New to surf fishing

[bassman909]

Need some ideas whear to go got all the gear to drop shot for butts and barred sp got a nice surf rod just need a good local, and also is the early morning or late evening better? Im located in socal

[xjdesertfox]

really depends what region you want to fish man, i fish the malibu area a lot...but dont know much about the region further to the south (longbeach, huntington, newport)

[bowler]

You need to know when the tides are because fish feed when the tide are moving.

[xjdesertfox]

You need to know when the tides are because fish feed when the tide are moving.

this. i never catch unless its incoming high tide, or peak high tide. incoming high tide releases particles in the silt which trigger fish to feed.

[smokehound]

Another important aspect of surf fishing is learning how to read structure.

Learn about Holes and trenches. These give fish a refuge from pounding waves, a trough will cause the waves to die out before they reach the shoreline, causing a line of calm water in the surf. holes are similar. Look for the calmer spots, where waves weaken.

Its really hard to describe it, you should be able to find some good examples on google. Just look up "surf fishing holes and troughs"

[bassman909]

Cool thx i guess the best way is just to get out their and hit it right.

[murrieta angler]

Cool thx i guess the best way is just to get out their and hit it right.

I see you are in Hesperia Bassman909!
Shoot me a P.M. when you plan on heading down to the beach and I will head out with you or meet you there.
Work is slow and I love hitting the surf.
Robert

[Angler Pro]

I'm also from Hesperia, me and a few buddies went out to Huntington Beach yesterday and did some surf fishing. We ended up with 17 BSP, 1 corbina, and 1 yellowfin croaker. All in all a slow day for us compared to the past few days. You guys are always welcome to go, shoot me a pm.

[Swank909]

Murrieta Angler would be the guy to hook up with, he knows the spots.

I'm between you guys and the Surf, hit me up! I need to learn how to throw my LC's



I'm also from Hesperia, me and a few buddies went out to Huntington Beach yesterday and did some surf fishing. We ended up with 17 BSP, 1 corbina, and 1 yellowfin croaker. All in all a slow day for us compared to the past few days. You guys are always welcome to go, shoot me a pm.

Welcome to the boards Angler Pro

[Angler Pro]

Ya were all pretty new to the whole surf fishing, but we love it. We've been using the gulp sandworms and have had really good days. I'm gonna pick up some LC's and bighammers for halibut.

Was woundering if there are any halibut in Huntington Beach? Were fishing by lifeguard 13 about 1 and a half from Main St.

[bsp]

The thing about tides is that every single beach fishes better at a different tide, and you'll find you catch different species at different tides. For example, I know some beaches that NEED a low or minus tide if you're going to target halibut, while others will not kick out any unless you have a very good high tide. To emphasize this, I have a few beaches I like to fish that have different areas on the same beach that are good at different tides. Same goes for perch/corbina/croaker/sharks/rays. Also, different conditions are more conducive to different techniques, so what may be good fishing for a bait and wait guy can be fairly challenging for a guy tossing lures. It even breaks down further within lures and you'll eventually learn through experience when to switch it up.

Going off of this, my belief is that structure is way more important than tide, kind of like what Smokehound said. On one beach, I know there is a trough that is only accessible at low tide, but by the same token if I can fish that trough then another hole I know about is not going to produce. Both have kicked out nice fish, so it's not a matter of the beach being better at a certain time or another, it's just that it is different. Learn to read the water, and you'll be able to target fish whenever you hit the surf. Also, WALK! I cannot emphasize this enough, but too many people camp out on one section of beach and hammer it even if it's unproductive. If you aren't catching anything move until you are, and then camp there until you stop catching. Then keep moving.

I've never paid any attention to the time of day, but some very, very good surf fisherman say that fishing in the grey light before the sun rises is when they've had incredible luck.

Even though this might be a bit egotistical, check out this article (http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?41562-Intro-So-you-want-to-catch-halibut-from-the-surf...&p=417561#post417561) I posted for surf fishing for halibut. It covers the basics and I go into a bit more detail about reading the water.