How do you fish the LC in the surf?

[ichthus]

Hi Guys,
I usually fish the 'Crack' or plastic grubs on a carolina rig when I fish the perch. I'm really impressed with what I see as far as the results you are getting with the lucky Craft stick bait. I also love the possibility of hooking up with a halibut of WSB. Can you tell me how you fish it? They seem pretty light. Do you use weight or just tie it right on the line. Swivel? What are the best models/colors? I was in Bass pro shop today and was dizzied by the variety...and the expense. Do they float/suspend/sink? What is the best presentation/retrieve? I'm heading up to the Carpinteria area next weekend (weather permittiing) and want to give them a try. Any advice/info would be appreciated by this stickbait newb. Thanks, Mark

[murrieta angler]

Hi Guys,
I usually fish the 'Crack' or plastic grubs on a carolina rig when I fish the perch. I'm really impressed with what I see as far as the results you are getting with the lucky Craft stick bait. I also love the possibility of hooking up with a halibut of WSB. Can you tell me how you fish it? They seem pretty light. Do you use weight or just tie it right on the line. Swivel? What are the best models/colors? I was in Bass pro shop today and was dizzied by the variety...and the expense. Do they float/suspend/sink? What is the best presentation/retrieve? I'm heading up to the Carpinteria area next weekend (weather permittiing) and want to give them a try. Any advice/info would be appreciated by this stickbait newb. Thanks, Mark

Whew!
OK, where do I start?!
The most common used LC is the 110, it will dive from 1-2 feet, which is perfect for the surf. The weight of it is 5/8ths of an ounce. I think most people just tie it straight to their line, I do. No swivel is needed.

The colors, I feel are the best, are Anchovy and Sardine, but I have caught fish with all colors that I have used.
You will catch perch, bonita, bass, WSB, hali's, pretty much anything out there.
They do float, in fact WHEN you get hooked to a rock, simply let out some line and 99 times out of a 100, it will come out on it's own accord.
If you use braided line and it gets stuck in kelp, pull that sucker and cut the kelp with it. That's what I do.

Depending on what your fishing for, I mix up the retrieval speeds. Medium retrieve for halibuts, quick for perch and slow for the WSB. But take into considersation the gear ratio for your reel.
If you feel the lure dragging on the bottom, try slowing down your retrieve a little or lift your rod tip a bit.

Keep in mind that you will lose some LC's when working them in structured area, just comes with the territory. But with some practice, and some fish caught, you will come to love the LC.

Good Luck up in Carpinteria,
Robert
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[smokehound]

Here's the deal with the LC's-- when you reel these in, pause for a few seconds. these lures have nearly neutral buoyancy-- They suspend at the depth they were cranked to for a while.

Also, when you stop cranking, the flashminnows and pointers have added action-- the pointers will do a quick little turn, and the flashminnows give a tail-wobble. Remember to mix your retrieve up, give an abrupt pause here and there, ESPECIALLY with the pointers.

[DockRat]

Seems like they swim deeper than 2'.
At Cherry LB with the rod tip up they plow through the mud in 5' of water.
DR

[smokehound]

Seems like they swim deeper than 2'.
At Cherry LB with the rod tip up they plow through the mud in 5' of water.
DRagreed, in such shallow water, you have to crank them ridiculously slow.

The whole plowing thing isnt really that bad if you're surf fishing... Alot of surf species plow through the sand like that. I'd actually try this if there were croakers in the area. A big territorial YFC would HATE seeing a little baby croaker hanging around his spot!

[bsp]

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?41562-Intro-So-you-want-to-catch-halibut-from-the-surf...

Slow and steady is what I always use, and it's always put fish on the beach. Feel free to mix it up if you want, but if you're just starting out I'd really recommend just slow rolling your LCs. No need to pause or rip it. Tie the LC on without any additional hardware (weights/swivels) since that gives it the best action. Flash Minnow 110 is what you should stick with to get the basics down. I have a few other hardbaits I occasionally use, but the Flash Minnow 110 has caught most of my fish.

What MA said about getting them unstuck is really key. If you feel you lure bump into something, just pause and let it float free or give it line if it's really stuck. You can reel it through kelp pretty easily as long as you go slow and don't rip it. It takes a little getting used to, but once you learn to navigate your bait through structure it's definitely worth it. A lot of nice fish live close to kelp/boilers, and the only way to target them is to put your bait in the danger zone.

Colors doesn't really matter as long as it's got a lot of flash in it (halibut like shiny), but good old Metallic Sardine has accounted for lots of halibut. I personally throw a hue variety of patterns just for fun, so don't focus on color too much.

[ichthus]

Thanks so much for the info guys. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your expertise. Still hoping to try the surf this weekend but the weather man is not cooperating so far...God bless, Mark