North County trips.

[Perch killer]

Gotcha on the parking. I may consider getting an annual parking pass for next year but $200 is pricey. Would have to do a lot of fishing in the N. county to make that worthwhile. I can make it to Mission, Pacific or OB in 15 minutes, takes twice as long to TP plus lot of free parking, at least for now.

That was an interesting post on spotfin. All the spotfin I've caught have been close in, even had one swim between my legs in about 1' of water. I knew they like those bean clams and finding them or even their broken shells inshore can be a good indicator that they've been working that area. Sand crabs and blood/lug worms work well but more of my spotfin catches have been on mussel meat.

[Mike A]

Wife asked if I wanted to go to the beach. So I packed 1 rod. Arrived at beach about 12:15. Waited until about 2:30 after tide was coming back in to fish. Fished off and on between beverages until about 4 pm. —- skunked.. Used crabs and gulp worms.
Had a few nibbles, but nothing hooked. Noticed plenty of crabs, none with eggs thou.

[Midnightpass]

Gotcha on the parking. I may consider getting an annual parking pass for next year but $200 is pricey. Would have to do a lot of fishing in the N. county to make that worthwhile. I can make it to Mission, Pacific or OB in 15 minutes, takes twice as long to TP plus lot of free parking, at least for now.

That was an interesting post on spotfin. All the spotfin I've caught have been close in, even had one swim between my legs in about 1' of water. I knew they like those bean clams and finding them or even their broken shells inshore can be a good indicator that they've been working that area. Sand crabs and blood/lug worms work well but more of my spotfin catches have been on mussel meat.

I agree... I too have caught most of mine more or less inside, but then again, that's where I usually fish... I'll have to give clams and mussel a try again... I used to use mussel a lot back in the day, but haven't for awhile because of the mess... Clams would be less messy... Do you guys get your clams at the Asian markets or bait shops?
Butch

[Perch killer]

Gotcha on the parking. I may consider getting an annual parking pass for next year but $200 is pricey. Would have to do a lot of fishing in the N. county to make that worthwhile. I can make it to Mission, Pacific or OB in 15 minutes, takes twice as long to TP plus lot of free parking, at least for now.

That was an interesting post on spotfin. All the spotfin I've caught have been close in, even had one swim between my legs in about 1' of water. I knew they like those bean clams and finding them or even their broken shells inshore can be a good indicator that they've been working that area. Sand crabs and blood/lug worms work well but more of my spotfin catches have been on mussel meat.

I agree... I too have caught most of mine more or less inside, but then again, that's where I usually fish... I'll have to give clams and mussel a try again... I used to use mussel a lot back in the day, but haven't for awhile because of the mess... Clams would be less messy... Do you guys get your clams at the Asian markets or bait shops?
Butch

Butch, I'll get clams at Asian fish market. I haven't found frozen ones there like mussel so if I see the fresh ones are at a decent price, I'll get a dozen or so, then freeze them. Never found any decent frozen in bait shops.

[Midnightpass]

Gotcha on the parking. I may consider getting an annual parking pass for next year but $200 is pricey. Would have to do a lot of fishing in the N. county to make that worthwhile. I can make it to Mission, Pacific or OB in 15 minutes, takes twice as long to TP plus lot of free parking, at least for now.

That was an interesting post on spotfin. All the spotfin I've caught have been close in, even had one swim between my legs in about 1' of water. I knew they like those bean clams and finding them or even their broken shells inshore can be a good indicator that they've been working that area. Sand crabs and blood/lug worms work well but more of my spotfin catches have been on mussel meat.

I agree... I too have caught most of mine more or less inside, but then again, that's where I usually fish... I'll have to give clams and mussel a try again... I used to use mussel a lot back in the day, but haven't for awhile because of the mess... Clams would be less messy... Do you guys get your clams at the Asian markets or bait shops?
Butch

Butch, I'll get clams at Asian fish market. I haven't found frozen ones there like mussel so if I see the fresh ones are at a decent price, I'll get a dozen or so, then freeze them. Never found any decent frozen in bait shops.

Thank you for the reply...
Butch

[Everydog]

Thursday's outing should count as three trips. I stayed so long at the beach. I had a friend join me in the mid-morning, and my wife later joined me. I didn't want to jump back into evening rush hour traffic, so I stayed. I got three more spotfin, a corbina about 16", and some YFC. I paid for it in exhaustion, nothing serious.


Two of the spotfin were on bomb casts of a 1-ounce c-rig with me standing thigh deep on a sand bar. Maybe the trough bent around the sand bar, but it wasn't easy to tell. The near trough bite had fallen off as the tide was receding/went slack, so I tried the sand bar thing at about 3:00 PM. There were plenty of fish there, far from the beach.

I saw some very big corbina in the water on the sandbar.

Everything caught on sand crabs near the second life guard tower north of the north TP parking lot. Seaweed was manageable.

[Midnightpass]

Da** you!…. . You’re catching SFC and corbina, and I’m sitting home.. That's a nice day of fishing… Way to go…
Butch

[Everydog]

Da** you!…. . You’re catching SFC and corbina, and I’m sitting home.. That's a nice day of fishing… Way to go…
Butch

It's a good time to fish, but I saw your other post, so hang in there, and I hope it all works out soon.

[Everydog]

So, I had three trips to Del Mar and no other fishing since the last report. I enjoyed the fishing, but the story was just the same old thing. I haven't caught a spotfin in three consecutive trips, but it's been a long time since my last trip without at least one chunky corbina in the mix. It was one baby leopard shark after another on one trip. Grass has never stopped me from fishing. However, some days and parts of the day are better than others. I've become a regular at the spot, where 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.

It's really sinking in on me that my first season of using sand crabs for bait will soon be transitioning into something else. I have one night camping spot coming up at Carlsbad State Beach, and I'll try San Elijo next. I considered sleeping in my van on the PCH lot to make the most of one trip, but I lost my nerve.

I have enjoyed the other surf fishing posts. How's Perch Killer doing? Very well, I hope.

[Perch killer]

So, I had three trips to Del Mar and no other fishing since the last report. I enjoyed the fishing, but the story was just the same old thing. I haven't caught a spotfin in three consecutive trips, but it's been a long time since my last trip without at least one chunky corbina in the mix. It was one baby leopard shark after another on one trip. Grass has never stopped me from fishing. However, some days and parts of the day are better than others. I've become a regular at the spot, where 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.

It's really sinking in on me that my first season of using sand crabs for bait will soon be transitioning into something else. I have one night camping spot coming up at Carlsbad State Beach, and I'll try San Elijo next. I considered sleeping in my van on the PCH lot to make the most of one trip, but I lost my nerve.

I have enjoyed the other surf fishing posts. How's Perch Killer doing? Very well, I hope.

Been slow for me at SD beaches insofar as anything of quality over the past month. A couple good perch sessions with some 10-12 inchers in the mix but none of the quality species, croakers & corbina, that most of us are looking for. A couple of guitar fish in the mix also. This has been the same pattern as last year, great action starting mid June into all of July then goes dead all of August up to mid September. Then fishing got good again into November; hope this repeats. Many heavy salad days, very warm water & disappearing sand crabs have all contributed to the annual August malaise. But it's enjoyable just to get out and looking forward to some good fishing days ahead next couple of months. Hope the same for you and all surf anglers.

[jwacky]

... 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 fishing... especially so early in the mornings, everyone is just happy to be at the beach and enjoying the waves, sand, sun, and fresh ocean air. This is my 20th year living in San Diego and I still pinch myself that I get to call this place home.

[Midnightpass]

At least you guys are getting some line time. So far, I’ve been Cabo for a week and have fished for 1hour. I’ve been reading the post here, but not commenting much because I hate typing on my phone. Anyway, keep up the good fight.
Butch

[Midnightpass]

... 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 fishing... especially so early in the mornings, everyone is just happy to be at the beach and enjoying the waves, sand, sun, and fresh ocean air. This is my 20th year living in San Diego and I still pinch myself that I get to call this place home.

Excellent!!!
Butch

[Perch killer]

At least you guys are getting some line time. So far, I’ve been Cabo for a week and have fished for 1hour. I’ve been reading the post here, but not commenting much because I hate typing on my phone. Anyway, keep up the good fight.
Butch

Hope you're able to get out more often Butch. Wish for a good Fall run !

[Ironchuckers]

Anyone looking for sand crabs, there are massive beds of them up in North Carlsbad as of Sunday evening. Mostly nickel sized, over 50% over that size or bigger had roe.

Fished from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Lots of perch in the shallows. Saw a couple guys fly fishing who caught a couple beans, no luck there for me. All perch..

New to this forum, was on SoCalSurfishing and SDFish.com quite a bit under different names, mostly lurking..

[Everydog]

Anyone looking for sand crabs, there are massive beds of them up in North Carlsbad as of Sunday evening. Mostly nickel sized, over 50% over that size or bigger had roe.

Fished from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Lots of perch in the shallows. Saw a couple guys fly fishing who caught a couple beans, no luck there for me. All perch..

New to this forum, was on SoCalSurfishing and SDFish.com quite a bit under different names, mostly lurking..

Thanks for sharing the report. The corbina were pretty thick at Del Mar this morning and biting more than any other species until high tide. I really could have used the big sand crabs you had; I caught 5 or 6 corbina from dink up to around 16 inches. Also, two of the biggest surfperch this summer that ate about half my big sand crabs—lastly, a few YFC. Seaweed was manageable all morning, sometimes resorting to short casts to make it work. I was in the reefs section, so it was probably better near Torrey Pines or up closer to power house park for clean water.

[Everydog]

So, I had three trips to Del Mar and no other fishing since the last report. I enjoyed the fishing, but the story was just the same old thing. I haven't caught a spotfin in three consecutive trips, but it's been a long time since my last trip without at least one chunky corbina in the mix. It was one baby leopard shark after another on one trip. Grass has never stopped me from fishing. However, some days and parts of the day are better than others. I've become a regular at the spot, where 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.

It's really sinking in on me that my first season of using sand crabs for bait will soon be transitioning into something else. I have one night camping spot coming up at Carlsbad State Beach, and I'll try San Elijo next. I considered sleeping in my van on the PCH lot to make the most of one trip, but I lost my nerve.

I have enjoyed the other surf fishing posts. How's Perch Killer doing? Very well, I hope.

Been slow for me at SD beaches insofar as anything of quality over the past month. A couple good perch sessions with some 10-12 inchers in the mix but none of the quality species, croakers & corbina, that most of us are looking for. A couple of guitar fish in the mix also. This has been the same pattern as last year, great action starting mid June into all of July then goes dead all of August up to mid September. Then fishing got good again into November; hope this repeats. Many heavy salad days, very warm water & disappearing sand crabs have all contributed to the annual August malaise. But it's enjoyable just to get out and looking forward to some good fishing days ahead next couple of months. Hope the same for you and all surf anglers.

It's good to hear from you, PK. Thanks for the optimistic prognostication on upcoming fish trends!

[Everydog]

... 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 fishing... especially so early in the mornings, everyone is just happy to be at the beach and enjoying the waves, sand, sun, and fresh ocean air. This is my 20th year living in San Diego and I still pinch myself that I get to call this place home.

I'm happy to see I am not the only one who is taking the relaxation and the socializing to heart. I work hard at fishing sometimes, and a more chilled approach is often better. The father of a Vietnamese-American family, I sometimes give fish, just sent me a picture of the lunch he made from some of this morning's catch. That made a great day better.

[Mike A]

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.

[HK_Supermarket]

lots of bait fish in mission bay too. might be that time to switch from sand crabs to artificial. sand crab beds seem less abudant than they were in previous months.