A Fresh Perspective: My Mission to Rediscover Surf Fishing

Looking back, learning how to go surf fishing provided some of the fondest memories I have to this day. Choosing to pick it up as a hobby has proven to be one of my most fulfilling decisions I’ve made. Seven years later, some 500 sessions and over 2000 hours logged on the sand, is it crazy to say I’ve just scratched the surface?

Okay, maybe I’ve done a little more than “scratched the surface”. When it comes to the Carolina rig and fishing with sand crabs or mussel meat or Fishbites or… (the list goes on), I’ve got some experience under my belt. Shark fishing? A similar level of experience. Targeting halibut? I’m getting there.

How many styles of surf fishing are there in So Cal?

The truth is, there’s so much more to surf fishing than what I’ve covered. It’s all been right in front of me for the past seven years, but for whatever reason, I’m just getting the itch to branch out now. To lay things out for you guys, within the realm of So Cal surf fishing, you can fish all of the following styles:

• C-rig for corbina, croaker, etc. (commonly referred to as “light tackle”)
• Shark Fishing for leopards, soupfin, sevengill and more
• Lure fishing for halibut
• Lure fishing for white seabass
• Bait fishing for calico, opaleye, sheephead, and a million other species
• Lure fishing for calico
• Fly fishing for corbina, croaker, perch etc.
• Fly fishing for leopard sharks

And these are just the styles that I can think of at the moment. I’m likely forgetting a couple, not to mention the idea that some styles have yet to have been discovered. Call me unrealistic, but I think it’s possible to target yellowtail in the surf. I’ve seen them cruising before and you see it done just a few hundred miles south of us all the time.

Of the styles listed above, I’ve figured out the first three decently well (with the first two being much more solidified). Numbers 4, 5, and 6 are the styles that I’ll be slowly branching out to in the years to come.

Enjoying the Journey

For every angler out there, whether you’ve solidified your foundation for surf fishing or you’re just now stepping into the game, if there’s one thing I can recommend to you, it’s this: Enjoy the journey. What’s the journey? It’s relative to/for everyone, but to be generally specific (I know that’s an oxymoron), it’s the process of learning and experiencing new things.

It’s easy to rush through things without stepping back and reflecting on the process. I look back now and wouldn’t change a thing about how my learning journey unraveled. While I didn’t have a resource like this website, I did have a lot of time and a couple buddies to bounce ideas off of. I enjoyed every moment of the learning process.

New species after new species and personal best after personal best, the first few years of surf fishing are jam-packed with excitement. The craziest part? While the new species and personal bests slow a little bit as the years go by, they certainly don’t stop. Even crazier? You can start all over again whenever you’re ready. This is where I get to my point… I’m ready.

Learning How to Fish the Surf All Over Again

This past year, like every other year, offered a myriad of learning opportunities. For whatever reason, this year sparked something different in my surf fishing interests. Whether it was the people I met, some of the fish that I’ve lost, or something else altogether, I’m convinced and committed to giving this new style of surf fishing a try. My mission? I’m going to catch a white seabass.

From the little knowledge I have about them, I understand that I’m a little late in the season this year, but whether I can make the window this year or I have to wait next isn’t really important to me. I’ve just started this new journey and I’m enjoying literally every moment of it. I’ve been skunked 5 times now and I absolutely love it. If it all came so easy, would it really be that meaningful and fulfilling in the end? Probably not.

I think with learning new things, the most discouraging factor (for me) can be not knowing for certain whether I’m on the right track or not. It’s a lot easier when someone just tells you or shows you exactly what to do, where to go, and how to do it. But, by shortening that process, your missing out on a whole lot. If you step back and take a long look, you might realize that you’re shortening (quite possibly) the most exciting part of fishing.

Fishing Isn’t Just About Catching Fish

I know I used this quote in one of my last articles, but it’s message is so powerful:

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau

I’ve fished over a hundred times this year. I’ve definitely had a few awesome sessions in terms of productivity this year. But, when I step back and reflect upon the season, the most memorable and influential day of fishing I’ve had this year was a skunk.

My Mission to Catch a White Seabass

It was my 3rd time targeting white seabass: I’m out there, trying a new spot with new lures and a new mindset altogether. The surf is mellow and gorgeous, rolling over some hard structure as quiet and calm fills the void between small sets. The sky (although it’s only 5 o’clock) is setting itself up for a top 5 sunset of the season. I’ve been throwing my lure for an hour already with no success, but I’ve already fallen in love with the new spot.

Just as I’m starting to lose the little confidence and expectation I have, I continue retrieving my lure over a nice piece of structure and just before it gets to my feet, I see a trailer. It’s about 20-inches long, lighter in color with a yellow tinge in its tail. It’s streamline in shape and I see some very faded darker coloration in the form of vertical stripes on it’s side as it turns away from my bait and swims off.

That’s it. I’ll be back. It doesn’t matter if I don’t catch anything the next 10 times I come here. I’ll be back, I promise. And, I’ll keep coming back. That’s the part of the journey I don’t want to skip over… that’s just one little piece of the journey that I’ll remember as I go.

I don’t know how long it’ll take to get that first one, but I do know it will happen. I’ll be trying lots of new lures and other gear as I form my own opinion on the process and tactics.

Surf Update

* Important update: Since I’ll be branching out into this new endeavor, I will likely be reviewing a lot of different concepts, tactics and gear so if you’re subscribed, check your email for periodic Wednesday/Thursday post notifications or just check the blog a couple times a week as new posts will always be there. The Sunday posts will stay the same (as always) but since there will be a little bit of irregularity or unexpected additional posts, make sure to check your spam/trash in your email as Id expect many of these new notifications to go there (for whatever reason that may be).

I won’t spend a whole lot of time on the surf report and forecast but I’ll have you know that the bite was better this week than last. The water temp also recovered dramatically quickly as we’re back to our 68-degree Fahrenheit range. For the forecast, we’ve got some long-period SSW swell coming which will lead to high surf from Monday through Wednesday with the peak being Tuesday. I would avoid the early portion of this week and fish Thursday-Sunday.

Recommended Gear and Tackle:

• Rod: Okuma Celilo (8’6″ MA) or the Okuma SST (8’6″ MA)
• Reel: Penn Battle II or III 4000 series
• Mainline: 15-pound monofilament
• For Bait: Carolina Rig:
  • Leader Line: 15-pound fluorocarbon
  • Swivels: 15-19mm barrel swivels
  • Hooks: size #2 or #4 owner mosquito hooks
  • Weights: 1-oz egg weight
  • Beads: 8mm fishing beads
• For Lures: Lucky Craft FM 110 and Shimano WM 115 SP
• Other best surf fishing rods and best surf fishing reels