San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

... I fish and chat with people I have met and am on a first-name basis with, as well as strangers. I like that aspect of surf fishing.




This has far and away been my favorite part of surf fishing this year - the conversations with people taking pictures, walking dogs, surfers, others ...

Went out from 5pm until just after sunset. All perch on crabs and gulps. Lots of bait fish swimming around. Could see corbina swimming in close, no takers. 2 other guys fishing. 1 throwing a buck tail for halibut, the other using crabs.

Thanks for the report...so good to see all the tiny corbina from SD to OC...such a good sign for next summer's corbina hunters!

Hey Joe, nice report. Reads like a carbon copy of my session there last week with all those perchies.

Hit the beach at 6:30. Caught 1 YFC (12.75”), 1 halibut (19.5”) and 3 perch. Caught YFC in less than 10 minutes. Halibut was caught 15 minutes after that. Lost another YFC at my feet. From 7 am to 8 am caught nothing. All caught on LC.
Switched from LC to gulps. From 8 am to 8:30 caught 3 perch, all ...

I’ve found that Perch don’t work so well for my crowd. Mackerel, Sardines/Anchovies, and Squid are my Top Baits for ShaRays. I usually use about three feet of 80 pound leader, and an Egg sinker that slides right down to the bait, making casting easier. Leader to line is usually a blood knot on the ...

Hi Joe, used a variety of baits. Frozen mussel & clam meat pieces which were effective when a perch would hit the whole bait but not so when they go into just a nibbling mode & strip the hook eventually. Also had some freeze dried lug worms which work well too if not just nibbling. Good luck this ...

Salted fresh mussel meat & left over blood worms. Firms them up real good. Likely would do the same for clams

I fished the surf south of Crystal pier about 8:30-10:00 this morning. Sand crabs are plentiful under the pier, with roe and some soft shells. Grass was minimal. Water felt colder. Bite was very slow, only a few bite surgically stealing roe. So I switched to the smallest crabs with roe I could find ...

Sounds like a profitable day, discounting the salad… I’m not sure if the dolphins affect the fishing but the seals/sea lions swimming in the surf sure do… They’ll shut down the bite faster than a changing tide… I’m curious about the salted clams as well, and will be interested in your findings ...

Went this morning from 6:30 - 9:00. Caught 1 YFC (11.5”) on an LC just before 7 am. From 7 to 7:30 nothing. Switched from LC to gulps, caught 3 perch. Including a feisty lil dude about 3.5” on a size 2 hook. Sand crabs were scarce. Put 1 sand crab on the hook with a small chewed piece of gulp to ...

I have often found that when I see dolphin they are associated with yellowfin croaker. The croaker tend to run in schools, rather than the lonely corbina, and ball-up bait in the surf. Dolphin/porpoise follow the commotion and feed also on the fin bait yellowfin are finding. I can't tell you how ...

Comes through again. Another "never been fishing in my life" person gets fish on Gulp at the pier. 2 baby yfc in 15 minutes

Last time out a few weeks ago, found some crabs at Mission but no roe or softies, fish wouldn't touch them, not even perch. Don't know if crabs still under the PB pier. Shrimp's a versatile bait, seems particularly good for species around jetties, I tried it in the surf years back, never much luck ...

I haven't tried market shrimp in eons... Ghost shrimp are pretty much magic for me though...
Butch

I listened to Bill Varney's surf report last night and what he reported from the area regarding sand crabs reflected my experiences last weekend: those that were around were large and roe-less. He mentioned that he takes it as a sign to start switching baits with the new season.

I intend to do ...

Midnightpass wrote: Fri Oct 03, 2025 10:08 am I haven't tried market shrimp in eons... Ghost shrimp are pretty much magic for me though...
Butch

I like the ghosties as well Butch. they're $$ for croaker & beans if you can keep the perch away !

Started at CP at roughly 7am worked down to tower 15 by 11am.

Overcast, strong surf, Salad non existent at the pier but got progressively worse as I worked south.

Still crab beds under pier and between 20-21 at high to mid tide

Day started strong with a decent guitar and 4 back to back cast perch ...

I found a medium/large sand crab that looked like a soft shell, but was hard when I touched it. I thought, "If I was fooled, maybe a corbina would be fooled too." Sure enough, a short cast into less than 12" of water found this corbina.

Thanks for the re[port Joe. Good to know crabs with roe still under pier. Was going to give it a try yesterday early AM but got scuttled by family obligations. Perhaps just as well. Hoping to get out some time next few days before Priscilla possibly mixes things up later in the week.