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