It seems me that since i have never seen dolphins in the surf and the mess of sandbars and holes that the reds would be hiding in the surf in addition to the flats. IS this the case? If i got my waders on and fishing out their with live shrimp or mullett or frozens would their be anything out their worth taking? i fish the old coat guard station side of folly. i already posted this in surf forum and got no replies:imp:
thanks
A small fish in hand is better than big fish in promise
I see dolphins in the surf on Folly all the time. Not so much in the winter but some. I surf fish just about every weekend. The last couple weekends I just soaked frozen FM instead of catching fish
Alright mikeyloo i guess i just dont surf fish that much so i havent seen flipper. I wanna go soak some shrimp or FM later this week possibly. What bites normally, trout, reds, black drum, flounder, blues, mackeral?, i mean i really have no idea!
A small fish in hand is better than big fish in promise
Guy I work with said they got about 40 sand trout (weak fish) on folly last night before 7 PM. Shrimp, pyramid sinker set up. Tide building up. Casting in the breakers. Good luck.
Karma is 360 degrees
quote:
Guy I work with said they got about 40 sand trout (weak fish) on folly last night before 7 PM.
That’s good fishing there. The problem with those endangered weakfish is the limit is only 1 per person now. How did we elect these fools who make rules like this, or should I ask that question under another forum topic 
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
Yea Cracker they got a place way down at the bottom of the forums list for folks to figure out why nothing makes since anymore. That said, my buddy did have a good evening catching.
You know, it wasnt until they set the new limit (two or three years ago) that I even learned the name weakfish. They were always sand trout. Cooked, they taste just like speckled trout.
Karma is 360 degrees
reds aren’t in the surf for 2 reasons-lack of food and lack of protection. it is well documented that most (not all) baitfish go south in the winter leaving the reds with less food options. the reds that are in the surf in the warmer months are there b/c there IS food there. now (winter) there isn’t that much food available in the surf compared to the flats. The reds go to the flats b/c there are more/most food options available (fiddlers, marsh shrimp, MM, etc) AND it’s warmer there by a few degrees which is a big deal to a cold blooded animal. protection wise-the colder water slows down the reds b/c they are cold-blooded which is why they school up in such great #s, for warmth and protection. Since the baitfish have migrated, the dolphin have less prey to feed on which leads to them eating more reds B/C they are the most abundant source available (more schools of reds than mullet compared to the warmer months) hence the need for protection in #s. concerning weakfish-I looked up their status on the DNR. their #s are declining but not due to fishing it says. One would assume that 1/person is a cautionary measure until the reason for decline is known. Personally I bet the report of the 40 weakfish is an exception rather than the norm. I also don’t know many people that are going to take the time to clean 40 fish that are on avg (according to the DNR site again) 13" and approx. 1 Lb. I am not trying to be a prick but instead research your thoughts and come up with logical answers instead of speculation especially regarding the weakfish. I also doubt these weakfish put a decent fight on surf fishing gear considering their size and strength. With all that being said I wouldn’t mind being shown where to catch 40 weakfish!
quote:Dern. I might throw a DOA shrimp in the surf this evening if it ain't too rough.
Originally posted by jiprideGuy I work with said they got about 40 sand trout (weak fish) on folly last night before 7 PM. Shrimp, pyramid sinker set up. Tide building up. Casting in the breakers. Good luck.
Karma is 360 degrees
quote:
I am not trying to be a prick but instead research your thoughts and come up with logical answers instead of speculation especially regarding the weakfish.
I do most of my fishing research with a fishing rod 
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree with a lot of your paragraph above. You asked for logical answers so…
You say there is no bait in the surf, yet I guarantee you that those sand trout were there feeding on something, so logic tells me that there is bait, or those fish wouldn’t be there. Logic also tells me that a sand trout will feed a porpoise just as well as a redfish will. Logic also tells me that a 1 pound sand trout is bait(food) to big redfish, therefore big redfish are still in the surf too.
Logic aside, I know the shrimp boats are still catching tons of shrimp off the beaches, and I know I can still catch them in a cast net, so I know there is bait in the surf.
Now if you don’t believe that, this redfish was caught in the surf this morning by a friend of mine…
And it was caught on a live whiting, that was also caught in the surf. This big girl doesn’t worry much about dolphins.
I’ve been catching weakfish for almost 50 years, and a catch of 40 is considered about average if you know how and where to catch them 
Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats
Dang cracker larry! guess whos going in the surf next calm day i can fing, ahah
A small fish in hand is better than big fish in promise
I stand corrected!