This week I decided to go back up to the LA/Ventura county line at Leo Carrillo State Beach.  Perch fishing had been so good there a few weeks ago it sure was worth another shot at the big fish. 

 
 
In the early dark of the morning we stopped along our way at Wiley’s Bait in Malibu to visit with the shop’s owner Ginny to talk fishing and kid each other about being friends as kids when I used to sell bait to their shop in the 1970’s.  Our very good friend, Fred Oakley, brought us lots of laughs and fishing stories.  His record perch is stuffed and mounted on her wall above the register so you’ll always have a chance to get an enthusiastic look at what a four pounder looks like—should you one day have the luck of catching one!

On we went to Leo Carrillo cutting our way though the fog.  We arrived just as the park opened and were the first car in the lot.  We were expecting a very high tide a bit later that morning so we needed to move fast to find our spot in the rocks up the coast.

When we first arrived at the spot the tide was just reaching the rocks that lined the bottom of the cliff and it was a bit nerve racking having to fight the swell and slippery rocks.  But don’t despair!  On our first casts perch climbed right on and it was off to the races. 

The trick was to cast very near the rocks that protruded here and there in the surf and allow your bait to roll around and find the strike point where fish were hiding.  Ghost shrimp, clam, blood worms and sidewinder crabs work.  Our biggest fish (in a batch of about 100 before running out of bait) were on the sidewinder.  Most fish were large with more than twenty over 14”.

When fishing on beaches that have rock structure be sure to downsize your sinker ( I used a 1/4^th oz sinker) and shorten your leader to about 12’.  This will help keep to keep you from getting snagged and allow the current to “naturally” present your bait to fish.

This week we have a bit of weather coming in.  Although there will be wind with this storm we still have a very strong Southern current that continues to bring warm water up into our area.  Tide-wise we have some good tides early in the week making their way to some great tides for both bait catching and fishing later in the week.

I hope to see everyone next Saturday, November 2, at Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Day.  I will be holding a free seminar on the back deck of the Searcher at 9:30am.  No reservations are required just come on down.  I will also be in the Cousins Tackle booth selling my book for a measly $10 and would enjoy seeing folks to sign books and tell tall tales of surf fishing!

Look forward to seeing you there,

Bill

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This last month has been a whirlwind of seminars, work and some very good perch fishing.  The best news is that my line of surf rods is finally here and will be out in about two weeks.  I will have them on both my site and in tackle shops.  After working with several companies to design a rod I was lucky enough to meet up with the folks at Cousins Tackle in Huntington Beach.  With the help of Bill and Wade we have designed and tested four surf rods that are guaranteed to catch surf fish!

See them at Fisherman's Landing Tackle Day, Sat. November 2nd.  I'll be there giving surf fishing seminars and in the Cousins Tackle booth with the new rods.  Please stop on by and have a chat!

In late September we had our last of the summer surf clinics at Bolsa Chica where the fishing was great for quite a few perch and small sharks with a few corbina thrown in...

 

Then it was up to Leo Carrillo State Beach where the perch fishing was fantastic with more than a dozen over 13" and a few 15 inchers!

 

From San Diego to Malibu several seabass, halibut and striper have been caught in the surf.  Although these fish are difficult to target they are definitely out in the surf and possible to catch.

For the past few days I have been fishing around the Bolsa Chica area and found quite a few nice sized perch.  The yellowfin and spotfin have not been biting lately but it won't be long before they are looking to forage before the winter.  I like to use clams (little neck, razor clams) this time of year as that's what they are eating.  You may notice the small "bean clams" at the beach at low tide and these beds are what surf fish are feeding on now.

This weekend and next week have some great tides for both fishing and collecting bait.  Go down at low tide to an area that has rocks which are covered at high tide and look around in the sand for clams, worms, crabs and ghost shrimp.  I use gloves and a small cultivator to turn over sand and rocks.  You'll be amazed at what you find and how well it works to catch surf fish.

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