Fished the surf today. Caught a 23" Redfish and lots of Whiting (kept the whiting and red), a few small Jack Cravelle and 2 Pompano (those were released) in 3 1/2 hours. Had a blast!! Took a good while to clean all the whiting we kept. Now ready for a big fish fry!!

Some folks look down on whiting , not me , i love them . great taste , just need a little size to them .

awesome!!!

If you do not mind, what was the bait?

I shelled and salted a pound of shrimp overnight from HEB and used them. Worked just great and stayed on my hook even with all the current of the surf!
Of course, the fish didn't give the shrimp time to come off the hook on it's own. They were too hungry.
http://photobucket.com/fishladyfishingpics

Caught 11 more Whiting yesterday, Tuesday. Lots of small 'Jacks' and Pompano were released. Having a blast!! YUM

Fl-Fishlady, are you feeling any red tide affects? I will be down there on the 22nd for a week and just wondering how it is.

Thanks.

No problem with red tide here as far as I know.

Went fishing today, Thursday for about 4 hours in the surf and caught 17 Whiting.

Fishlady,

Which beach access # do you go to if you don't mind me asking. I going take my kids surfishing this weekend and how do you rig it I'm noob on surfishing.

Tx,
Fishatwork

Welcome to the forum, Fishatwork!
Now to get down to business,,, I like #5 because it is the easiest for us without 4x4. The water level has been high and the roadway gets wet but it is a hard surface to drive on. Check with the ranger station as to whether there may be 'man of war' jellies on the beach and in the water as we were there yesterday and saw a few small ones about the size of a quarter. It would be a complete downer if the kids or grownups got in contact.
We just use a 'double drop' with the weight on the bottom.
Enjoy your day.

thanks for the info fishlady! appreciate your help.

Tide was really high last night, almost had you on the dunes in access 5. Helped push a car out and decided to head to the bay instead (2wd). a few small specks and sand-trout's, lots of baitfish action.

Another great few hours fishing the SPI surf. Caught a total of 34 today!! Eating so much fish, gonna grow fins and gills! lol
Certainly having a blast this year!!
http://photobucket.com/fishladyfishingpics

Where exactly were you fishing?

Fishing about 1/2 mile north of #5 beach access. Casting to the first cut. Using a bait I buy at H.E.B. in Port Isabel called "Fish Bites", shrimp flavor in pink, orange and green. I cut it to about 1" pieces and put the # 3/0 circle hook through once. I like to use a 2 oz. spider weight to hold the bottom when it's rough out there.
Went there today...Wednesday Nov. 23, only caught 2 whiting, 5 croakers and 1 huge Ladyfish in 2 1/2 hours. The surf was really rough today and the wind out of the north was blowing cool air which made me feel chilly in my wet clothes. Left earlier than planned. Plus the tide was really high..it flowed across the road almost up to where the car was parked alongside the trash cans

Great report. I wish I was there!

Was out fishing this morning and stayed until noonish. Caught 22 Whiting and the whiting are getting bigger!!! 12" - 16" was the norm for today's catch, Thursday Dec. 1. Way more volume of fillets than the day I caught 33!! There were aerosols from red tide evident at #5 beach access but no dead fish. We coughed most of the day while there. Used the "fish bites" artificial bait again. Works great!!

nice report

Fished farther north just past #6 but the fish did not comply today. Only one whiting for about 3 hours of effort. Goes to show, you just never know...

A group of us winter Texans have been fishing the surf near Isla Grande for a month and a half.

Lots of Pompano, whiting and a few black drum but little else. Have been fishing exclusively with dead shrimp. Is there a reasonable expectation of catching anything else this time of year? Are there different fish further north along the beach?

Thanks,
Harry

Harry,

What king of bait are you using and how far out are you fishing?

I have caught bull red year round from the beach. I've had best success with large chunks of mullet. If the mullet is big enough, cut off the head about and inch behind the gill plates. Stays on your hook, hard for the crabs and little fish to pick off, and the bull reds love it. It's hard to catch mullet this time of year. You'll probably need to buy them.

Good luck.
Matt

Hi Matt,

We've been using dead shrimp exclusively. I've bought some squid and FishBites and will likely try both in the next while. Also plan on chucking some hardware with a light spinning rod...that 12 footer gets heavy after a few hours.

We've been casting into the foam just behind the second sand bar (my side)out. When fishing has slowed down I've tried pretty close to shore and have caught some of my biggest fish there.

Any tips on size of mullet pieces and hook sizes? Or where in the surf you cast to?

Thanks,
Harry

Went fishing Thursday, 12th and caught a huge Pompano and 23 nice sized whiting. The bite turned on and off all day depending on when the schools came by. Casting 10 foot rods on the far side of the first cut.

I'll be heading back out surf fishin' on Saturday, and will let you know how things went. Should be a good day to fish.