Having a November Slump? See what’s Biting in the Surf

November Surf Fishing Report 2020

In the last couple months, the surf fishing in So Cal has dipped in productivity. It’s no secret, November is a pretty tough month for surf fishing. But, that’s not to say it can’t offer some solid fishing.

Run Down of What I’ve Been Catching Lately

In the last month or so, whether with clients or alone, the average fish count per person per session has been about 2-3 fish in a 4-hour session. We’ve had one skunk and a couple 5-6 fish days (per person) but the average has been a meager 2-3.

The most frequently caught species has still been the yellowfin croaker while the next two most common catches were adult leopard sharks and barred surfperch. Leopard sharks were primarily in the last week of October and the perch bite has begun to pick up. We’ve still hooked a couple spotfin and corbina, but they’re getting very tough to come by. Halibut are beginning to bite too, but not as actively as perch.

The most productive bait has been mussel meat which is closely followed by fishbites EZ flea. In contrast, Lucky Craft FM 110s have started to pick up in productivity, but a Carolina rig with mussel meat or fishbites is still more productive in terms of quantity. I’ll be throwing together my usual year-end report at the end of the year, but here are some of the highlights and milestones we’ve hit within the last 30 days:

Over 100 Leopards on the Year

On October 27th, Surf Fishing In So Cal (myself, my clients, and a couple friends I’ve taken out for fun), landed its 100th adult shark. The standard I set for an “adult shark” was any shark at, or above 48 inches in length). I’m extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish thus far in 2020 and a big shoutout to all my clients as you all played a role. Just about every shark was caught on cut bait using my double-hook shark rig and using the set-ups outlined here.

Another Corvina from the Surf

Another corvina caught from the surf made for a pleasant surprise. I can’t take much credit for this one as my buddy, Kyle landed this nice 18″ toothy critter. This was caught on the trusty LC FM 110 lure.

Some Chunky Perch

The surfperch bite is just starting to heat up as November comes to an end. Just last week, clients Wes and Jeff each hooked up on some slabs! The first being a whopping 14.5″ and the second being 14″. These two fish were caught using fishbites EZ flea and mussel meat. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a solid photo of either of those 14+ inchers. Here’s a 13.5 incher landed just prior for reference.

Oh, the Sunsets

Even when November surf fishing isn’t terrific, the month brings many breath-taking sunsets like the one below. If you can’t find something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, head down to the beach and enjoy the beauty of nature. This one came out of nowhere as the sky turned from grey to pink in a matter of seconds.

Surf Report and Conditions Outlook

King Tides

We recently had a King Tide with some extreme highs and lows which didn’t bode well for me. I fished the extreme low tides last week which resulted in poor fishing for myself. The next set of King Tides is set to occur from December 13th-15th. I haven’t fished such tides enough to form an opinion on their effect on fishing. But, if you’ve got a spot that tends to be good at high or good at low, it might be worth trying when the high or low correlates to your preference.

Water Temp

It only takes one step into the water to realize the drop in water temp over the last month or two. The water temperature at this point (11/22/2020) has dropped to an average of 59-62 degrees across Southern California’s coastline. For the last 2 weeks, it’s somewhat stabilized there. Shoreline water temperatures in So Cal usually don’t dip much below 57 degrees Fahrenheit and should stay between 57-60 through winter. So, it’s safe to assume we won’t be seeing a drastic rise or fall in water temperature any time soon.

Surf

The surf is going to get a little rocky on Monday and continue into the early morning on Tuesday. After Tuesday, we should be experiencing fairly consistent, mild weather and surf. With that, we’ve already seen an increase in the barred surfperch bite. That bite should continue to be on the rise through March. The halibut fishing is just barely picking up and it should follow a similar line. This consistency in conditions could be exactly what we need to get the perch into a groove kicking off the season.

Seaweed

As noted in the seaweed forums, it appears that local beaches have begun to clear up. Usually around this time of year, if seaweed was going to die off, it already has. The seaweed that has died has begun its decomposition process either on land or deeper in the ocean. Bottom line, we should be seeing more clean conditions when it comes to seaweed.

Get out there and make sure you get to know which beaches are best for which styles of fishing. It’s only getting colder so make sure to get your waders and your very own SFSC heavy-weight hoodie!

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