San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

I've gotten four of these in three trips and pulled the hook on about the same number. Frustrating. Using bigger-than-average sand crabs, which are a lot of work to find. But there doesn't seem to be an alternative.
Lots of other fish to catch. This morning, I tried the negative tide with a ...

It's a ways off, but there's plenty to enjoy before then, I'm sure. However, have a good and safe trip, Butch.

What happened to the croakers? This won't be new to anyone except possibly to Mike, if so. But was it ever good?
Delicious.
https://keviniscooking.com/baja-style-b ... ish-tacos/

Would any lurker or participant on this thread like to comment on kastmasters and crocodiles in the surf?
First, please, do you go with a single hook? A longer one or standard inline if so?
When to throw them, I saw and was surprised it is a tool for catching yellowfin croaker, not astonished for ...

Thanks all, going offline for a few days. I appreciated your feedback and comments based on your experiences. Have a nice 4th of July weekend.

Going surf fishing this afternoon. Not much strategy, but mostly sand crabs and shrimp, either in the troughs or shrimp flung out on the reefs.
Butch has me hoping it will be a corbina day for me, or my son. 20 inches or better, please!

A full moon and rush hour traffic might be a temptation to ...

Speaking of North County. There is a nice trough at Jake's in Del Mar right now.
Courtesy of Surfline.

It was a grind. I have never seen a calm day in Del Mar like in all the surf fishing YouTube videos. I'd almost take a skunk to deal with a quiet surf zone for a change. I ended with 3 or 4 small perch. A baby and a 3-foot Leopard shark, and an almost decent yellowfin croaker, about 50/50 sand crabs ...

Nice job with the corbina catches, report, and inspiration!


I don't usually quote my posts. Who does?
However, I meant the inspiration part. I did. Thank you!
Went out and caught my first bean yesterday after reading this thread and thinking I had it decoded.
Luck was part, of course. I got it ...

I am with you when it comes to enjoying the beach and ocean on those morning trips. I am not a "morning person", but I am if it's part of a Surf fishing trip.

One of the first good tips I got from an angler is that Del Mar fishes well at +3 feet. The tip wasn't particularly valuable as a guarantee ...

People don't swim as much around the reef sections, so on weekends you can try that. You could catch many different species. Fishing in crowds has sometimes worked out well for me for fun and for catching, even on sandy beaches. A little flexibility is needed, that's all. You have a right to be ...

I've used them at local lakes with a spinner bait skirt and caught bass, not regularly. I imagine A strip of fish belly or a strip of squid could be beneficial in some instances for saltwater, or perhaps a gulp grub.

Phxangler wrote: Fri Jul 18, 2025 8:52 pm Thanks for the help guys! I had a great day! Got to Carlsbad around 2:00pm. Ended up with 11 surf perch, 3 YFC, and a baby sand bass. Couldn’t have even asked for that much luck

It was great to see this update from you. Great job... lots of fish!

https://bellyfull.net/salsa-roja/

This was great on top of seasoned and fried spotfin and corbina. "Aromatics are key for some recipes for this kind of fish.
My son followed the recipe and added 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Leftover salsa is excellent on a variety of dishes, such as eggs with beans ...

Gotfish? wrote: Tue Jul 22, 2025 3:17 pm I will have to try it. Salsa mixed with avocado is a quick guacamole recipe too.

Who needs tartar sauce when you have salsa?

Well, I do like a quick sauce made of mayonnaise and Tapatio. But Salsa is fantastic.

I made it to blacks yesterday, thanks for this thread—first time. I took the glider port instructions. The scenic views and hang gliders were truly incredible. It was the first high tide of the day, and the current was ripping south with large and small vegetation roaming with it—no Bueno.
I caught ...

Yesterday afternoon, I took a 6-pound test C-rig to Del Mar to catch ANY fish I could on the lightest line I have ever used in the surf. But the current and the kelp were pretty bad where I landed in the reef/sand section, and I was too lazy to move. I went the longest so far this summer without ANY ...

That's too bad. Kelp was nearly completely gone from much of Del Mar yesterday through high tide swing, even around the reefs. What a pleasure to fish without that. Fishing seemed down, but not out by any means.

Glad you are feeling better, PK. May your improvements hold up.... and the fishing too.

I fished the last 2/3 of the incoming tide this morning. I wanted to put in the work to find the elusive dime-sized soft shell, but it just wasn't happening, and the greylight was slipping away. So I fished the small crabs and had a good run of mixed sizes of perch and a baby leopard over about 300 ...