# Requesting Surf Fishing Advice/Tips



## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

I've come to the conclusion that either I have no idea what I'm doing or I have the absolute worst luck, or the worst timing.

I've been to Matagorda beach 4 times in the last 3 months.
Every time I've gone, someone has posted a report either a few days before or after I was there with numerous fish caught.

One trip we were able to catch a 14" trout and a 18" red, and a 12" witing.

We've caught more fish off of the jetty with fishbites on our way home. Although those were mostly small witing and croaker.

In 4 trips, we have brought home 2 12" witing and a 13" sandtrout. Only one of the witing was caught in the surf. The other witing and sandtrout were caught off of the jetty.

What am I doing wrong or does this just happen sometimes?
I don't expect full limits everytime, but a couple of fish would be better than bringing home a cooler full of melted ice.

Thanks for any and all advice.


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## HuntinforTail (Mar 29, 2011)

I'm guessing a lot of it has to do with timing. Trout will be on fire one day and then can disappear by the next. 

How were you fishing? What kinda bait were you using and what style did you rig it? What was the weather like? What color was the water? How was the clarity? What direction was the wind coming from?


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## waltmeda (Jul 9, 2013)

I always put out three rods to find the fish. Cast one into the first gut, the second just over the first bar and cast the third as far out as you can. Use different bait on at least two rods (Shrimp, Cut mullet, crab, etc). Use fresh bait if you can. I once spent an entire weekend soaking bait while everyone around me was bringing in Reds. As I was leaving on Sunday, I stopped and asked someone what they were doing differently and he told me that he was fishing the first gut. So, I stopped before leaving the beach and dropped bait in the first gut and caught a Red on the first cast. I spent the entire weekend casting over the fish.


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## smgregorek (Apr 24, 2013)

Been there done that. I just now started catching on regular basis, but still gotta put the work in. Looking for bird action, nervous bait in the water are key IMO.


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

That's just fishing. The more you fish a particular way or the more time
You spend in particular areas the better your chances at catching and not
Just fishing. 

Surf fishing isn't exactly easy. Sometimes even seasoned guys have to busy it just to catch a few fish, and some days it's like you can't miss.

As for trout, the only days I have seen limits being landed was when the surf was really clean and it was usually early morning. I don't care much for trout so that's all I really know. Most guys look like they are using live bait and they're standing at the first gut.

For reds, I have been hard pressed to not get hits on fresh cut whiting. 
-shrimp (fresh dead) is basically useless unless your trying to catch whiting for bait or don't mind weeding out catfish.


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

I would say location, tidal movement


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## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

Seaweed seems to be the biggest factor reducing my catch.
Driving to any salt water is about 2 hours for me, so I can't go all the time.
I simply have to go when schedules allow it and hope for the best.

The trip that we caught the undersized trout and red, the weed was minimal, almost non-existent. It was also a full moon, but I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.

Most of the other times, we were not able to keep lines out for very long because of the weeds.
Looking forward to the days of weed-free water, as I'm sure most others are also.


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## Attkisson (Aug 3, 2013)

I bet u r wading past the fish start from the beach then work your way out


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## showtimesharkhunting (Jul 31, 2013)

sea weed is a big factor with us as well. We drive about an hour to an hour and a half to fish your best friend when trying to figure out seaweed conditions is Surf cams and

http://www.tamug.edu/seas/SAR Central .html

We also have a bad tendency to cast over the fish. I run two lines out for myself both on penn 6/0 reels for shark and they are typically 50-100 feet apart. one reel has 600 yards and the other 1000. The shallow water rod hits 3-1 on the deep water rod on big shark. I just recently started fishing bolivar and crystal beach and i have had some success down there its typically alway calm especially if you fish the west end of the peninsula because of the jetty coming from the ship channel im assuming. the only downfall I have found at bolivar that far west is the fact that there isn't really distinguishing sand bars its just a steady drop with a gut right off the sand.

another thing that ive experienced is the rod. I have to use a light rod to feel everything or else I miss the small guys all day. when i fish for bait is when I wade out and i typically use a 2 drop leader with a 1oz. pyramid weight on the final drop and I use dead shrimp with a pink 1/2" piece of shrimp fishbite on each hook above the shrimp. i am by no means experienced but I have been very frustrated as you are and this is what i found works for me. I dont even know if its the right way to set up a rig seeing as how most people I see catch trout and other small guys use the popping corks and redfish rigs. If you come a little further east towards bolivar let me know i'll fish with you and we'll see what we can bring up


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## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

Sorry it's been a few days since I last posted.
Thanks to all who have given advice.

Another question to those familar with Matagorda beach:

Does the "good" location change from day to day?

I'm not asking for anyone's go-to spots, just some pointers.
I've gone 4 times now, setting up camp and fishing between 8 and 10 miles down the beach, measuring from the jetty.
The only time we caught anything in the surf was on 8/10. The weed was minimal and it was a full moon. I know the lack of weed definitely helped, but I'm not sure if the moon had any effect or not.
Am I going too far down the beach or not far enough?


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## hsif (Dec 16, 2008)

There is a beginners guide on www.surf-masters.com that might help you some.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Aside from a big bull red and a ton of slimers (gafftop) we've never caught **** at Gorda. Always do well down on PINS though.


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## Orion85 (Apr 11, 2013)

I fish gorda about once a month when I can. Weed is always a factor during the summer. Two weeks ago, surf was flat and green to the shore, I could still se my toes standing on the first bar. I wade fished the morning with gulp under a cork, because bottom rigs would wash in before you could put the rod in a holder. Caught a ton of lady fish and one 16" trout. 

At lunch I decided to drive a little further. Saw two guys with I rack in their truck with a couple of 12/0s. Decided to stop and talk since I am interested in shark fishing. I ended up fishing with them the rest of the day. Where they were there was only a little weed. While there I hooked up on my PB red of 30", they pulled in a ray that was easily over 200#, a smack that I kept and a small BT that I also kept. 

That trip 2-3mi was the difference between fishing or not. There have been a few times that I gave up on the surf and found my way back to the bay to wade. 

So yes the "good" spot changes from day to day and definitely trip to trip.


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## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

justletmein said:


> Aside from a big bull red and a ton of slimers (gafftop) we've never caught **** at Gorda. Always do well down on PINS though.


That's what I was starting to think, but then someone always posts pictures of full stringers of trout, numerous bull reds, and/or sharks.


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## justletmein (Feb 11, 2006)

Dtrojcak said:


> That's what I was starting to think, but then someone always posts pictures of full stringers of trout, numerous bull reds, and/or sharks.


They're catching them on PINS and putting Gorda in the reports to send the traffic elsewhere. LOL j/k but it's happened before...


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

If it was easy, everyone would be catching a ton of fish every trip, but it doesn't work that way. You gotta put your time in on the sand and work hard at it too. Then it comes easy. You're not gonna learn how to do it just looking at this forum.  I'll get off my soapbox now. Good Luck!


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## gordaskipper (Feb 26, 2010)

I've been fishing in Matagorda on and off for 25 years...fish pierand caught numerous sharks out there mostly at night... I would get off the beach and get up on the pier...it's been my experience with the hurricanes when the piers blown down on the Texas coast fishing off the beach sucked... However this is not true for Bob Hall Pier and pins... I have a boat now and fish out of the Colorado River usually troll out to those first set of rigs and catch kings and or sharks... Last two trips out within the last month I've haven't caught anything... However there is very low oxygen levels in the water along the coast at times specially in the summer I use a service called rip charts and it reflects it on the charts... It's really best to plan a trip to pins because all the Sharks migrate south of there and you can do really well late in the fall almost into the winner

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

Remember this: The beachfront produces because it is an "edge", just like deer hunting is best on edges, be it fence lines, boundaries between fields and brush, etc. The food and cover (in this case breaking waves, sandy to green water) are easier on edges. Problem is there's a hell of a lot of edge on our Texas beachfront! They won't be evenly dispersed along all 370 miles of it, and they move to and from inlets with tide and inshore and offshore as well on a constant basis, but there are structural anomalies along this desert of sand that often hold more opportunity. Learn to read the beach to understand what might be going on below the water. Water adjacent to steeper sloped beach will drop off quicker to deep water, areas where the water has markedly cut into the beach (like an inverse point) will likely be transverse guts connecting the parallel guts, beach areas with tons of stacked shell will have a large shell biomass adjacent (which attracts all sorts of bait and fish). Then learn to read the water. Breakers equal bars, no breakers equal guts, you'll learn to paint a picture in your head of the topography by watching intently and driving miles of beach. Diving birds, nervous bait, bait period if it's scarce, and a lot of fishermen grouped in a general area = all good places to start. Never "sit" on a spot and wait for fish to find you, you got a truck, some gas, some binoculars, and some time...keep moving and go find them. And carry a shovel and tow strap!


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

I would think too far.


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## Dtrojcak (Jun 17, 2012)

justletmein said:


> They're catching them on PINS and putting Gorda in the reports to send the traffic elsewhere. LOL j/k but it's happened before...


That thought has crossed my mind, lol.



surfguy said:


> If it was easy, everyone would be catching a ton of fish every trip, but it doesn't work that way. You gotta put your time in on the sand and work hard at it too. Then it comes easy. You're not gonna learn how to do it just looking at this forum.  I'll get off my soapbox now. Good Luck!


I don't expect it to be easy.
At this point I'm happy to catch whiting, gafftops, or even hardheads in the surf. At least it would be catching.
The last few trips, I was actually happy catching whiting and croakers from the jetty because I got skunked in the surf.



fishingcacher said:


> I would think too far.


Was this directed toward my original question?
Am I going too far down the beach?
Most of the advice I have read in regards to Matagorda says to fish where the shell starts or they are fishing at Mitchel's cut. I haven't gotten brave enough to drive all the way to the end yet.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

The next few months should be prime time for fishing. Especially at the jetties and in the surf zone. After this tropical disturbance in Yucatan moves through the surf will lay back down an let us get back out there.

As far as not having luck. Try using different baits in differnt guts. Watch the tidal movement. I personally prefer an incoming tide. Here is a pic that might help you get an idea about bait placement in the surf. Note: You dont have to use 6 rods, I normally just use 2 casted reels.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

justletmein said:


> They're catching them on PINS and putting Gorda in the reports to send the traffic elsewhere. LOL j/k but it's happened before...


That's funny. They need to send them to High Island!


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## Category6 (Nov 21, 2007)

I forgot to mention, if it's reds or whiting you're after try fishing one rod right on top of the 2nd bar, right in the midst of the breakers. Sometimes I've found if you don't cast right in the breakers you don't get bit.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Keep fishing through the fall and winter and you may be pleasantly surprised. There are fish along the beachfront year round. That is one of my most pleasant recent discoveries. I sort of assumed that the fish moved into deeper water (away from the beach) when it got cold. I think reading all of those stories as a kid about how the trout stacked up in Offat's bayou or in the deep hole off the Quintana jetty influenced me to assume that there would not be anything of value along the beach once it got cold. Now, I am coming to realize that summer is my least favorite beach fishing time. That really stinks, by the way, since I am an educator and can basically fish all summer long. The summer is tough. In mid summer, you can have fishable light and a good bite in the surf by 5:30-6:00 am some days which means a really early start for me coming from Cypress. The wind is strong in June-July, making for lots of muddy water days. Weed. Weed. Weed. The heads and slimers are thick, making it hard to get a bait to something interesting.

That will all switch around in the fall. As the weather cools, the best bite may not be at first light. In fact, as the water really cools, sometimes the best bite is in the early afternoon. The weed should be gone. The heads move on and the whiting, croaker and drum become more common on the hook. When the big mullet migration happens in a few weeks, the jacks, spanish and trout will be hammering them. There will be reds feeding lazily on the debris from that frenzy.

I really like that graphic that What has posted again. Scatter some baits out from the edge of the water to as deep as you can reach. Fish at least two rods. Then, jump on them when you find fish.

The best part of this next few months is the mixed bag. Some days, we may hammer one species (whiting frequently volunteer for this role). Other days, you may catch 4,5,6 different species in a row without a repeat. Drum, reds, trout, croaker, whiting, spanish, pomps and others may all find their way into the fish box this season. That's pretty cool.


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## bluebagboy (Aug 15, 2013)

*Matty Surf fishing*

I appreciate your post and would like to hear more about your efforts at this location. I have "eyeballed" this spot but have not tried it yet. I have good experience in Louisiana but only one trip to TX coast (Sargent) which was productive with two Bull Reds Labor Day week end (see post). I think Tides and wind are always important and especially with seaweed. I try to surf fish a falling Tide because of this -start making note of these conditions when you fish and correlate with results. Me -heading to Sargent 9/14 looking for more Bull Reds - Good luck and keep posting


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

What and others have posted up some good information here and one thing I would throw in is when I fish the beach you have to stick with it. You may fish four or five hours before the fish turn on, and then yours loading up on them. I like to have out two or three long rods and a couple of bait rods. In the winter it usually Whitings and Crabs, unless you put away some other baits caught in the fall.


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## smgregorek (Apr 24, 2013)

Histprof I live in Cypress too. Leaving around 4:00 is rough for sure. I've been getting my best bite around 8:30 tho. Freaky getting into surf before sunrise


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## kneekap (Nov 13, 2012)

Sign at the bait camp: "They're catching them yesterday and tomorrow"! Did you spit on your bait?


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