Surf Fishing?

[defiantej]

still a little confused about this. my question is where and when exactly can i go surf fishing? Will i get in trouble if i go fishing when people are around? and how far exactly do u have to go out to be able to get the fish on? do you just cast into the surf or what? sorry for all the newbie questions i just really want to start surf fishing and just really unsure of where to start. By the way i've already read surf fishing 101

[Fisherman57]

still a little confused about this. my question is where and when exactly can i go surf fishing? Will i get in trouble if i go fishing when people are around? and how far exactly do u have to go out to be able to get the fish on? do you just cast into the surf or what? sorry for all the newbie questions i just really want to start surf fishing and just really unsure of where to start. By the way i've already read surf fishing 101


You can fish most anywhere along Southern California beaches with the exception of those posted otherwise.....

Obviously, the less you have to deal with the "people factor" the better. Once the beach gets busy, the fishing usually slows... so choose a beach where swimmers, surfers and so on are less likely to be....

Then again, there are some GREAT surf fishing areas that get busy with surfers and swimmers at different times of the day.....

Just try to respect their space and hopefully they'll respect yours...

You dont have to throw that far out to score many different types of surf fish.

I've caught Corbina in as little as 6" of water...... same with Perch.

I've caught Halibut, Leo's, Croaker's, SNGF and smoothhounds all in very shallow water..... then again......shallow isnt always the rule

You'll find that the right high tide and the right conditions will have the fish in close most of the time....

If you're fishing light gear, you'll be close most of the time anyway.


Good luck out there!


57

[defiantej]

thanks for the info!

[Possman]

I use a 6'6" Rod and only a 1/2oz egg slider, cast it as far into the waves as I can, but most of my catches come when I've retrieved about 2/3 of the line, so they're in pretty close. Although when the bite is hot, I usually get picked up almost as soon as the bait hits the water.....any beach will do, just work the hole shore till you start getting bit. Good luck.

[Cangler]

Choose a beach with no lifeguards , then you get less kids around

[tacklejunkie]

Fishing around surfers scares me.
I've actually had a guy surf right into my line and grab it with his hand as he felt it hit him. He just lifted it over his head and kept on surfing :LOL:
I just walked down the beach a bit more and kept on fishing. It's pretty easy to avoid them most of the time.

Just cast out there as far as you easily can and start the retrieve..
Sometimes when fan casting, I'll cast right along the shoreline into 2-3' of water and get bit. They can be extremely shallow, right up in the "afterwaves" that break on the beach on to the sand. I've pulled perch out of the side of a wave and they plop on to the sand when they were in no more than 5" of water right at my feet.

Where and when you can go depends on the rules of the area. Look hard for posted signs and you should be fine. No signs upon a triple check and you should be good to fish. Everywhere they don't want you fishing is usually marked with a sign at some point. If all else fails, ask local traffic if they ever see anyone fishing there.

Be careful fishing Jetties. It's easy to slip and fall or wrap up on the rocks and lose nice fish to the rocks. But often times the jetties will harbor some nice fish so they are worth while to explore.

[Cangler]

Ha ... there is not much love lost between fisherman and surfers ..

[defiantej]

ok so i went out to the bolsa chica dog beach today around 4pm. got out there and started throwing a carolina rig with camo sand worms. The thing is that my worm kept getting washed up shore and the being pulled back out then washed back up shore and back out and on and on. My question is: is it supposed to do that? maybe i wasnt far out enough? the surf was kinda rough and i didnt go out to far maybe that was the case of it getting washed ashore? also i was using a 1/2 egg sinker. tried throwing the kroc and same thing. started to drizzle so i called it a day from there...any tips?

[aboos]

ok so i went out to the bolsa chica dog beach today around 4pm. got out there and started throwing a carolina rig with camo sand worms. The thing is that my worm kept getting washed up shore and the being pulled back out then washed back up shore and back out and on and on. My question is: is it supposed to do that? maybe i wasnt far out enough? the surf was kinda rough and i didnt go out to far maybe that was the case of it getting washed ashore? also i was using a 1/2 egg sinker. tried throwing the kroc and same thing. started to drizzle so i called it a day from there...any tips?

was it a shore break? if it was, you have to cast over the waves and not into them in order to the get the bait down. imo, ill wait until the waves almost go slack. the waves come in sets and then die off for a while or itll go slack. thats when i like to throw it out. if you throw it out when the waves are pounding, it can get a lil difficult when starting out. also, try playing around with different sized weights. if the waves are rough, use heavier weights and vice versa. i usually stay with a 1/2oz-3/4oz. just my 2 cents

[Cangler]

Its tough when the surf is really pounding ... i've gone up to 2oz
weights when that happens.

Next time you go to Bolsa Chica try down near the new stone jetty .. i
think lifeguard station #16 is near there.

Also , you can try fishing cut squid for rays and small sharks

[defiantej]

Its tough when the surf is really pounding ... i've gone up to 2oz
weights when that happens.

Next time you go to Bolsa Chica try down near the new stone jetty .. i
think lifeguard station #16 is near there.

Also , you can try fishing cut squid for rays and small sharks

alright i'll try there and maybe a sunnier day too haha...i'll have to try the rays and sharks sometime later on the road thanks for the tips

[PUDD MASTER BAITER]

Ive Found That 8.5ft Med To Med Heavy Rods, Are Much Better For Keeping The Line From Washing In To Quickly. It Also Can Give You Longer Cast ,if Needed. If You Happen To Hook The Occastional Big Momma ,you Have More Advantage Due To The Longer Rod Obsorbing The Fight, But Still Fun On Smaller Fish. Just My Take. Good Luck And Go Get Um...mike The Pmb....

[dixoncider]

There was a big south swell the last few days. Prob not the best for surf "fishing"