tide now, the crabs are going crazy and it's just a matter of days before they bust loose!

In the mean time think about the big low tides that are occur over the next week. Areas where rock meets sand can be great on these low tides. Conversely, If you're fishing the beach look for rip tide troughs that form and fish those areas. They can be identified by murky water and bubbling foam.

Watch out for the squid at the beach. Here's one of four I saw on the beach. There's even been a report from the Long Beach breakwater that you can catch one from shore at night! AAH!

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!

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!

Red Sea or Not I'm Going Fishin'

A moderate breeze, red tide and warm water were waiting for me at the beach today.

Yesterday evening I took some time to catch bait and found some great beds of sand crabs. The water has warmed up to 64 degrees and the crabs are loving it! Soft and hard shell crabs were everywhere with a great variety of sizes.

Sidewinders pulled from the rocks make great bait for perch and croaker...

When I arrived at the beach this morning around 8am I was greeted by a strong south wind and areas of red tide that stretched to more than one-mile offshore. Although the red tide is very thick in some areas, near shore within the surfline, the red tide seems to be less active.

I fished today with sand crabs and sidewinder crabs for a great mix of perch in the 8-12inch range and several large yellowfin croaker. I used the carolina rig with a short leader to fish in open beach areas and in an area where rock jetties meet sand. Although the tide was a bit low for my liking, the fishing was still good and began to improve once we hit low tide and the water began to fill in again. I'm a bit surprised that I haven't seen many corbina in the surf--but maybe it's the red tide. It's only a matter of time--as you know before long they'll be sliding up and down the beach looking for crabs.

This weekend and next week's best fishing tides will be in the evening. The morning high tide also shows some promise but these tides are small with only about three to four feet of upward movement. Remember to check out the interactive real-time tide chart on www.fishthesurf.com to stay in touch with the best times to fish.

As I've mentioned before, some of the best areas to fish during red tide conditions are areas where the red tide has not penetrated and areas where sand is adjacent to rocks--like along jetties or natural rock outcroppings. During red tide fish tend to stay near structure for safety, but because they can't easily find food, they are always very hungry and not very picky.

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 weeks 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!

I'm always looking for fish reports so feel free to send one to me and send pictures too if you have them. I've received lots and lots of questions about surf fishing and respond to every one--fell free to send me your question I look forward to hearing from you.



It's ridiculous what my boss will do to find out why I'm not at work. I think he busy charting my fishing spots!

Tight lines, Bill

Central O.C. Surf Fish Update...

Today's Ocean looked a lot like the American Flag with blue water in close, white water from the waves and red streaks one-half mile off the beach.

Quite an improvement from last week but it still has a way to go. It's good to see the red tide dissipating and leaving pockets of clean water where fish are schooling to find food.

For the next week, a full moon and moderate tides may make the bite happen later in the afternoon--but surf fishing is getting better every day. Perch and spotfin croaker have been on the bite with the corbina beginning to show. An army of sand crabs has invaded the beach and there are many areas with giant beds of baby crabs. In the next couple of weeks, corbina will begin their annual trek to slide up the beach and feed on these beds. So now's the time to get your gear in order and be ready for summer!

Today's fishing was good with a steady bite on 10-12" perch and a couple of small yellowfin croaker.

I'm still fishing the green motor oil 1 1/2" grubs--fan casting the beach as I walk trying to find the concentration of fish. Once I get on the spot I've been using sand crabs pinned on a #4 split shot hook tied to the carolina rig.

I've also been using a crab matched with the lip membrane of a mussel to trail the bait to look like a worm. This has been a very effective for both perch and the occasional corbina.

Take a look at my article in this month's Fish Taco Chronicles on how to catch, prepare, hook and store bait for summer surf fishing. If you don't have a copy-shame on you! I'll mail you this month's editon for FREE if you drop me an Email with your address--Maybe, if you like the magazine you'll even shell out the measley $10 bucks per year to get a great magazine with articles written by fishing icons like Ronnie Kovach, Bill Schaefer, George Valenzuela, Benny Florentino and many others. Every issue is packed with how-to articles on surf, offshore, freshwater and every other kind of fishing.

Here's my address: fishthesurf@mail.com

Later next week there will be some improvement with a waning moon--meaning the bite will improve in the morning and evening hours. Some of the best tides will begin later next week and occur in the evening. These tides will be good for both fishing and collecting crabs.

Don't forget you can check out a real-time tide graph on my main page at www.fishthesurf.com . Here you'll find the tides in graph format and can plan out when the best time to get on down to the beach.

www.fishthesurf.com

Not exactly light-line surf fishing!