Fishing gear for the big one......

Pandas can eat......

I use a 8-10 foot pole and a large spinning reel with 250-300 yards of 20 pound test line.

I like the medium to large (1-3 oz) Korcodile lures, and so do White Sea Bass and Halibut

I also use the rubber "scampi" lures in variuos colors White Sea Bass seem to like oranges, pinks, and whites. Halibuts like greens and browns....but other colors may work too.

You can also just cast out from the beach with a 4oz weight and a couple of hooks with a mussel, limpet, or sand crab and go for perch, croakers, and corvina...and maybey a sand shark or stingray.

Best fishing times varies from day to day and is dependent on the tide. However, when going for croakers using bait, anytime is good, I can usually catch 1 fish per cast in the deep pools below cliffs where the waves crash. Sometimes they are <6", but hey, a fish is a fish (Yes, I let the little ones go, I don't like bones).

Stop by

Some previous trophies

T de B's post is good....

....but geared for surffishing for "meat" fish. Catching them off the beach is rare, to say the least.

For continuous fun on the Pacific side, just get yourselfa 6-8 foot spinning outfit with 12 lb. test. Put a 1 oz sliding sinker above a barrel swivel and tie a 3 foot leader of 6 lb fluorocarborn onto the other end of the barrel swivel. Now tie a #8 hook (or so) onto the fluorocarbon and dig up whole sand crabs (aka fleas) in the surf line and hook one on, whole. This will catch yellowfin croaker, barred surf perch, corbina and the occasional bass and halibut.

You dont really have to cast out that far. Look for areas where waves appear to lose their shape as the head to shore.....that is usually a deeper trough of water where fish will hang. Try and drag the bait through there.

Also very effective, are little 2 inch plastic grubs in root beer color on the same setup.

Just walk the beach making occasional casts until you locate fish. You will have many days where it is a fish (or bite) for every cast.

I'll let someone else answer the panda fishing question as I haven't targeted them since my boyhood days in Mongolia.....these were Mountain Pandas that were quite finicky feeders and spooked easily.

[Edited on 7-12-2005 by Hook]

and...............

For surf fishing I use a #4 or #2 hook, helps in not catching too many small fry.

As for catching Halibut and White Sea Bass I have caught many from the rocky points off the beach, just cast your lure out - but be caerful of snags. Also don't ever think the water is too shallow for halibut, I have seen and caught large ones in 2-3 feet of water. My friend who also spearfishes for the halibut, can also attest to the shallow water loving halibut, he does not come out of the water until his ample stomach scrapes the bottom

I object

These surf perch that are so prolific on Baja's northern Pacific coast can provide great fun for kids who don't yet have the patience for the big ones. They're totally like the bluegill/panfish that many of us first caught on fishing trips with our fathers;easy to catch and abundant. They taste pretty good dipped in cracker crumbs and a little beer and grilled. fish tacos!
The perch are small so most freshwater fishing gear will work on them. I like to use a 7wt fly rod with an 8lb tippet. The wind is often a b!tch but cast are usually less than 30 ft, so the 7wt can get the weighted fly in range.

Thank you all 4 the....

One thing I feel is NOT necessary

is to go out and purchase an expensive 9 foot+ surf pole. You simply do not need distance on the Pacific side to have fun. The east coast (of the US) is a different story.

Find a used 7-8 foot spinning outfit somewhere, if you aren't comfortable with a conventional reel (cranking handle along the same axis as the spool). I prefer a conventional reel because it is much less subject to line trouble ONCE YOU GET THE HANG OF CASTING THEM. Conventional reels today have adjustable anti-backlash controls that can remove much of the "thumbing" of the spool during the cast. They also have much better drag systems in case you hook a beast.

Spinners continually twist the line as a matter of how they retrieve line. No bueno! It will eventually cause loops in pretty short order. Yes, they can probably outcast a conventional in distance......but distance is not as important as reading the surfline to predict structure of the bottom.

I am no fan of casting squid strips or clams or bloodworms out into the surf and sticking the pole in a holder and waiting. Very boring unless you are on the beach at Malibu or Salt Creek where the scenery around you may warrant this. Use a sliding sinker and keep your bait moving through the surf zone until you find the right conditions. Walk the shoreline, beachcombing and looking for sand crabs and getting exercise and staying cool near the water.

I'll be bringing some basic surf rigs with me to try at La Bocana this weekend. Should be good if I can find some sand crabs.

[Edited on 7-18-2005 by Hook]

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