Have caught many of the species commonly found in these parts: barred surf perch and other perches, yellowfin croaker, white croaker, jack smelt, mackerel, bonita, opaleye, halibut (but I've never caught one big enough to keep as the law is 22 inches!), sea basses (unfortunately, none have been the required 12 inches to keep - I've never even seen someone catch the rare white sea bass which has a 28 inch limit!).
Have hooked rays and sharks and actually saw them at the end of my line near the surface of the water but in the end they were too large for my gear and broke the line.
I've seen others bring in barracudas (they have teeth!) but I've not tangled with one yet.
The illusive ones on my radar are the corbina and the spotfin croaker. I hear the spotfins are somewhat rare in comparison to its smaller cousins the yellowfin and the white croaker. I haven't seen one caught in quite some time but I am not out fishing all that often so that might not be saying much.
I hear the corbina is more abundant than the spotfins but extremely weary. These fish are known to feed by swimming right up to the beach. In fact, I have on occasion, while wading in the water with my rod felt fish hit my feet and it is mostly likely these critters. I've seen these sleek gray fish cruising in water less than a foot deep. Alas, I've never battled one.
So begins another summer in the hunt for the illusive corbina!
To see pictures of the corbina and other commonly caught fish in the surf, go here.
image source: http://www.scsurffishing.com/images/corbina.jpg
2 comments:
Me and a friend caught 11 of them. My first time at that secret spot. He told me before we started that the last time he fished that spot he caught 11. Strange coincidence or what? I ate one and have some more in the freezer. Pretty good pan fried but don't believe there that safe to eat. Used mussels, 3 oz, and 4-6? single hooks. Sure was a good time.
Ahhh! The gold ring of surf fishing! I have been fishing socal beaches since I was old enough to hold a pole. In my opinion : Location and conditions are the key to landing a Corbina.
Rocky sided bays with a outside reef structure and medium to coarse sand are the best. Less side current the better.
Curling wave patterns with quite surf between sets. This churns up the bottom and allows them time to cruise looking for food. Early dawn and morning is the norm. Look for foraging surf birds ( exspecialy Sand Pipers ) they feed on the same food sources as the Corbina. Local bait from location area is best, it's what thier expecting to find! Sand Carbs ( soft shell perferred ), Mussels, Scallops, Rock Worm or even Rock Crab meat will work.
As for the rigging! Hey to each his own! - Good Luck
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