Mission Beach 12/13
Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2025 10:41 am
Finally got back out to Mission Beach after last week’s king tides. Fished the outgoing tide from about 6:30 - 9:00. The water wasn’t super clean, with seaweed scattered on the shore and in the water. Thankfully, it wasn’t floating in huge clumps so I was able to avoid it pretty easily.
As for the fish, lots were caught. All perch, maybe 10 in total. Unlike the past month or so they tended to be on the smaller side, although that’s mostly relative to how been they’ve been lately. They sure were fighting hard, again relatively speaking, which made them fun to pull in today.
I used dried lugworms for the first time and they were great! I was alternating between them and mussels and both were equally effective. I would say the fish were caught on a 50/50 split between the two baits. The lugworms were nice because they’re a lot cleaner and easier to hook, they didn’t break as easily (was catching more than one fish per worm), and I was getting better hooksets in the sides of mouths, whereas the mussels tend to get caught much deeper for me. Can’t beat the convenience, either.
It’s nice to have a chance to try all these different baits and I’m certainly gathering quite the arsenal. The mussels and lugworms are much more effective than the salted clams and shrimp I’ve also been messing around with. The sand crabs seem to be the most effective overall, but they’re not available now so I can’t compare. Seems like they’re the consensus #1 surf bait, though. Gulp camos are nice in a pinch, and I certainly appreciate baits that are quick and easy to get in the water.
As for the fish, lots were caught. All perch, maybe 10 in total. Unlike the past month or so they tended to be on the smaller side, although that’s mostly relative to how been they’ve been lately. They sure were fighting hard, again relatively speaking, which made them fun to pull in today.
I used dried lugworms for the first time and they were great! I was alternating between them and mussels and both were equally effective. I would say the fish were caught on a 50/50 split between the two baits. The lugworms were nice because they’re a lot cleaner and easier to hook, they didn’t break as easily (was catching more than one fish per worm), and I was getting better hooksets in the sides of mouths, whereas the mussels tend to get caught much deeper for me. Can’t beat the convenience, either.
It’s nice to have a chance to try all these different baits and I’m certainly gathering quite the arsenal. The mussels and lugworms are much more effective than the salted clams and shrimp I’ve also been messing around with. The sand crabs seem to be the most effective overall, but they’re not available now so I can’t compare. Seems like they’re the consensus #1 surf bait, though. Gulp camos are nice in a pinch, and I certainly appreciate baits that are quick and easy to get in the water.