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Fishing Tips

Piers

  • Lay your pole against the railing with only the last 10% over the edge. This will reduce the chance of a strong fish from pulling your pole over the edge.

Reels

  • Use a 2-5 knot to tie the line to the spool.

Bait fish

  • When trying to catch bait fish from high up
    • Drop your line down and raise up and down slowly. A size 3-6 sabiki is small enough to target smelt or sardines. Even better, use 3 hooks, by cutting off every other hook.
    • Wet 4 pieces of bread, mash together into ball. Form into long tube, wrap around top of net where net meets the rope.
  • When trying to catch bait fish from shore
    • Use a 32″ dip net, rest in water, throw bread on top, when bait fish swarm over, raise up.
    • Throw bread out, throw modified sabiki (size 3, 2-3 hooks) past it, then reel hooks through swarm.
  • Bait fish from dock
    • Put two cups of flower and wait till the water gets murky and see the bait fish attacking the flour then from above I swoop the with a fine mesh landing net.

Bait Tips

  • Live bait is usually the best.
  • The second best bait is whatever is around your feet. (mussels, ghost shrimp, worms, sand crabs)
    • Winter – clams, mussels, worms
    • Summer – sand crabs, mussels
  • Fish hit different baits every day.
  • Sand crabs come out of hibernation around 60 degrees (April-May)
  • Perch go for crabs on jetties during the winter (Dec-Mar)
  • 4.5 in paddle tail, 1/2 oz weight
  • Tide
    • Low tide – halibut
    • High tide – corbina

Locations

  • Mission Beach dredged, so all sand, better high tide, 2 hrs before to 2hrs after
  • South Carlsbad, not dredged, 1 hr after low tide to high tide.

Preparation Tips

  • Prepare rigs at home, not at the fishing spot. If you spend much of your time tying knots then you wont be fishing, or paying attention to your line that’s in the water.

Times of year

  • Winter –
  • Spring –
  • Summer –
  • Fall –

Times of day

  • Sunup – White seabass – jerk bait – 5am
  • 2hrs before/after low tide, 2hrs before/after high tide
  • Sundown

Surf

  • November surf is weaker, so use longer leader, 1/4 oz sinker
  • Summer surf is stronger, so use shorter leader, 1oz sinker
  • When surf fishing you really only cast out 12′ feet
  • Don’t let live worms touch fresh water.
  • Berkeley Gulp Camo Sand-worms work great
  • Lug worms, blood worms, frozen anchovies and sardines
  • If there’s a lot of seaweed, use a Texas rig
  • Jerk up rod with slow roll, 1, 2, 1

High/Low Tides

  • Clamming
  • Ghost Shrimp
  • Pier Fishing

Flat Tides

  • Kayaking