BajaNomad - Surf and shore bait

Surf and shore bait

Sharksbaja - 4-22-2007 at 02:50 PM

I've always tried to find clams on the outgoing tide. Nothing better for local catch. Although many times I've brought squid, they don't have very good legs and have to use it up the first week or less. I've never had much luck with lures or jigs in the surfline. Could be because I love surf and shore fishing with bait.
Anyhoo, I've tried lots of odd things for bait. I've had good luck on many interesting creatures. Limpets and snails work nicely as do small crabs incliuding hermits and the small rock varieties. By far the best baits are shrimp, clams and squid.

Ever hear of a sea cucumber? Sure you have.They didn't work for me. :lol:

Urchin roe is hard to keep on the hook but if you have some cheesecloth or salmon egg net you can make a nice little presentation. I've tried cheddar cheese and Power Bait" but neither produced. I did get a hookup with something large on a couple small marshmallows but it took off with everything but the rod and reel.

What kind of bait have you tried?

Here in the NW lures work quite well for rockfishing but you tend to lose bait easily to those damn crabs. :lol:

[Edited on 4-22-2007 by Sharksbaja]

woody with a view - 4-22-2007 at 03:02 PM

we sometimes bring ghost shrimp that we pump in the San Diego Rivermouth. keep them cold and they last for days....

Taco de Baja - 4-22-2007 at 03:28 PM

I have always had luck with mussels.
Collect at low tide, keep in a bucket, change the water every so often.
All the surf fish love them.

Don Alley - 4-22-2007 at 04:05 PM

In California, I liked mussels. I had a sand crab trap for surf fishing. And there was a slough nearby full of crawdads; saltwater fish like crawdads.

Any kind of clam works, and limpets were OK too. There are perch that give live birth, squeeze a fat female and you have live bait, small and delicate but I've caught fish with them.

Weirdest bait I ever used: fishing for catfish in Stockton, I ran out of clams and someone suggested Ivory Soap. Ever tried to put a hook in soap? But it caught catfish.

Power bait...yep, great stuff, outfishes live bait. But I haven't caught much with it.

BajaWarrior - 4-22-2007 at 06:32 PM

I like squid for bait. It can be cut into strips and after poked onto the hook it can be wound around several times and re-poked so it doesn't come loose. Freezes well, in fact may get a little tougher and stinkier, the stink is what you want to attract the fish.

Mussels

Sharksbaja - 4-22-2007 at 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Alley
In California, I liked mussels. I had a sand crab trap for surf fishing. And there was a slough nearby full of crawdads; saltwater fish like crawdads.

Yep, mussels, only bait I used for years in SoCal. Although some of these babies were up to 10" long I never caught many calicos with them. I sure clobbered the barred surf perch and opaleye and myriad other fish tho. :yes:

I switched to squid only after the Vietnamese and Cambodians stripped all the local reefs of the fauna. Yes,even 2" abalone and welks! :mad:

I see the shells on the beaches near Mulege. I'll have to look around for the source.

btw, I found many unusual small pearls in some of the biggest ones.

DavidT - 4-22-2007 at 07:30 PM

Back in January a 12 year old boy on a boat in San Diego hooked a four foot mako. His bait, Gummy Bears.

jimgrms - 4-23-2007 at 06:26 AM

I use all that stuff plus cut bait ,and i have always had fun using castmasters anound thr rocks in san felipe use a casting float to keep from hanging up and the fish are small so close the barbs easier to release

Oso - 4-23-2007 at 07:53 AM

Many years ago, Earl Robitaille taught me the best standby bait for a long trip; dried and salted squid. Best place to buy=oriental markets. Split them and dry them in the sun. The heads may take longer. I like to pre-cut them in triangular pieces so they are ready for the hook. Layer them in salt, a tupperware container works well for this- a tight lid and well-dried, plenty of salt and it won't stink up the camper. A good supply will last months like that and once it's in the water it's almost as good as fresh. Works really well on Triggers and almost anything else.

Sharksbaja - 4-23-2007 at 12:31 PM

Thank you bear. Sounds like a great method. Will try!

Oso - 4-23-2007 at 01:31 PM

BTW, careful what you dry them ON. I left a hundred or so weird looking purple stains on the little white-washed curb between the pull-throughs at Malibu Sur. Luckily, the attendant wasn't upset- said they'd just whitewash over it.

Skipjack Joe - 4-23-2007 at 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Alley

Weirdest bait I ever used: fishing for catfish in Stockton, I ran out of clams and someone suggested Ivory Soap. Ever tried to put a hook in soap? But it caught catfish.

Great! You didn't even have to clean them after you brought them back.

pargo - 4-24-2007 at 01:45 PM

Don Alley is right on with the Berkeley Powerbait. The reb bloodworm color works best. Outfished live sandcrabs for the perch. They are somewhat pricey but they really last long and they stay on your hook real well, so you get your moneys worth. You don't have to use a full length of worm each time either. Just cut roughly inch long pieces at a time. 6lb test ideal, 8lbs tops. 1/4 oz. to 3/4oz sliding sinker depending on current strength. Instead of a swivel seperating your sinker from your leader, use a carolina rubber stopper and a bead. And the best hook for this method of surfishing IMHO is the Owner #6 light circle hook. Good luck and don't forget to check your tides as well.

Don Alley - 4-24-2007 at 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pargo
Don Alley is right on with the Berkeley Powerbait. The reb bloodworm color works best. Outfished live sandcrabs for the perch. They are somewhat pricey but they really last long and they stay on your hook real well, so you get your moneys worth. You don't have to use a full length of worm each time either. Just cut roughly inch long pieces at a time. 6lb test ideal, 8lbs tops. 1/4 oz. to 3/4oz sliding sinker depending on current strength. Instead of a swivel seperating your sinker from your leader, use a carolina rubber stopper and a bead. And the best hook for this method of surfishing IMHO is the Owner #6 light circle hook. Good luck and don't forget to check your tides as well.

Oops! I was being facetious; I only said "they outfish live bait" because it says so on the package. While I haven't used the red bloodworm, I have tried several others and they have not outfished live bait in my hands. :biggrin:

But then again, yesterday I fished with live mackeral and that didn't work either. :lol:

Anyway, this and the dried salted squid tips are great stuff, thanks guys!

Hook - 4-24-2007 at 02:33 PM

GULP!

Worms, mussels and fleas/crabs.

Mussels

Skipjack Joe - 4-24-2007 at 03:45 PM

... are about as good as anything that's not live.

The best way to fish mussels is to bait the gonads liberally all around the hook. Place the gonads of several individuals on the same hook. Most people use the lips (actually the mantle) because it stays on the hook real well. But the soft gonads will slowly disperse in the water creating a soup of egg matter that really turns them on. Chum the area with mussels. Hang the gob off a bobber. Doesn't work in the surf though. Mussels in the surf are no better than clams, limpets, or anything else as the water removes all the good stuff off the hook leaving only the lips.

All other suggestions are good.

Squid is best when absolutely fresh. Once it starts to smell it's value as bait goes waaaay down. Fish avoid it.

Cypress - 4-24-2007 at 04:30 PM

One good artificial bait is the "DOA". :bounce:

David K - 4-24-2007 at 05:47 PM

Mussels from Mission Bay were my dad's #1 choice for bait when surf fishing... Corbinas love them!

Then, on a hunch, we froze a bunch of grunion caught during one of those midnight grunion runs... took them down to Laguna Manuela's 'Variety Beach' and the Calico Bass and Croakers went crazy for it!

They stay on a hook a whole lot easier than the mussels did!

Peas!

Sharksbaja - 4-24-2007 at 05:55 PM

When I was a kid I watched with jaw agape as these black folks would pull in fish after fish using big fat peas!

: I never have tried them but I saw them time and time again catching descent fish with them. :smug:

Tommy A - 4-25-2007 at 02:06 AM

I always take some lucky lures also called lucky joes to throw into the surf . A good way to get bait fish and small perch.