Thinking about a return trip to the beach this weekend. I have fished Folly before but I am thinking about trying the North end for the 1st time. According to the hours that Crosby’s has posted I shouldn’t have any problem picking up bait 1st thing in the morning. Is there sufficient parking on the North end and do I need to bring quarters to feed a meter? Should 3 oz pyramids be enough to hold for the conditions this weekend? I don’t plan on bringing any setups that could handle 4+ ounces. Would it be worth it to try artificial around the rocks? As always thanks for all the help on this site. One of these days I will catch something worth posting.
Your best time for Saturday is going to be from 1036am-436pm. Wave energy looks low so you should stick to bottom with 3-4oz given you are using a thinner braided line. The conditions and surf and currents at the North end seem to do what they want. I allways carry 4oz-and up to an 8oz pyramid and if conditions are at the roughest I will use an 4oz-8oz spider weights. I like my sinker stuck to the bottom and not rolling around.
Crosby’s does sell bait and they seem to be staying in stock this year. Get the finger mullet and use a half dollar to quarter sized chunk skip the shrimp they don’t want it. Use a sliding weight rig with a leader or use double drop rig. 5-6/0 circle hooks. No need to go waist deep in water and cast. Just pretend you still have your shoes on and you don’t want them to get wet and then throw out as hard as you can.
Thanks for the advice. That was a nice report you had by the way.
If I make it there this weekend I will head north and see if 3 oz will hold. If it doesn’t hold then I will move south and hope the current lessens. If that doesn’t work then I will probably have a long and painful ride home.
Go to the Mt pleasant pier. A 1oz egg weight will hold bottom. And there is plenty of reds coming through near the edges
Stevo
have you had a huge problem missing bites with the spider weights? i’ve been using the sputnik weights when conditions have been tough and i dont really see much action and the bait generally always gone (3/4in cut mullet/whiting).
Is this a common issue with the weights? Theres definitely a few other things it could be…
- im not in the right spots and bait stealers are pillaging me (i’m new to surf and haven’t found reds/target fish yet)
- the rod i use the sputniks on is not long and is really heavy (from garage sale, trolling rod i think so not idea for surf; Penn0711) so maybe it just lacks sensitivity -> other option i have is Penn battle II 7ft but haven’t tried sputnik on it
- hook issue? been using 2/0 circles mostly but have rarely used 4/0
I use spider weights all the time. And I use heavy 8oz pyramids as well most of the time. The issue is the bait stealers are taking your bait before a red comes along from the sound of it. Your missing those bait stealers because to catch them it’s better to use Jay hooks with the rod in your hand and set the hook as they bite. I rebait all my rods every 5min if there is bait stealers around. If there isn’t too many I still check every 5-10min. Also I use 6/0 mustad circle hooks.
Stevo fishes pretty hard. I saw him in action Friday. He’s got it all down pretty good. It was a slow day but he still managed decent action. Definitely caught a lot more then me.