San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

I’ve been spending my early mornings chasing the silver ghosts on ultra light. My failure has been great with only seeing a couple shallow but not connecting to any. I’ve been fishing George’s, seaside, and Del Mar with no luck so far. I’m really trying to scratch this fish off, any tips or recommendations are appreciated.

If you're seeing them, you're probably in the right spots. That being said, if you aren't landing anything, you need to change your presentation or move. I've been catching them pretty regularly this season, but not by sight fishing. I've never been good at spotting and catching them. I did catch a few pancakes this year sight fishing though. What's worked for me is finding sand crab beds as wave goes out and then casting right on top of that, right around where brown wash meets the deeper blue clear water (trough or hole). I keep very light tension and let my line go in and out with the waves.

This most recent Friday, my buddy and I caught a half-dozen corbina along with surf perch, croakers (one spotfin), stingrays, and guitarfish, just by lobbing C-rigs with sand crabs out in the surf... Some of the corbina were caught pretty far out too.....Sand crabs. 1 oz weight 12 or 15 pound test.

We fished in the evening, focusing on the two hours before and two hours after high tide, approximately.

I either cast out and reel back slowly, sometimes while the current takes the C-rig north or south, or do what HK Supermarket said about letting the line out in controlled free spool until it's in the zone of a trough. If it doesn't get bit, I will hold at a good stopping point for a while, and that's caught some fish.

You will get some soon.

If you are willing to head North I can prolly put you on some Corbs sight casting, although I’ve had Leo’s and Stripers rush the Crabs and make me wish I was fishing a little heavier. I throw 6 pound mainline and 8 pound flourocarbon leader, from an hour before sunrise until the swimmers push us out. Next Grunion run starts Thursday and I have been fishing them religiously. No guarantees but my best trip this year yielded 28 Corbina for Three of us. I spent a lot of time on deckhand duty. I’m in Newport Beach.

They're right at your feet!

Neuroshima wrote: Sat Jul 26, 2025 12:31 pm They're right at your feet!

So true!

Bendo wrote: Sat Jul 26, 2025 8:46 pm

Neuroshima wrote: Sat Jul 26, 2025 12:31 pm They're right at your feet!

So true!

Eating the Sand Crabs kicked up by my feet….