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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | Seems like the ocean destination threads are popping up and it got me thinking about my trip to California this coming summer. I'll be traveling up the coast from San Diego to San Francisco in July. What kind of shore fishing could I get into traveling up the coast, over the course of a week? | |
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| used to catch halibut in mission bay off the shore. Dixon lake has enormous bass | |
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Posts: 21
| Check www.wonews.com for the surf fishing report. Its on the first page and comes out weekly. Places to fish Solano Beach, Dana Point, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Bolsa Chica Beach, Malibu and Santa Barbara. San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River are some of the places to fish in Northern California. | |
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Posts: 24
| In San Diego there is good beach fishing from shore on Coronado Island and you'll be able to find some water that isn't loaded with surfers and other beachgoers. Surfperch, corbina and croaker can be had on 2" Berkley Gulp sand eels in motor oil color fished on a jig head using medium to light spinning tackle with 8-10lb test. Use whatever size jig you need to stay close to the bottom, 1/4 to 1/16 oz will usually do. Fish are keyed to the tides. Usually an hour or two either side of a high or low tide is best. High tide the fish get back into the areas that were unavailable for 6 hours, and low tide you get to see the beach structure, troughs, holes and rips (foam line heading out to sea) where the water drains back after running off the beach. All beaches are not created equal. Find the structure and current seams and you'll find fish. If the high or low tide corresponds with low light, dawn or dusk, all the better. And if you see birds crashing into the water, get there fast and start casting.
In San Diego you can also fish Mission Bay or San Diego Bay. Seaforth rents small 12' skiffs with 10hp motors for about $60 for a half day. Mission Bay is the smaller more protected water and if you can time your rental to correspond with an incoming or out going tide when the current is moving the fishing can be quite good for 12-15" calico bass, small bonita and mackerel. Medium light spinning gear and small jigs make for good sport. The water is usually pretty clear so you'll be able to see the weed beds and other structure. And of course current seams around bridge abutments and other man made objects are great. San Diego Bay has the same rental operation but the water is bigger with larger boats and more boat traffic. That said, the fish are generally larger and there are some other species mixed in as well. The Mission Bay skiff rental is probably your surest chance for some good DIY fishing in San Diego.
In the Monterey area in July the striper fishing can be good along Marina State beach. It is a long desolate strip of sand beach with both stripers and surf perch. For stripers you'll want a longer heavier spinning outfit (9-11" feet best, 6-7ft will do; spinning so you have the greatest line retrieve and farthest casting, unless you're running a baitcaster like a Curado or Tranx; line straight 20lb mono or 20lb mono leader to braid) to cast out past the breakers. In my experience low light is preferred, and dawn is generally best because the wind is down, but evening is good and the middle of the day can be ok depending on the tide. Again, tides can be key, two hours around the high and two hours around the low are best, but light is generally more important for beach stripers in my experience. For stripers a 2-3 oz white bucktail jig with a rubber curly tail (Hareraiser Jig) is the standby. Chrome Krocodile style spoons in 2-3 ounce are also very good. Just cast and retrieve and keep moving down the beach casting as you work from from hole to hole. If you fish a low tide you should be able to easily read the beach structure, holes, troughs and rips. When you see foam lines and deeper holes indicating the rip give those spots a few extra casts and then keep moving. If you want put a trailer such as a small 2" jig with a grub off your spoon and you can often take a surf perch while fishing for stripers. I usually don't go lighter than 20lb between the spoon and jig so that tangles are kept to a minimum by the stiffer mono. Topwater for stripers is also possible. Large pencil poppers are the norm on the West Coast, but I have found that some musky baits are more efficient to fish. A Dahlberg Whopper Plopper, Poe's Awaker or Topraider can cover water more quickly, give off more sound and the strikes are explosive. Cast your prop bait so that you can retrieve it down the face of the wave as if you were surfing it. The stripers surf inside the wave and vacuum up whatever intersects their path. It is thrilling to see a dark shape appear in the curling wave and then smash your lure.
Just south of SF, Linda Mar beach and Mussel Rock near the town of Pacifica are also good beaches for striper. In SF Ocean Beach is also good. All the same tips apply.
Wind will be your greatest enemy, with loose grass and floating seaweed running a close second if there has been a recent storm to rip it loose.
Like musky fishing, striper fishing in the Pacific Ocean involves lots of casting for few or no fish, but when you do get one it's worth every bit of hard work and occasionally it is a monster.
And lastly, the Pacific Ocean will kill you if you don't pay attention. Do not turn you back on it or get distracted while near or in the water when rigging, getting untangled or landing a fish. Before you approach the beach, especially the beaches in northern California take 10 minutes to watch the waves and see how the sets are rolling into the shore.
In Southern California in July the water temps will allow wet wading and the water will feel quite nice on a warm day, but the waves and rip can still carry you out to sea. In Northern California the water in July will be somewhere around 55 degrees and can quickly turn you hypothermic without a wetsuit.
Good luck and stay safe.
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | Great stuff...thank you! Cut and paste that into my notes.
Steve | |
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California coast fishing options