BajaNomad

Fishing From Shore - Pacific Side

Festus - 3-13-2008 at 09:29 AM

Thanks to all you wonderful Nomads for the great feedback on my First Trip questions last week.

Questions for the fishing experts out there. My 11 year old son wants to try some fishing from shore (rocks or piers) while we are visiting Baja. Neither of us watch BassMasters or similar shows and our fishing experience and knowledge is somewhat limited. Fishing for Dumbies type responses would be most helpful. We do know how to rig a line. Equipment is basic fishing set-up with standard size poles. I would really appreciate some suggestions on the following areas:

1. Do we need a fishing license?
2. If yes, where is best place to get a license?
3. Bait or lure? Recommendations on bait and lures would be great.
4. What kind of fish can we expect to catch from shore...assuming we land anything.
5. Any suggestions for rigging the line (sinkers, line weight, etc.)?
6. Any other suggestions that might help an 11 year old land a fish in Baja.

Thanks!!

Bajamatic - 3-13-2008 at 09:42 AM

where in baja?

Shore Only

Garry - 3-13-2008 at 10:06 AM

No License required for anyone to fish from Shore

wilderone - 3-13-2008 at 10:31 AM

Surf fishing from shore requires a big long pole and a casting reel, one oz. weight. expect surf perch, bass, maybe sting rays. get some frozen squid or use some feather lures (or both). if you don't want to hold that pole, you need a rod holder that you stake in the sand. If you want to go off road a bit, try the jetty wall at Santa Rosallalita. Or the coves at Laguna Manuela. Or rocks north of Erendira. Be careful of the surf.

Taco de Baja - 3-13-2008 at 10:52 AM

On the west coast, I almost always use lures Krocodile (the big 4" ones) or leadhead Scampi (rootbeer, green, orange, white). You just have to watch for snags in rocks and kelp.

I use a long 11' Ugly Stick with a spinning reel that holds 300 yards of 25' test. The bigger the test, the better chance of getting out of snags. :). And the longer the pole the farther out you can get and the longer you can present the lure to the fish.

I sometimes use a smaller 7 foot pole with a small spinning reel, but only in quiet bays where I don’t need to cast far, and there it little chance for snags.

You can catch things line halibut, white sea bass, kelp and sand bass. Two years ago I caught a bunch of 6 pound Bonito, and a 20+ pound Yellowtail from the rocks. The Yellow was in 2 feet of water. Some of the larger halibut I have caught were in less than 3 feet of water. Find a quiet bay and cast out along a line of kelp.

You can also set up with a surf rig with a 4oz weight on the bottom of the line and a couple of #2 or #4 hooks above the weight on leaders and use mussel, sandcrabs, clams, limpets for bait....But, I think it's technically illegal for gringos to collect any of those baits.....Cast out just beyond where the waves are breaking, or from the rocks just cast out into a kelp free area off a rocky point. On the beach get a sand stake rod holder. It makes rebaiting, waiting for the bite, and taking out hooks a lot easier. Also get a pair of stainless steel needle nose pliers, some fish really swallow the hook. Also have a couple of 5-gallon buckets to store the bait, and your catch. A rag is also nice to wipe your hands of bait and fish slime....

In the surf you can catch things like croaker, corbina, perch, stingrays, sand sharks, and sometimes off the rocks you will get a sheephead.

Nothing like fresh BBQed fish :) Good luck!


Halibut with bacon and rosemary

Size doesnt matter that much

Hook - 3-13-2008 at 11:08 AM

The kid will do fine with a conventional spinning outfit with 6 lb test. Light action pole of around 7 feet is fine.

I'd rig it with a 1 oz sliding sinker above a barrel swivel and a 30 inch piece of fluorocarbon leader finishing with about a #8 baitholder type hook. Buy some of the little 3-4 inch curly tail grubs in root beer or smoke and thread them on the hook. Then have him cast into the surf as far as practical and do a super slow retrieve. If no nibbles (and they WILL be obvious) in 3-5 casts, move down the beach 25 yards and repeat as above. If he gets one one, he should do a STEADY BUT NOT FAST retrieve until he has it on shore. Dont let him let the line go slack for even a second.

Look for sand areas adjacent to rocks and look for areas in the surf where waves are forming on the outside, but suddenly stop forming and then reform on the inside, within his casting distance. That will be a hole that will likely be holding fish.

This is a surf casting technique, not one for off rocks or piers. Rocks can be VERY dangerous for youngsters on the Pacific side. The great thing about this is it encourages walking the shore and reading the surf rather than sitting on your duff and watching for a bite on a pole holder. I find that kind of fishing boring.

This same setup can be used for putting on sand crabs that you dig out of the surf, mussels you break off rocks or you can also pick up some Berkeley Gulp baits in worms (cut them up into thirds and thread) or sand flea imitations.

On this setup I have caught calico bass, barred surf perch (very abundant when you find them and great fun for a kid!), corbina, yellowfin croaker and even small halibut.

I caught a 13.5 inch calico a couple years ago that was maybe 20 feet from the shoreline. It was a combo of sand, rock and some eel grass in the area. Depth was about 2 feet of water.

[Edited on 3-13-2008 by Hook]

[Edited on 3-13-2008 by Hook]

Russ - 3-13-2008 at 11:21 AM

This is what I'd get to start out with:
6' to 7' spinning rod, medium size spinning reel spooled with 6 to 10 pound mono. Lightest line for the surf. 1oz. pyramid sinkers and 1oz. flat sinkers. Old spark plugs work well too. A couple packs of snelled (already tied) hooks sizes 4,6 & 8. Sand spikes are great for kids because they may loose interest fast if fish aren't bitting. Clams and muscles are great baits for the surf or rocks but squid will stay on much longer. Also a rag, small cutting board, knife & pliers. While surf fishing, if the waves are farther out than you can cast, don't worry about it. Some of the best fish are in the surf / white water. Don't go all out and buy expensive stuff to start out with. Once you're hooked you'll buy lots of stuff. The locals you fish with/around will have the right gear for the area. I know there will be a lot of differing advise here but this is what I started with and still use now. I used more lures today than bait but but the same weight gear. GOOD LUCK!

Size doesn't matter?

Sharksbaja - 3-13-2008 at 11:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook


I caught a 13.5 inch calico a couple years ago that was maybe 20 feet from the shoreline.

:lol:
Obviously!:lol:

Just joking Hook! Very good ideas and info guys. Best bet for kids is usually near the ends of a bay where sand turns to rocks, There will be a variety of fish along there. Make sure you fish at high tide or rising tide. Show kids how to clean your future fish(like my dad did:lol:).

Hook - 3-13-2008 at 11:41 AM

Good point on the rising tide, Sharks. That's so important, especially to take advantage of one that occurs in the early morning or late in the afternoon.

The size comment was about the need for a huge pole, not that necessary. And besides, what would turn an 11 year old off faster than having to deal with an 11 foot pole?

Diver - 3-13-2008 at 01:03 PM

My 2 cents;

Try your local Walmart for a Shakespear combo.
They may have a 6-7' rod and 15-25lb rod combo for $39-$50 spooled and ready to go. Plenty fine for an 11 year old (or my wife).

If you're driving south from San Fran consider a stop at Squidco, just off I-5 in Chula Vista/San Diego. They will have all the kroks, softies, leadheads, hooks, leaders etc that you may need at good prices. The place is also an experience that you/your son may enjoy. So much fishing gear in such a small place !!

And get some Berkely Gulp Alive Saltwater baits - mmmmgood.

.

Cypress - 3-13-2008 at 01:13 PM

Tide makes a BIG difference, fished with bait and lures north of Mulege this morn, covered about 4 miles. Nada!:no:

Martyman - 3-13-2008 at 01:13 PM

Hook;
Six lb test for surf fishing? Seems like you'd break off on any kelp or medium size fish. I use 20 lb.

ILikeMex - 3-13-2008 at 02:13 PM

Pleanty of these to have in the shore line. We picked up anchovies washed up on the beach for bait. You would get hook-up before you could click your reel over.








http://www.infractionskateboards.com/media/MVI_2111.AVI

Hook - 3-13-2008 at 02:28 PM

Yeah, 10-12 lb. is probably better for an 11 year old. but I'd still go with 6 lb fluorocarbon leader.

TonyC - 3-14-2008 at 10:35 AM

When your in :biggrin: Baja Norte stop in El Socorro. Fishing for perch, and corvina is great. I grew up fishing San Francisco, and San Mateo beachs for perch, salmon and stripers. I've never caught perch as big as what I've seen in the San Quintin area. Also nice small campsite right at the beach in El Socorro. It's about 15 miles south of San Quintin.

View from campsite in El Socorro:



Kelly, and son surfing, local boys:






Tight lines,

Tony (Vallejo)

Festus - 3-14-2008 at 12:44 PM

Thanks for all the excellent advice everyone! Now we have no excuses if we don't catch something. My son read all the responses and is really excited. The pics were great too!

Whistler - thank you for your very generous offer. We actually have a couple of 6'-7' rods with good reals so I think we are set. Besides, we are passing through LA on Easter Sunday and don't want to pull you away family.

Hook and Shark - your suggestions are perfect for my son. I might even get my two daughters (14 and 16) to cast a few as well.

TonyC - Since we are staying a couple nights in Sn Quintin we will definitely try out El Socorro.

Capt. George - 3-15-2008 at 04:48 AM

Whistler

Can you loan him a fly rod, that way we can be assured of protecting the fish stocks.

In that picture with all the surf casters, the one "without" the bent rod, is that you? No spinning rods available for the kid? I'll bet you're not gonna share your GK secrets!

hope you are well.........vikingo

Capt. George - 3-15-2008 at 09:30 AM

ya really know how to crush a guy! I think the calicos could smell Brooklyn on my squid baits.:no:

How are all the guys Danny, Denny etc? see you in the summer. Seen Danny and Hot Dog Mike in Ojos this past winter..they stopped by the house, Deborah:dudette: and I were very happy to see them again.

Skipjack Joe - 3-19-2008 at 03:59 PM

Looks like I'm a bit late on this thread so I'll add what's left:

1. As you look out you will see the quite water beyond the breakers and think you'd better cast out there to get the best fishing. That's a common mistake for beginners. The fish are in the whitewater. You will see that there is a zone after the big waves make their first impact and crash. A foamy area where the spent wave just rolls in. That's where the corbina, yellowfin croaker, and halibut will be. If you wade in after a wave has receded you won't need more than a 30 foot cast and that can be done with a very average rod.

2. Someone mentioned a bucket. Not much of a contribution but surprisingly very important. The problem is related to cleaning your catch. With dirt and sand everywhere - there's nowhere to lay things down and start cleaning. Plus there are no little tidepools around the shoreline to do the washing as you do along a rocky shoreline. People fill the bucket with seawater, clean the fish on a board on top of the bucket, and then do the initial rinse in the bucket of water. Only cleaned fish need to be brought back to the camper.

ElFaro - 3-19-2008 at 08:34 PM

A couple more things to add...

I bought a ghost shrimp slurp / pump gun to get ghost shrimp at low tide in estuaries. They are about $20. A Mexican guy sells them in the Chapultepec area near Estero Bch. The Mexicans call ghost shrimp Langostinos and they are GUARANTEED to catch fish. After you get a few langostinos put them in small zip-loc bags and refrigerate them until they are needed.

I bring a couple of those plastic cafeteria trays (Smart & Final sells them) to clean fish.

Also I bought a 1.5 gallon all plastic yard sprayer for killing weeds, insects, etc. that is only filled with fresh water from the beginning. I pump it up and drilled out the spray end a bit for a coarser spray. Now I use that to spray off my hands, clean blood, scales, knives, fillets, rinse rags, etc. while cleaning. They have a hundred other uses at the campsite!