Just moved to Los Angeles from NC. Used to do alot of surf fishing at Cape Hatteras in the winter for big drums, strippers and blue fish. I have several large rods (12' and 14') also have a couple of nice Tica's in the 8' range. I need help in finding some local surf fishing spots. Also technique and type of fish to expect would be helpful.

People pretty much target a species and go for it.

Pick it: Sharks and rays, Halibut, perch, corbina or bass.
That is what you catch in the surf here. Once you have decided do a search for techniques


Are you after sport/exercise or food?

Most of the serious shore fishers will choose artificial baits.
Some choices: swim baits, crank baits, flies, grubs, in some cases poppers.

If your just looking to wet a line...........
Set up anywhere with your sand spike and put on some clam, squid or mussel and wait for something to start pulling.

OR>>>>Try one of the half day boats, there is some good action right now.

I like the sport of it more than anything, although a good halibut would be nice to put in the freezer. I have been spoiled fishing in NC. Each November, me and 6 of my buddies would take our Suburbans down to the outerbanks and fish for a week. It's nice when you can drive up and down the beach at low tide looking for troughs. I like fishing with artificals and cut bait. I would really like to meet some fellow surf fishermen. Where are some good spots that I can meet surf fishers? Oh, what is a corbina. I see that species posted alot out here. We have a cobia on the east coast. I guess its not the same fish.

Corbina (aka Corbs, beanies, grey ghosts) are similar to Redfish in general body shape but a little longer per width & height. They also don't get very big. A 5#er is a trophy to most people. They are generally very spooky (think bonefish)and love the shallow surf, feeding on sand-crabs. They are generally fished for with light weight freshwater Bass type rods.
The gear you have sounds like it might be better suited to White Sea Bass (WSB). They aren't actually a Bass but a Croaker, similar to the Corbina but with a upper size limit that is BIG. The World Record for them is something in the range of 80#. Most surf caught fish are around 10# though. They love Squid and will eat white iron (Drone jigs in East coast speak?). In my experience they rarely are in actual surf areas.

Tight lines,
Wade

Thanks for the info Wade. Where does everyone out here surf fish? In all the beaches I have been to out here, I have never seen one surf fisherman. I would enjoy hooking up with someone and going fishing. I can share some of the techniques we use out at Hatteras. I don't know if they would apply out here. I have seen some people posting shark fishing. I think some of my big rods may suit me well to that type of fishing. I also have some light tackle rods that I use when we fish for grey and speckled trout. We typically use a green or greenish style grub on a 1/4 oz. red head jig. From what I have read, it sounds like your swimbait tactics.

Herez a couple of good links.

http://www.hookupsportfishing.com/articles.php?articleid=002

http://www.hookupsportfishing.com/articles.php?articleid=001

http://www.hookupsportfishing.com/fishingbasics.php?articleid=006

Hope these help.

-Austin

Sounds like you've done some research and are starting to figure things out for yourself.
The big rods should do fine for sharks and rays. In some of the bays and on calmer beaches Bat Rays can be a kick in the pants. They rarely jump but will take off on runs that will have your drag singing. A whole California Squid fished with a slider rig on the bottom will get you bit. Look for calmer water close to a channel. Steel cable isn't really necessary if you use 30# or heavier mono for your leader. This will also catch Leopard Sharks and Sand Sharks.
Your grub/jighead set-up sounds fine for our Halibut and a variety of other fish around here. If you think of Hali's as Summer Flounder that can get a lot bigger, that should give you a place to start.
Tight lines,
Wade

Check out the BigHammer website under techniques for some surf and shore info. Smaller fish than you are used to for the most part.

http://www.bighammerlures.com/techniques/index.html


You might also buy the book Saltwater Fishing in California by Ron Kovach, a little out of date, but it has good material in it on surf and other types of fishing.

Sorry to hear about the size of the fish out hear but its better than not surf fishing at all. I hear you guys catch sizable sharks out hear from the surf from time to time. Sounds like fun. I have caught sharks from the point at Cape Hatteras and it does give a good fight but puts nothing in the cooler. We mostly catch and release except for what we want to eat that night back at camp. Usually, its hamburgers or steak, but occasionally we catch some red drum and have blackened red fish.

If you want to check out how we do it back on the Outer Banks of NC, check out this web site. www.reddrumtackle.com

This store is at Cape Hatteras and they always have the freshest baits.

Tyson,

Welcome to SoCal. I was raised in Virginia and use to fish the Outer Banks quite a few times a year. My folks use to own a piece of property about a 1/2 mile from Red Drum Tackle Shop. I've had some epic trips pulling in big Blues, Red Drum and Stripers up and down that coast from the surf. Tons of fun. I used to have a 4X4 and would love driving down the beaches looking for cuts and breaking birds and fish.

I miss the surf fishing back there in MD, VA & NC but I really enjoy the fact that I can almost fish every weekend of the year out here in SoCal. I love surf fishing for Barred Surf Perch and Corbina in SoCal, but to really get into the comparable big fish catches the you can experience from the surf in NC, you need get off the beach and into a boat out here in SoCal.

You can tell I'm an East Coaster by the name of my moniker and my 15ft skiff.
http://www.yourfishpictures.com/data/500/85Bug_Pic_1-7-2004-med.jpg

Send me a PM with your contact info and I'll call you and give you some detail info on what I know about fishing the surf and other areas around here. HOOK-UP!!