Fletcher Cove - Solana Beach

[Perch killer]

New beach for me; fished other N. County areas in the past but not this one. A very nice beach, easy close in parking, just a short walk down a ramp to the beach and great water conditions. Was hoping for some croaker & corbina action but turned out to be exclusively perch, 6 total over 2 hours, largest a tad under 10, all on mussel. Lots of crabs but, to my surprise & chagrin, almost none with roe or soft shells. Think I found maybe 2-3 with eggs and no softies out of I'd say a dozen or more sand scoops covering a stretch of beach 50 yards on both sides of where I was setup. Perch wouldn't touch them and my thought was croakers & beans are not likely going to be around working these beds. Probably should have made a move but didn't want to take the time nor move too far from the parking area. All in all though, enjoyed the session and would definitely go back to this beach.

[Everydog]

Good job getting up there to a new spot and catching fish. Thanks for the report. I've been thinking about that one.
It's interesting how crab beds vary so much and are not in some places but are in others with similar sand just a half mile away.

[Jusbigguns]

Here Bill hold my Beer

[Perch killer]

Here Bill hold my Beer

Good one Tom !

[Bendo]

While Softshells do get bit more often, I think the egg laden ones catch bigger fish. Maybe because the smaller Fish can suck them down quickly. A lot depends on the Tides, on the beaches I fish the Females full of eggs are generally caught on the lower end of the tide and the dinky males are up on the high end. The Females are generally a little deeper too, at least four or five inches down. Every where is different, up in Santa Monica Bay all the crabs were out in Two feet of water while none were up on the sand in the wave wash. In Monterey, they were only next to Rocks. I have one shady spot under a Pier where they are almost all are Females all the time. They crowd out the Males. It is a long run to get there and there is rarely parking or I would just get them there before every trip.

[Perch killer]

I think you're spot on about the tides & location differences. Previous week at PB, tide was a bit lower and I'd guess 9 out of 10 crabs had roe or were softies. Go figure.

[jwacky]

New beach for me; fished other N. County areas in the past but not this one. A very nice beach, easy close in parking, just a short walk down a ramp to the beach and great water conditions. Was hoping for some croaker & corbina action but turned out to be exclusively perch, 6 total over 2 hours, largest a tad under 10, all on mussel. Lots of crabs but, to my surprise & chagrin, almost none with roe or soft shells. Think I found maybe 2-3 with eggs and no softies out of I'd say a dozen or more sand scoops covering a stretch of beach 50 yards on both sides of where I was setup. Perch wouldn't touch them and my thought was croakers & beans are not likely going to be around working these beds. Probably should have made a move but didn't want to take the time nor move too far from the parking area. All in all though, enjoyed the session and would definitely go back to this beach.

I've actually had luck there with the no-roe crabs there! I guess I figure if they're not available to me then they aren't available to the fish, either, so we'll both take what we can get

How do you use mussels as bait? I've seen videos, etc., but I just cannot get the meat to stay on the hook. Maybe they've still been slightly too cold when I've tried so they're still ripping too easily, or maybe the mussels I got just aren't ideal for whatever reason.

[Perch killer]

I got on to mussel meat from one of Nick Heid's surf fishing tutorials. You can find them fresh or frozen (off the shell) at most Asian seafood markets. With fresh ones I'll salt them night before, toughens them up for better hold. Freezing any leftovers I find doesn't work well. My preference is to get the 2 lb frozen box, divide them into packs of 12 or more & put in vacuum sealed freezer bags. Hook the mussel through the small whiteish muscle on one end, then hook point through the outer rind muscle. Holds real well. If the mussels are real large, I cut in half and the piece with no muscle I wrap some elastic thread around it & tie knot, snip the tag ends. With fresh mussels right out of the shell, you just about have to do the thread wrap to keep it on your hook.
Check Heid's website www.surffishingsocalsd.com
Has a good article on using mussel meat.

[Midnightpass]

A new beach can be a lot of fun and you caught fish.. Bill, I might try your mussel trick...You mentioned fresh or frozen, while Heid said cooked... Maybe one was a typo, or do you use cooked as well?... Have you tried clams?... I love blood worms, but can't find them local any more, since Big Fish, in Seal Beach stopped caring them...
Butch

[Perch killer]

A new beach can be a lot of fun and you caught fish.. Bill, I might try your mussel trick...You mentioned fresh or frozen, while Heid said cooked... Maybe one was a typo, or do you use cooked as well?... Have you tried clams?... I love blood worms, but can't find them local any more, since Big Fish, in Seal Beach stopped caring them...
Butch

Hey Butch, the frozen ones are cooked. I prefer the fresh cooked ones, you get 18-22 in a tray for 5-$6, probably $7-8 these days. But the boxed frozen are a better value, I would guess around 80-100 for around $10.

Pismo clams are great bait but hard to find and I don't go out & dig for them. Every once in awhile on a deep minus low tide, I'll find a few legal size Pismo's sitting on the sand, freeze them & cut into chunks. Caught some nice croakers & corbina on clams. Shame you can't find BW's any more. How about lug worms ? Not quite as good as bloods but they will catch fish & are less expensive. Come from China I believe. Only had 1 tackle shop carrying them but no longer do so.

[Bendo]

You can blend the mussels with pulled apart cotton balls, then wrap the soaked cotton balls onto your hook, it works great. Outside of left field bait - Snails. Regular Garden Snails work great both in the Surf and Bay Fishing. Who would of thunk it? It was the Japanese Trout Fishermen at Anaheim Lake that turned me on to that. Works for Trout too obviously.

[Perch killer]

That's interesting about the cotton balls, worth a try, especially if easier to get off the hook than the thread after the perch ravage th emeat off your hook ! LOL Never heard about gardens snails, worth trying. Thanks for the info.

[Midnightpass]

Thanks for some great ideas guys.. I’m mostly a bait guy,so a very productive post..Lug worms work, just not as good as blood worms… I think ghost shrimp are the most attractive to fish, but tougher to keep on the hook in the surf..
Butch