Best bait for surf fishing in San Diego? ?

Question

What's the best bait to use for surf fishing?

Answer 1

Thid time of year, you may be able to easily catch "sand crabs" which are small shrimp like shellfish that live in the interidal zone in the beach sand.  They are really easy to catch with your hands when the tide is going out, you can spot the sand crab beds by watching for their antennaes sticking out as a wave recedes.  Sand crabs are really good bait for corbina and several other species.

If you want to go for bigger fish, you can get a "ghost shrimp pump" at one of the local tackle stores or make your own.  (instructions can be found at www.sdfish.com if you search the forums using "ghost shrimp" as the search term).  The best place to get ghost shrimp is Dog Beach (northernmost Ocean Beach by the Mission Bay jetty).  

If you want to try for leopard sharks (size limit 36'') the best bait is chopped up pieces of octopus.  You can buy such bait cheap at the Japanese supermarket, Mitsua, just West of the 163 off the Balboa Exit, take a left at the first light and then turn right into the strip mall parking lot.

When I used to fish in San Diego, my favorite place to surf fish was Black's Beach (watch out for the nudists - be careful casting).  To get to Black's, people have to either park at La Jolla Shores and walk North, or park at Torrey Pines and walk South (or park at the Gliderport and scramble down the cliffs).  The fact that Black's was more difficult to access meant less fishing pressure and better fishing for those willing to take the time and effort to hike in.

If you are interested in halibut, I reccomend just North of Torrey Pines near Lifeguard Tower 17, and I used to use a spoon instead of bait.  I caught some very nice halibut there.

Surf fishing this time of year is a lot of fun, when the fishing slows, you can always jump into the surf, or walk around the beach checking out the eye candy.

Answer 2

for surf species: cobina, croaker and perch, use sand crabs, small swim baits and plastic curley tail grubs. (pink and or orange should be a represented with a little bit of color in the articials)

For sharks use clams, For halibut (use the small perch you caught with the small swimtails), and also use large swimbaits, large grubs and even live grunion. For all of it frozen chovies work well. (it's just so hard to keep them on the hook when casting a mile)

Answer 3

The best bait for surf fishing are sand crabs.. Get a bucket, fill it with sand and water, go down to the waves and dig after a wave.  Filter the sand between your fingers and put the crabs in the bucket.. you now have live bait and it's free.  When you put the crab on the hook be sure to go through the back so it won't wiggle off. This time of year the crabs are real big so you should have good luck.. You will be sure to catch a lot of perch..