Surf Fishing

[decepticon]

Hey peeeps. Just wanted to say what's up. I'm new here and from what I've seen this place looks to be pretty cool.

I was just wondering how many of you guys surf fish? This is my favorite method of fishing. I've been fishing this way for many years and I've gotten pretty good at it. I live in the San Diego area and wanted to know of any good spots down here that you guys might now about. I've recently found an awsome spot that holds big Halibut and Leopard Sharks. I've also taken perch, corbina and both spotfin and yellowfin crocker from here.

So what's up? Any surf fishing fans here? I would also like to here some of your surfishing techniques and stories.
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[tubeN2]

Hello there decepticon, Hi and welcome to the BFT message boards. I am also into surf fishing just a little north of you. I also do alot of Pier fishing here in Cali. You can see some of my reports on the CA board. Just scroll down a little further from the main menu and you can reach the regional or state boards.

Feel free to post a report over there if you would like. If you do post it here I will kindly move over there for you and then let you know about it so that you don't think that it got lost in the mail somewhere.

Up here in my area, we get very few corbinas but we do get lots of white croakers, barred surf perch, jacksmelt and a few othere species. There are also some good "butts" to be had but they are just barely picking up now.
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[Hutch00]

I do alot of Surf Fishing but I'm on the other coast in New Jersey we fish the surf for striped Bass Fluke Weakfish Bluefish and Croakers and whatever else is biting You'll enjoy it here you have a couple of good guys moderating the Cali Board don't be afraid to ask Questions
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[decepticon]

Wow thanks for the info. I'm still new to this message board so it will take me a little time to get used to it. I just gotta check out the Cali. board. It sounds pretty cool.

Now I have a question about catching jacksmelt from the shore. How do you do it? I just want to use them for live bait to get Halibut. Smelt is one of my favorite baits for Halibut. I know I can just go to the pier and use my bait net but I think that's a little too time consuming. I would appreciate any info you may have.
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[decepticon]

Cool, surf fishing on the east coast is one of the things I would love to try one of these days. I've heard it's so much different than fishing on the west coast. I wish we had striped bass over here.
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[tubeN2]

If you have a pier close by then you are better off getting the jacksmelt with a Sabiki rig. There are a few brands out there, Hyabusa, Pline, Owner and others. Go with the smallest hook possible. I believe the Hyabusa has some with a #14 hook. That also puts you on a 4lb leader with 2lb branches.

That rig should help you get some others little sardines, chovies as well as the different smelt varieties that are associated in that area. If you have a live well basket then you can keep your catch kickin for best results.

Then you can fish them in your normal manner of fashion. I will usually use a drift rig. That keeps on on the bottom and one just off the bottom. That is good to drive the halibuts nuts. The drift rig is similar to the standar Halibut rig only it has some wire leaders to keep from getting tangled.

Give it a try. Most of your bait and tackle shops have the Sabiki rigs in different sizes. But like I said, I have much better results with the smaller sizes.
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[decepticon]

Well that's what I was affraid of. There is a pier on the beach where I do my Halibut fishing but I was looking to avoid that extra step in obtaining live bait. I was looking for a way of getting bait right off the beach. I usually use a live bait net off the pier to get smelt but I find it a little tedious, especially since I have to walk for about 12 minutes to get to the halibut. That damn bucket gets pretty heavy at the end of the walk.

Do you think the Sabiki rig would work on the beach?
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[tubeN2]

It could be very usefull from the beach as well. That is why they also invented the surf pole. They are long enough to get you out into the surf under most conditions. You could also reach the surf with a 6 to 7' rod as well. Just add the necessary weight to get you the distance that you desire. I usually start of with about 1/2 to 1 oz on light line. That should work for you.

Let me know if you have any questions. I will be glad to help you with whatever I can.
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[JapanRon]

Hey there decepticon,

Welcome to BFT. I have to admit I don't know of spots from actual fishing the spots down San Diego way but my directory of the southern California live beach cam sights might give you an idea. That directory is on the California board. If you like to just wing it and explore, there are lots of books in the library on the California coast!

JapanRon
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[tubeN2]

You can PM some of those my way too if you'd like.[cool]
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[colesluv2fish]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][red][size 3]Hey Deception, welcome to the message boards. They are great! I have been coming in here for almost a year and you wouldn't believe how much advice/information I have gotten. And everyone in here is so nice and eager to help. Me and my husband do alot of surf fishing. We are in Southeast Texas. In fact, we went Sat. I caught a 37" redfish. And we caught 3 black drum about the same size. We love it! We surf fish for Red's, Shark (usually black tip) but I caught a Bull last summer., Drum, and gaftop. We love surf fishing and it's FINALLY warming up here. We had a really cold winter. Well good to have ya! [/size][/red][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff0000][size 3]Richard & Renee'[/size][/#ff0000][/font]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff0000][size 3]"Life's Short, Fish Hard"[/size][/#ff0000][/font]
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[Hutch00]

Hey Coles I am comming down to Texas this summer for 3 weeks I'll be staying in Sea Isle right by San Luis Pass last time I was there I stayed in Galveston I fished the Galveston pier and cole pass the old icw and the beach in Surfside I'm looking foward to some more good fishing this time too I caught all that you said plus some Sheepshead didn't get any black drum though
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