Surf Fishing: Lures or C-Rig Best in the Winter?

Well, amongst So Cal’s cold season, the hot topic has been surf perch fishing. Last week, we talked about the perch bite and how it’s likely to heat up in the next month or so. Additionally, I’m predicting mussel meat to be one of the best baits for surfperch fishing in the short-term. Fishbites have been working too as some fellow fishermen have been having more success on them than I have lately.

But, as the bite really heats up, expect the bigger perch to be hitting on lures like Lucky Craft FM 110s. You might catch more fish using a C-rig with baits. It all comes down to quality vs quantity and of course the flow of the given day.

Next week, I should be publishing a comprehensive run down and overall report of the 2020 season and some visual representations (graphs) of species-by-species catches. For this week, here’s another report.

Surf Fishing Report: Last Week Before 2021

This last week of fishing continued in the trends we were expecting and it produced a couple of firsts of the Winter season. I fished early this week with Kyle on a rising tide with some really nice overall conditions. The surf was a true 1-2 feet this time and the water was clear with a temperature of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It was a chilly morning but it warmed up significantly. Here’s the report:

We step foot on the sand at 6:15 am and I’m rigged up and ready to go. To follow my own advice, I commit to “mussel meat over Lucky Craft” and it pays off early. While Kyle works the heck out of his LC, I chug along with my C-rig and within minutes, I get my first bite!

New Species

It’s always awesome when that first bite is a good one, and this one… this was solid. I set the hook and immediately, I realize my drag setting is a little loose because this thing was ripping line. I set it properly and it takes a couple more solid runs, but mostly side-to-side.

When you’ve fished the surf for a while, you start to gain familiarity with how certain species hit and how they fight. I like to think I’m pretty good at recognizing what type of fish I have prior to seeing it but realistically I’m never 100%. I remember saying out loud, “I don’t think it’s a perch, it’s fighting a bit differently.” When I finally work her onto the sand, I’m proven wrong, but still somewhat right. It is a perch, but it’s a species I’ve never caught before: a black surfperch. Taping in at 13.5″ regardless of size, it’s a Personal Best for me.

Quantity and Quality on Mussel Meat

I continue fishing and within the first 2 hours, I have three fish (1 black surfperch and 2 barred surfperch), all over 13″. An awesome morning so far and a little extra special as I’m trying out my new Penn Battle II 4000 series reel. I have to say, it’s pretty dang smooth so far. Still, the Penn Pursuit III 4000 is nearly unbeatable for the price, but the Battle has its perks for sure.

With two more fish under my belt, I decide to go take my sweatshirt, jacket and gloves off. I forgot to mention, along with Kyle, one of my other buddies is fishing today and both are working their Lucky Crafts with no results yet. If you’ve fished a lure in the surf before, you’ve likely experienced plenty of skunks (as have I), but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

As I’m up by our gear, I see Kyle set into something. It looks solid and he’s got that tell-tail posture that just screams “YUGE FISH”. I can see it take him on a couple runs as he’s pointing his rod to the fish, letting the fish take what it needs to take while working the fish in when he can. Before he even lands the fish, I grab my phone and the tape measure. It’s a halibut and it looks to be of legal size. We quickly get a measurement and it just breaks the legal mark! 22.5-inches and a pretty one at that.

Bottom Line

I ended with 4 perch on the day while Kyle got his one halibut and a perch. That said, as soon as I saw Kyle land his halibut, I switched over to Lucky Craft for the remainder of the day and caught nothing. On the other hand, Kyle switched to mussel and that’s what he got his perch on.

So, it’s pretty clear that mussel meat is the way to go right now while Lucky Craft is still a “quality” producer. A combination is the best way to see what’s biting but I would bet the next two weeks are best for mussel meat. Given what some of my buddies have been catching lately on Fishbites, I’ll be trying them a little more too.

Forecast Below

And just so you guys know, we’ve had a couple of new releases in the SFSC merch and tackle Shop. The SFSC embroidered trucker hat and visor have officially dropped after I tested the quality and am very pleased. The colors are even more vibrant than in the photo and I’d say it doesn’t do the finished product justice. And seriously, don’t forget about the UPF perch face shields (bottom right). Most gear takes about 7-12 days for shipping. Although Fishbites, shark rigs, and hoodies take 1-3 days.

As far as the forecast goes, we can expect some pretty tough conditions in the next couple weeks. We’ve got just a little bit of rain, but some really rough surf coming. Whether these conditions will affect the actual feeding of the fish is beyond me, but I’d be willing to bet the fishing will be a little tougher this week.