Finally hitting the water again

[TheFrood]

So I've been watching lots of fishing channels on YouTube and it made me realize how much I have missed it... so
I'm checking the gear this week and will be hitting the waves this weekend. I've never actually surf-fished south of
Point Conception (haven't wet a line since moving to the high desert at the end of 2015) so was wanted to get some
feedback on the following tentative plan...

Will be leaving Moreno Valley about 3am on Sat Morning and hope to drop a sabiki off of Oceanside pier to make some bait.
Will then progress north stopping where the whim strikes me along the beaches to hopefully target hali's, rockfish, and perch
(although croaker and others can be caught from shore here... any recommendations? I'm not really conversant with the
best fish to target here... Which southern CA species are your favorite to eat?)
Will work my way north to eventually wind up finishing the day on the jetty in Dana Point harbor jetty or the harbor pier to
target .??? Not sure what is there.

Any advice or suggestions (or recommendations which GULP works best) would be appreciated!

Thanks

Scott

 

[evanluck]

Sounds like a good plan. Maybe try some gulp sand worms or live lug worms in case bigger fish are harder to find! Glad you are back!

 

[MisterT]

Size 4 or 6 hook and shrimp.

Gulp Sand Worm for inshore. I do like the Gulp Smelt as well.

 

[TheFrood]

Thanks! Will go pick some up today if they are available. Don't think I have any left (and if I do, they've been sitting in the gulp "restore"
bucket for about 8 years now).

After looking at my plans and considering fuel costs I'm likely going to spend the day up around Doheny and the harbor in Dana Point...
May venture down to the pier either early or late before starting the long drive home.

 

[fish-ninja]

Like GULP worms for yellowfin croakers and surfperches as well. For hallie, I'd resort to lure casting if fishing from surf. Check out this video by Benjie Kim for so cal hali lure fishing (

). Pierfishing for halibut is actually as good with fluke or livebaits than surf imho. Best of luck to you and looking forward to your report!

 

[TheFrood]

Got a late start and hit traffic so my 70 minute drive turned into about 140 minutes. With a quick stop at Hogans Bait & Tackle I finally got to Doheny around noon.

Fished off and on until about 7:45, switching between a Gulp grub or sandworm on a carolina rig or a high-low with a Gulp sandcrab, fluke. Only caught one small barred surf perch on the carolina rig.

One thing odd about Doheny is that after a wave breaks and the surf is going out, it sounds like popcorn popping or something simliar... Took me a while to figure out what it was. Since there isn't a lot of surface sand on the beach the pebbles bounce around and collide with each other every time a wave breaks, and the sound is millions of pebbles bouncing around and colliding with one another. Very interesting effect. The pebbles all look like they have been through the first couple of steps in a rock tumbler they are so smooth.

All in all a good day despite not being on the fish. Will definitely be back somewhere. I had forgotten how much fun it was, and next time I will likely try closer to the jetty on the beach side outside the harbor or perhaps the jetty itself.

 

[fish-ninja]

Got a late start and hit traffic so my 70 minute drive turned into about 140 minutes. With a quick stop at Hogans Bait & Tackle I finally got to Doheny around noon. ...

I hate that happens to me. It is unavoidable but is a pain. Very neat of what you described on the pebbles. Thanks for your report on that. Looking at the map, I see you are very close to Lake Perris. I hear that is a top notch bass fishery and we are in crappie season still. When traffic is bad, perhaps you can quench your fishing thirst in the fresh waters?

 

[TheFrood]

I hate that happens to me. It is unavoidable but is a pain. Very neat of what you described on the pebbles. Thanks for your report on that. Looking at the map, I see you are very close to Lake Perris. I hear that is a top notch bass fishery and we are in crappie season still. When traffic is bad, perhaps you can quench your fishing thirst in the fresh waters?

Will consider it with the state park pass I bought at the beach... but during the summer months Lake Perris is more like a large sewage treatment pond than anything you would want to swim in... It gets absolutely insanely crowded, with all the sandy beaches, and even a lot of the grassy areas, fully lined with people's towels, ice chests, etc...

I will likely hit up Jenks Lake part way up the mountain towards big-bear though. Much smaller, less developed, and less crowded I really prefer saltwater fishing though. I Really really need to find a job that is closer to the ocean (so that I have an excuse to move closer to the sea