First time in the surf...Zuma Beach!

[ZipperWurm]

so i've been doing a lot of reading on these forums lately about surf fishing and it looked like good times, so i decided to give it a shot! called up the girlfriend and decided on zuma beach.

got kind of a late start, but we arrived at the beach around 5pm. figured we would fish till dark then try our luck for leopard sharks once the sun went down. tied on the camo sandworm and hit it up.

fishing the surf was a little weird for me at first, but i started to get the hang of it. being waist high in the water and the waves crashing into you definitely makes it an interesting experience, lol. it was getting really frustrating for a while because every cast all we were pulling up was huge piles of seaweed. decided to find a spot with a little less salad and it payed off, managed to catch 4 barred sand perch and 1 yellowfin croaker (man do those fight good for their size, was worried about my 4 lb mono for a second, lol). my first time catching any of these fish, so i was excited! im sure i could have caught more if it wasn't for all the tangles with the salad, but i was pleased nonetheless. unfortunately my chick couldn't seem to catch anything but salad, but she still had fun.

once the sun went down i threw out some squid to try and catch a leo, but i only tried for about 15 min cause i was cold and soaking wet...and there was still tons of salad ruining my life, so we called it a day. i cant wait to go back, but unfortunately my brand new sahara took a few dumps in the surf and was completely seized up by the time i got home, flushing it with freshwater helped a little, but its still in bad shape :Crying:

anyways, here's some pics...

first bsp ever
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-44.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-33.jpg

what a stupid look on my face
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-43.jpg

first time YFC
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-38.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-40.jpg

and her having fun, lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-36.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v709/whitedevilTA/photo-41.jpg

[Nipple Twister]

Great report, great pics.......thx for sharing, seems like your figuring it out huh?

Ain't it cool?.....

[ZipperWurm]

Great report, great pics.......thx for sharing, seems like your figuring it out huh?

Ain't it cool?.....

lol yeah it's good stuff, can see how it can get addicting! it's a shame i live so far from it though. i guess im kinda figuring it out...just need to learn how to stay away from the salad and keep my fishing reels working, lol

[dkinla]

hey nice first report! and looks like you and your gf had a great time...

as for the salad... yeah, it just depends sometimes... just have to find a spot with less salad or move to another location that maybe will have less... or other times, it's just everywhere :Crying:

I personally don't think you need to be in the water that deep to surf fish... being in the water chest high seems a bit deep to me, but I guess whatever you enjoy. Most people just go in about knee high or just wear waders and still... don't go in that deep.

and yeah, that Sahara reel of yours... I've taken a tumble in the surf before and had it seize up... just send it in to Shimano in Irvine (go to their website to fill out a warranty repair form)... and they may just send you back a brand new reel. I've sent in 2 reels before and they gave me new reels. You have to pay $25 I think for the service and shipping. Or just buy another Sahara or Sedona reel... Amazon.com right now I think still has the $15 off $50 deal going on... so you could get a Sahara for around $55 I think...

oh and one last thing... I usually try to fish the 2 to 3 hours before the peak high tide as it's usually better action on the incoming tide. Also, if you fish after the high tide... the high tide/waves usually put more salad back in the water too... so you can check a website like magicseaweed.com and look at the tide forecast for the week.

good luck and look forward to more reports! :LOL:

[DockRat]

Great Catch :Dancing Banana:
(not the fish)


I personally don't think you need to be in the water that deep to surf fish... being in the water chest high seems a bit deep to me,

I agree. In that pic of your GF up to her knees will have fish where she is standing and Corbina, Perch come all the way up to the sand crab zone. Farther out holds more YFCs, Halibut, and bigger Leopard Sharks.

Thanks for the report and pics. :Wink:
DR

[ZipperWurm]

I personally don't think you need to be in the water that deep to surf fish... being in the water chest high seems a bit deep to me, but I guess whatever you enjoy. Most people just go in about knee high or just wear waders and still... don't go in that deep.

and yeah, that Sahara reel of yours... I've taken a tumble in the surf before and had it seize up... just send it in to Shimano in Irvine (go to their website to fill out a warranty repair form)... and they may just send you back a brand new reel. I've sent in 2 reels before and they gave me new reels. You have to pay $25 I think for the service and shipping. Or just buy another Sahara or Sedona reel... Amazon.com right now I think still has the $15 off $50 deal going on... so you could get a Sahara for around $55 I think...



thanks for the tips! i've seen your reports and you really get after em! :Big Grin:

i wasn't sure exactly where the fish sit in the surf, i figured they would be sitting out more in deeper water towards where the surf breaks...it was working but if i only need to go knee high then that'd work out much better :LOL:

im probably gonna end up buying a larger sahara specifically just for the surf, was using my 1000 that i use for trout fishing, but i'll probably end up getting a 2500. i'm gonna try and salvage the one i have...it's sitting in a 5 gallon bucket of water right now and in a few hours im gonna try to take it apart and oil it...hope it helps!


Great Catch :Dancing Banana:
(not the fish)



I agree. In that pic of your GF up to her knees will have fish where she is standing and Corbina, Perch come all the way up to the sand crab zone. Farther out holds more YFCs, Halibut, and bigger Leopard Sharks.

Thanks for the report and pics. :Wink:
DR

good to know! next time i won't have to get so wet! lol

[smokehound]

Despite being a croaker, the bigger yellowfins are highly predatory on small fish. They'll hit big hammers, kastmasters, and lucky crafts. You see WingNut catch tons of croakers on LC's in his reports.

The biggest YFC I ever saw was caught by Nannette (warriorprincess) on a kastmaster. I believe it was around 20 inches. freakin huge!! The biggest YFC I ever got outta the surf was barely 17 inches. Also on a kastmaster =P


EDIT: Oh yeah, Nice report! Glad to see you two had a great time.

[dkinla]

thanks for the tips! i've seen your reports and you really get after em! :Big Grin:

i wasn't sure exactly where the fish sit in the surf, i figured they would be sitting out more in deeper water towards where the surf breaks...it was working but if i only need to go knee high then that'd work out much better :LOL:

im probably gonna end up buying a larger sahara specifically just for the surf, was using my 1000 that i use for trout fishing, but i'll probably end up getting a 2500. i'm gonna try and salvage the one i have...it's sitting in a 5 gallon bucket of water right now and in a few hours im gonna try to take it apart and oil it...hope it helps!



good to know! next time i won't have to get so wet! lol

Yeah so I use a 2500 size Sahara with 15# powerpro braid, 6 or 8# flouro leader, size 4 or 6 hook, and 1/2 or 3/4 oz egg sinker on a c-rig depending on waves. Next time u go out.. U won't get so wet and avoid ruining your reel by going in so deep. The fish can be pretty close to water edge or most of the time... In between the inside and outside break. When u start, cast far out straight ahead and work it in.. To see what depth they are at. If nothing, then try a cast 45 degrees to the right, then try 45 degrees to left.. And just work your way up/down the beach until u find a spot that's holding fish. Being able to find structure such as holes and troughs will help your chances greatly. Sometimes, getting there earlier during the low tide will help u see holes/troughs that'll fill in later with the incoming tide.. And u can try those spots for more successful outing.

Keep up the great work! And too bad the surf is a long way from Lancaster. Enjoy the surf when u can...

[ZipperWurm]

Yeah so I use a 2500 size Sahara with 15# powerpro braid, 6 or 8# flouro leader, size 4 or 6 hook, and 1/2 or 3/4 oz egg sinker on a c-rig depending on waves. Next time u go out.. U won't get so wet and avoid ruining your reel by going in so deep. The fish can be pretty close to water edge or most of the time... In between the inside and outside break. When u start, cast far out straight ahead and work it in.. To see what depth they are at. If nothing, then try a cast 45 degrees to the right, then try 45 degrees to left.. And just work your way up/down the beach until u find a spot that's holding fish. Being able to find structure such as holes and troughs will help your chances greatly. Sometimes, getting there earlier during the low tide will help u see holes/troughs that'll fill in later with the incoming tide.. And u can try those spots for more successful outing.

Keep up the great work! And too bad the surf is a long way from Lancaster. Enjoy the surf when u can...

good advice! i will definetly try these tactics next time i'm there. i think i found one of these holes holding fish because all the fish i caught came from casting in pretty much the same spot. i made my way down the beach catching nothing...caught the fist bsp then all the others came shortly after in roughly the same area.

i was using a bit lighter setup than you, sahara 1000 w/ 6'6" st. croix triumph and 4lb mono...i brought my curado to use, but i was scared of the saltwater...it's my baby lol

[dkinla]

good advice! i will definetly try these tactics next time i'm there. i think i found one of these holes holding fish because all the fish i caught came from casting in pretty much the same spot. i made my way down the beach catching nothing...caught the fist bsp then all the others came shortly after in roughly the same area.

i was using a bit lighter setup than you, sahara 1000 w/ 6'6" st. croix triumph and 4lb mono...i brought my curado to use, but i was scared of the saltwater...it's my baby lol

yeah that's a lighter setup... but WAAAAAAY more fun fighting any size perch/croaker from the surf once you hook up! I use the popular Shimano Clarus 8'6" medium-light rod with the sahara 2500. If you don't wanna spend the money... the shimano Sedona 2500 is great too.

anyhow, hope you get to make it out to the surf more often.... keep the reports coming!

[flyngby]

Welcome to the addiction!

Nice first surf session and getting the gf out with you also!

Steve http://planetsmilies.net/person-smiley-1122.gif
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z286/flyngby/BabyBass.jpg

[murrieta angler]

Nice report,
Plenty of good advice from all.
If I may add one thing, no one mentioned looking for structure or troughs. There is usually fish in those areas.
Thanks for the report,
Robert
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