Spookin' The Spotfin in OC with Ghost Shrimp 09 12 08

[CrabMan]

Went down to my favorite set of rocks and mud and collected some small neck clams and a few orange and green bay mussels. Didn't have the time or energy to dig for ghost shrimp so I stopped by Big Fish in Seal Beach to buy a dozen and prepare to hit the beach this morning.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/GREENREDMUSSEL0908.jpg
It was very overcast but the water is still warm, around 68 degrees, and a medium sized south swell is still pushing up the coast.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/CONDITIONS091208.jpg
Fished using the carolina rig with a 3/4th ounce sinker and a nice fresh medium sized ghost shrimp. My first cast yielded this beautiful 22" spotfin.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/SPOTFIN091208.jpg
Caught a wide variety of fish on the ghost shrimp and the ghost shrimp clam or mussel combo.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/PERCH0908.jpg
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/SHOVELNOSE0908.jpg
Fishing stayed good until about 9am when the flood of surfers scared everything away with the exception of sting rays. I let this one go behind a guy paddeling out and hoped he would chase him down!
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/STINGRAY0908.jpg
We are going to have some great tides coming up this next week so I'm really looking forward to getting down there again.

Finished off the day seeing a guy catch a legal halibut on the LC and one last spotfin just an inch smaller than my earlier fish.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii148/bvloans/SPOTFIN2091208.jpg
Hope you folks get down to the beach and give it a go. The fishing's been great this summer and it will be even better this fall now that I've told so many surfers about the huge white shark right offshore!!!::ROFL:

[one_leg]

Ok, you've convinced me to head down to the beach again.
It has been about a year I think. Maybe more?

Thanks for the report. Nice fish porn too.
Congrats on the fishies.

One_Leg

[Wingnut]

Nice report Bill, very informative as usual. :Thumbs Up:
I'm gonna get myself one of those chunky Spotfins one of these days. Maybe I'll tip the hooks on the LC with a couple chunks of mussel dipped in Taco Bell hot sauce. :ROFL:
I saw a surfer get jabbed by a Sting Ray once... the poor guy hobbled out of the surf and rolled around on the beach for like five minutes. His feet swelled up like a balloon. :Twisted: :Shocked: I kept casting and caught a Hali right in front of him. :Envious:

[flyngby]

Bill,

Thanks for another great report.

Those Spotfin are a blast and definitely a very nice battle on the lighter rigs.

It has been almost a year since I had one of the feisty critters on the end of my line, and actually had gathered a few nice mussels from the docks early on in my last NPH adventure to possibly target them if the others did not cooperate.

Nice variety as always.

Thanks for the knowledge delivered in you reports.:Thumbs Up:

Steve

[Ifishtoolittle]

How did the perch snag itself like that? Anyways nice job on the surf species.

[CrabMan]

Nice report Bill, very informative as usual. :Thumbs Up:
I'm gonna get myself one of those chunky Spotfins one of these days. Maybe I'll tip the hooks on the LC with a couple chunks of mussel dipped in Taco Bell hot sauce. :ROFL:
I saw a surfer get jabbed by a Sting Ray once... the poor guy hobbled out of the surf and rolled around on the beach for like five minutes. His feet swelled up like a balloon. :Twisted: :Shocked: I kept casting and caught a Hali right in front of him. :Envious:

Good one!

you get so many packs of hot sause at taco bell just cut a small slit and put a bag on each hook!:LOL:

I love to catch fish in front of surfers--especially when they're big teethy sharks!:Guns:

[supasportkid]

nice report! surfers always get in the way!!

[Troutman65]

Are the Spotfins tasty to eat? They look like they put up a nice fight .

Thanks for the report and pics. :Big Grin:

[fish_sauce]

Thank you for the informative report, Bill. I've never used small neck clams before...your posts on making natural, readily available bait on the surf...and catching fish with them are truly inspiring. :Cool: Its comforting to know that these resources could be used as a "plan B" on days when artificials are slow to trigger a bite :Wink:

Andrew.

[CrabMan]

Are the Spotfins tasty to eat? They look like they put up a nice fight .

Thanks for the report and pics. :Big Grin:

They put up a great fight and easily rival a corbina of the same size. On 4lb test you have a 10-30 min fight!:EyePop:

I haven't eaten one but I'm sure they would be fantastic. They have a great filet because they are so wide.:Big Grin:

[CrabMan]

Thank you for the informative report, Bill. I've never used small neck clams before...your posts on making natural, readily available bait on the surf...and catching fish with them are truly inspiring. :Cool: Its comforting to know that these resources could be used as a "plan B" on days when artificials are slow to trigger a bite :Wink:

Andrew.

Wait a sec, I thought natural baits were plan "A"!:LOL:

One big difference comes when you snag the LC and then you jump in to get your $20 lure back. I haven't jump in for a clam yet!:ROFL:

All kidding aside both work great in the surf . Plus, there are new things we find that work in the surf every day.:EyePop:

[GOTFISHUES]

excelent report,

those spots are healthy, so 4#huh, good going.

dig reading your posts, thanx for sharing.

GOTFISHUES

[fishhard22]

Awesome report. I guess this coming week should be great for surf fishing. I can't wait to get my line wet again. I'm fairly new at this saltwater fishing
I started off as a freshwater bass fisherman. Your reports are very informative and have taught me a lot getting started. Thanks

[bsp]

Very nice report! I remember talking to you at the fred hall show, and those slider grubs work great. I have to get myself a spotfin one of these days.

[boxl0bster]

excellent report as always!! i really need to get out there. but with gas prices and all its hard.

[tacklejunkie]

Nice bag Bill. Thanks for the pics and report.
Beauty spofins as usual. Still have yet to hook me a Shovelnose!

[sh1nynewlove]

wow combinations of bait do work...thanks for the report..:Smile: