Surf/Beach Casting

[sergio]

Ok Guys so I always wanted to get into surf-casting . After buying a surf rod and some equipment ( like sinkers with spikes , bait clips ect ect) yesterday I hit the beach with my friend. We went to Golden Bay from about 9.00pm till about 1.00am. The problem is ..... we didnt catch ANYTHING !!! Now I know that maybe it was our first time and I wasn't expecting much - but NO BITES at all was a bit embarrasing. I'm sure my rigs were fine ( i was using a paternoster exactly as i saw on a surf-casting website) . we were using mini-squids as bait. I think maybe the problem was that there was a lot of grass ( alka) around and we always managed to hook up clumps of grass when we retrieved our rigs. Maybe it was just the wrong wind. Any pointers guys ? Any other places worth trying?

[jean]

Hi Sergio,

Any luck as yet with surfcasting? I have been trying and trying and as yet, a few bites, a friend caught one nice sargu, and lots of alga!!!! All this over practically the entire winter. So i can state that i was highly unsucessfull. Thing is that now i am returning to fish of rocks, such as at sliema etc (were prievously i cuaght a couple of nice fish) and nothing aswell!!!! I'm either loosing my touch or just become really really unlucky 

[sergio]

well mate , i too have been trying to fish the surf. the problem is that it's a highly unpredictable style of fishing . sometimes not even a single bite during the whole night ! the problem here is that our beaches are too small to hold a sizable amount of fish. in other countries, the beaches have lots of features such as dunes and algae on the seabed. also, there will be lots of bait on the seabed. therefore , the tide is a crucial factor as when it comes in , the fish come in to feed. here in malta it's quite difficult. considering the amount of money that needs to be spent on surf rods and reels ( regular tackle just doesnt cut it) , you need to figoure out whether it's worth investing in a style of fishing which does not guarantee many catches.

[skip]

Interesting to read, at least it's heads up that maybe surf/beach casting doesn't fit too well with the Maltese shoreline.

[benri]

I used to do a lot of surf casting myself and the truth is that sometimes it does get very boring with hardly any bites but then, you get a day when each time you cast gets productive and this day makes up for all the times you went for nothing!
During the night, the only bait we had good results with are king rag worm (Hniex ta l-imperjal). To be honest it's been some three/four years since I went last and therefore haven't tried these new baits "bibi", etc... I just was hooked to using ragworm.
regarding places I used to go to l-Ahrax. it's quite akward getting down there but from that area we used to hook nice sargi and griebel which quite often were over the kilo mark. If you start fishing early before sunset all you get are brieqex therefore it's not really worthed so we used to start fishing around 9.00pm till early morning.... 4.00am maybe.

[Granitu]

but at l ahrax there is no bays? it is difficult to catch from bays as they are not suited for this fish unlike sicily, france and others.

In my 2 cent opinion, it is just not worth to go fishing, buying rag worm and using it on a beach when from rocky places it probably is more productive

It is just my 2 cent, you might encounter something but as my friend sergio said(fishing companion) it is not very rewarding

[benri]

No. No bays there, you're right Granitu. it's just a rocky alternative. If it's strictly bays you want then the only good option through experience is Comino. At that time I didn't have a boat and we used to hire a luzzu who used to take us there for the night and call for us early morning. Mnieges, Sargi and somtimes even big Kahli were on the menu!

[Granitu]

yes that is right. it is good for one occasion but bad for many others. it is just not worth to spend 1000euros to have decent gear for surf and catch few or nothing.

[redbus9]

Hi emicmalta,very simple rig,12" loop which goes aroun the weight [1 oz],2ft of line with a 1/0 hook at the top of the loop hanging freely baited with 3 or 4 small ragworm,similar in size what you buy from pirotta.fish near the bank not out in mid stream.

[Diplodus Sargus]

My friend from comino i caught the biggest fish.....but as usual it depends on many things some times you go and there is notthing as granitu said.

[blueskip]

You haven't really got the beaches for it, I was fishing a surf beach on Saturday which is West facing into the Atlantic, & it is 7 miles ~ 12k long, there were waves coming in & breaking 300m off the beach & the water was stirred up, the Golden Grey Mullet were in shoals virtually under your feet, & I caught quite a few, with the best being 48.5cm long.
I also had numerous small bass up to about 0.5kg, & 2 small flatfish, all the fish were measured & returned, as part of the rules of the RNLI Charity Fishing Competition. Other days, you can go to the same beach in daylight when there is very little surf, & catch very little or nothing, so its the surf conditions that dictate the catch mainly, & with your small beaches, you are missing that vital element, but your rock fishing is superb. I love the stealth you need to catch the fish in your clear water, & I have much to learn, & much to experiment with, to see if I can catch some of your bream from the shore, &  a lampuki from the boat.
blueskip

[blueskip]

I cant post photos as jpegs on here, so I will put them in the gallery ok? They are the latest gallery images.
blueskip

[skip]

You just need to embed once you've uploaded. Guide over here http://maltafishingforum.com/talk/index.php?topic=503.0

[blueskip]

Well done Skip, I will study how to do it, that doesn't mean that I will succeed, but I will study it anyhow, it cant be TOO difficult, (can it)?
blueskip

[EmicMalta]

Hi emicmalta,very simple rig,12" loop which goes aroun the weight [1 oz],2ft of line with a 1/0 hook at the top of the loop hanging freely baited with 3 or 4 small ragworm,similar in size what you buy from pirotta.fish near the bank not out in mid stream.

sorry mate, but cannot understand what you mean? In hatIm involved??? If I get more time and more power I would go for spearfishing but for Casting i m still new