Super low tides early this week made catching bait a bit easier. Turned over just a few rocks to find crabs and clams, as the cold weather has not sent them into hiding yet. After having a good bite on the sidewinder last week it was time to try it again.

Nice conditions with medium surf and super light winds.
Here's a look at a few perch caught over the last week:

I've had some great perch fishing at this spot, so I pinned on the first crab and tossed it out. Bam, fish on:
A nice sized walleye surfperch

A few more barred surfperch right in a row:

This last guy was the big one at 14.5”. Great fight on this beautiful fish.

Time went by fast. As the tide began to suck out, the waves came up dramatically and it was time to go. It looks like this weekend should have some nice tides and it was good this evening to see that the surf has begun to calm down.

Next week we have some very small tide swings. That is not always bad, especially when the surf is small and you can fish close to the rocks at high tide and farther out when the tide is at its lowest. I would suggest rigging up with the Carolina Rig. Use a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce sliding sinker and the sharpest hook possible. Best baits right now are sidewinder crabs (to be used when fishing from or near rocks) lug/blood worms and grubs. Be sure to fish from 2 hours before to 2 hours after high tide and when it's low tide take some time to walk the beach and find the holes, line them up with something stationary, and come back at high tide and fish them. In most cases you'll find that fishing in those holes, troughs and dips is where the big perch will be.

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With such perfect weather I had to make my way down to the beach and do some fishin’

I'd not been down to my favorite spot to catch bait in a while so earlier this week I picked up a few nice littlenecks and some ghost shrimp.

I worked several of my favorite spots up and down HB but only came up with a few palm-sized perch.

Decided to move again to one of my newer spots and had luck catching this bull perch on a ghost shrimp.

The weather over the last few weeks has turned the water over and helped to drop the temp by about 6 degrees. My guess is that fish are beginning to move up and into the local estuaries, bays, etc. where they can find warmer water and more bait. Today I had good bites on clam so that means the perch have begun to forage for them. That always means that the spotfin are not far behind.

So with ships full of Christmas gifts just offshore I know it won’t be long until we’re all into the croakers!

Next week we have some awsome conditions on the way. It looks like we will have a small West swell today, then the surf will flatten out. Each day next week looks to be warm all the way into the weekend. Aligned with this great weather is a flury of good tides for both fishing and making bait. In previous years these types of conditions lead to some great spotfin croaker fishing. For now, I would be looking for them in deep inshore troughs or at the mouth of the local estuaries. The small butter clams are now spawing so clam and ghost shrimp have proven to be the most productive baits. Here's a couple of fish from past years during this month.

SEMINAR INFO

Come and be part of our next seminar on November 6, 2010 (next weekend!) at Fisherman's Landing, San Diego. This seminar will be on the back deck of the "Pegasus." It's free and rumor is that everyone will receive a raffel ticket to win a multi day trip out of Fisherman's landing. Go to my site for more details.

Good luck and the tightest lines possible!

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Surf Fishing

Picked up some ghost shrimp at Big Fish and made my way down to the beach. As soon as I got there I knew why my wife had laughed at me as I left. Cool, foggy with sheets of drizzle—just how we love the beach!

No big fish today but a nice bite on both perch and yellowfin croaker. Had the tides been a bit more feverish fishing might have been even better

After this small storm coming our way, it looks like next week may have some great fishing. The water is still very warm, around 66, which is just about the “hottest” it’s been all summer. Today’s surf was flat, punctuated by 2-4’ sets from the south. The long-shore current is still running from South to North and bringing up some warm water. Once we get into the nice tides coming next week we should have some great fishing. Can’t wait to see your reports…

Look for a special announcement about my upcoming surf fishing seminar on Sat. November 6th at Fisherman's Landing, San Diego. Until then I hope you have some good fishing and a great day at the beach!

www.fishthesurf.com

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Went down to the beach earlier this week to find a few crabs and came across this huge ship leaving Huntington Harbor (I was told it is the USS New York, a guided missile destroyer fitted with steel from the World Trade Center). What a sight to see, it was almost as long as the jetty and on its way out to sea and around the world to protect our freedom—Thank You!

Well, I did find some crabs with quite a bit of looking. With the water temps going up and down this summer they have been staying close to structure with all of my crabs found between small rocks and pieces of shell. Once I had a few it was time to make a few casts with my friend from the State Park. First we hooked into a couple small leopard and smooth hound sharks.

The a nice yellowfin comes out of the trough

Followed by an even bigger yfc from the ranger

After a few more casts it was off to work. I knew my bait was still in good shape so I planned to return in the morning. Bright sun greeted me at the beach with the lightest offshore breeze and tiny shore break. I cast my bait back into the trough that has been so productive over the summer. I waited and was patient. Some nibbles from perch then the line went tight and this guy jumped on the hook.

Nice fight for a corbina hooked so close to shore and thanks again to Bill the Goldenwest College Volleyball coach who took my picture. He’ll be fishing the spot tomorrow!

This week is already starting off red hot so it's time to get down to the beach and catch some fish. Look for good evening and late afternoon tides toward the end of the week. Next week has some great fishing and bait catching tides--so if the weather stays nice I'm predicting the best surf fishing of the year!

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It's at: www.surffishtackle.com

Took a drive on Friday down to Big Fish in Seal Beach and picked up a bucket of ghost shrimp. Swung by the beach right after and took advantage of the high tide to catch some crabs. Had to move several times to find bait as the cool water of last week really sent them digging. Finally found a nice group of crabs mixed in with shells and course sand—just another strange feature of this summer.

I’ve been fishing in Bolsa Chica and along Huntington Beach in areas that have some great high tide troughs. When the current gets just right you can pitch a bait out and it will track right into the hole. Once your sinker lodges in the side of the trough you’re almost anchored—seconds later it’s fish on, just like clockwork.

It’s Labor Day Saturday and I’m expecting millions at the beach. No problem, parking lot’s only half full. Everyone must be staying home. So I park and it’s down to the sand. One of the great things about this spot is you almost always catch a different type of fish each cast. So I pinned on a crab and cast out. First fish, a nice little leopard shark…

Now it’s time for a ghost shrimp. Slip down into the trough, get anchored, fish on. A nice yellowfin croaker this time.

Back to the sand crab. Small perch takes my line….

Time for another ghost shrimp—I’m going back to the candy bait. This one’s a real puller, takes me down the beach and around kelp until she comes to shore. A nice corbina…

Check out the barbell—you might need a shave!

One last bait ‘cause it time to get home for dinner. So I launch a nice quarter size sand crab out and get it lodged into the surf fish super highway. Boom nice big surfperch ends the day.

Great surf fishing is back now that the water has climbed back up to 61 from last week’s 54. Tomorrow should prove to be even more of a crowd challenge but I hope all you surf fishermen get out there and have some well deserved fun!

This upcoming week has some crazy tides that might be better for catching bait than catching fish. Provided it doesn't get too windy, this week should have some good surf fishing near both the high and low tides. Some of the biggest corbina are feeding right now in preparation for migrating into intertidal waters to feed on clams and ghost shrimp. So grab some bait and get on down to the beach the big one is down there and waiting just for you!

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It looked like the wind slowed down a bit so I headed down to the beach around 5pm knowing that I would only have two hours to fish. Raked the heck out of the sand for crabs and only found seven.

Pinned the first sand crab on my Carolina Rig and landed a small perch

Third bait the feisty leopard shark

Fourth bait a corbina

Here’s his mean look

Missed on the fifth bait
Nice, hard fighting walleye on the 6th

And a bit larger perch on the 7th--my last bait

Went five for seven on the baits during my 5-7pm session. Fishing at BC, and all along the coast is great. Looking forward to some great reports this weekend.

This weekend and the upcoming week have some great tides for both catching crabs, clams and ghost shrimp but it also has those long rising tides that corbina love. It looks like the winds will stay light and the surf small so both morning and evening should provide some good action.

www.fishthesurf.com

Home of the All-in One Surf Tackle Kit

After what seems like weeks of work, my buddy Ken dragged me away from my desk to do some surf fishing. We started by picking up some ghost shrimp at Big Fish Tackle in Seal Beach. We then made our way down to Bolsa Chica to make some sand crabs. We found a lot of crabs and a lot of wind too.

It was one of those evenings at the beach where the wind was so strong you had to use a 3/4th or 1 ounce slider on your Carolina and then walk with your line down the beach. For the first few casts, not even a bite. Then our first fish, a nice perch.

A couple of perch later it was game on. Several Leopard Sharks:

Several Guitar Fish (loved the colors on this one)

Then came the corbina:

Followed by the Spotfin:

Then finished off by the Yellowfin just before sunset:

It was a great evening at the beach with a beautiful sunset that finished off the day:

Interesting conditions: Heavy wind, small surf and luke-warm water. It also seems that the full moon as usual has led to a better bite in the afternoon. Even though we dressed like it was March—and cool it was—the fishing was great and bound to get better!


Now it's Saturday (7/31/10)and after collecting a good amount of sand crab during the afternoon high tide it was off to the beach. The wind was calm and the water crowded with surfers.

My fishing buddies and I started out with a few grubs to see what wanted to bite. A few Walleye were willing to play.

Then came the barage of corbina on the sand crab presented on the Carolina Rig. Six corbina a couple of perch and a few sharks later it was time to head back home for some rest.

This upcoming week has some great evening tides for fishing. It's hard to know how big the surf is going to get but it's small now--All good signs that fishing next week will again be great. The following week has astronomical tides which always guarantee good bait collecting, good scouting tides and great fishing..
Hope to see you down there or at my next seminar in August at Carlsbad State Beach...

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Home of the All-in-One Surf Tackle Kit