I'm new to salt water fishing, but feel I have a calling for fishing in the surf. Is feb. a good month for fishing and camping at the beach?

Whiting will be in full force. Shrimp on a double drop rig on the bottom will be good.

How far out do you have to get your baits? I've always heard you have to get a kayak and get bait out past the 3rd sandbar in Sargent. The water is a little frigid for me so what are your thoughts?

That's for the big fish, such as bull reds and large black drum. You wouldn't have to go out that far for them, maybe to the 2nd gut. Cut whiting or blue crab on a stout rod with a big circle hook is a good way to catch those. You can try casting, but it takes some practice to sling your bait from the sand to the 2nd gut. For whiting, they will be in the 1st gut and the wade gut.

I sit on a bucket at the waterline and cast out to catch whiting. They are fun to pass the time while your big rods are out between 2nd and 3rd sandbar or deeper (during warm weather) for bigger fish. During cold weather I prefer the surf piers.

This is a great time of the year for camping in Texas. Very few bugs, warms up during the day.

When I was wade fishing back in September the best reds an trout we caught were in the wade gut in the late evening. Mornings didn't produce much but whitening, lady fish, and gafftops BUT we were chest deep fishing the 2nd and third gut both morning and evening. Was I fishing too deep? Should I have been throwing in the wade gut-1st gut? Not talking about the surf rods, talking about throwing plastics and LB under popping cork. Trying to gather info, goin back Ina few weeks. I get better each time I go but I'm really trying to figure it out as its became my favorite type of fishing

yall are crazy. you wont see me camping outside right now lol

I experiment on every trip. Shallow, deep, top, bottom, bait, artificials. Fish move around and their taste varies from day to day. I use surf rods deep on the bottom for big fish that wander by. I fish closer in with light gear for action to pass the time. A cooler full of 10" and up whiting makes a great fish fry.

One thing that does work for me is to arrive an hour before low tide and drive the beach looking for undulations. The deeper undulations will become cuts in the first sandbar as the time moves in. Fish either side of it and you improve your chances for an active catch and for bigger fish in close.

With cold weather I fish the surf piers. The same ideas work when fishing them.

Thanks man, think it'd be too cold to wade even with waders?

I've waded recently and for the most part stayed pretty toasty. That is, however, with a pair of decently thick neoprenes. Bundle up really well and don't go farther than waist deep and you should be fine. Also, some warm waterproof gloves have been a lifesaver for me. Invest in a good pair if you don't already have some and you WON'T regret it!

-Nick

In the past month we have been catching most of our fish between the 1st and 2nd sandbars or the wade gut. All of our big fish have been between 1st and 2nd. FishBites haven't been catching much the past few weeks. It might be the cold water temps. But Herbert77060 did catch a big black drum on pink shrimp FishBites. I caught a 41" red on 1/2 of a dead shrimp on the bottom. Pferox caught a 40" red and 32" black drum on finger mullet heads. Small baits are working right now.

Read past fishing reports by myself and Pferox for ideas.

Good luck, stay warm and dry.