Hi JD, I am new your site and wanted to ask you about the surf fishing for striped bass in or around Santa Cruz/ New Brighton Beach. I noticed on your site you said to uses poppers in the morning and swim baits later in the day. If you think the surf fishing is still good at these locations, can you expand on what the poppers are and how to use them for this area.
–Jim T.
Jim,
I’ll do a complete post on popper fishing later this fall on the site, but for now I’ll run the Cliff’s Notes by ya….
You’ll need a 9+ foot rod (spinning or casting) with 30-pound braided line on it. Grab some poppers like Cordell Pencil Poppers and head for the surf. Cast to holes between the breaks.
With your rod tip held high (to keep the line off the water) twitch the tip with your rod hand and reel with your other. You want the popper to pop and spit. When a fish blows up on it, let him take it down…wait until you feel the whole weight of the fish before you set the hook.
Good luck!
Frank says
I would also appreciate a little lesson in popper fishing for stripers. What should the action look like? Does it sit on top of the water or underneath? I'm an ultra novice who wants to learn. Thanks!
fishwithjd says
The action depends on the style of surface lure you're using. "Walk-the-Dog" type lures like Zara Spooks should have a zig-zagging motion. Poppers, on the other hand, have more of a…see if you follow me on this one…straight chug…chug…chug action to them. Yes, true surface baits stay on the top, though wake baits are very popular too and the fish right under the surface film.