# Crappy surf fisherman question...



## sleepyluke (May 28, 2008)

I am beginning to learn to read the surf to find the better fish, but one thing that seems to be a common theme to me and what I can read, other newer surf fishermen, when you get into a batch of catfish, are you really in a "school", bad location for real game fish, or pure luck of the day? 

I am a long time freshwater fisherman with pretty decent skills and over the course of several years have really enjoyed the surf fishing or jsut beach sitting whatever it may be that day. The more I try to learn and attempt, the more I seem to catct catfish. A few years ago I think I caught one catfish in a week of whiting, sharks, flounder, bluefish and a stingray, but last year i think I caught 3 non catfish all week and really put ALOT more thought into than the previous years. Heck first year I caught a flounder messing around with a bass fishing rouge in the surf, now I catch catfish, and alot of them. Also got my first introduction to them buggers stabbing you and trying to kill you. They hurt!! Anyway, thanks for any related or random comments you may send my way.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

If I am catching a bunch of hardheads I will move down the beach a ways, like a mile or so. Sometimes it helps, sometimes you move a mile to catch more hard heads....


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

sniperpeeps said:


> If I am catching a bunch of hardheads I will move down the beach a ways, like a mile or so. Sometimes it helps, sometimes you move a mile to catch more hard heads....


 
Will wading out to the first sandbar and throwing from there help or are you just stuck with cats untill you move?


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## Duke S (Nov 26, 2011)

just as the sun goes down they tend to show up in force and after feeding bait to a few I go home. if you get stuck, run hot water, as hot as you can stand, over it to denature the toxin. very painful. alcohol taken internally helps.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

johnf said:


> Will wading out to the first sandbar and throwing from there help or are you just stuck with cats untill you move?



Sometimes you just have to weed through the cats to get to the pompano and reds that are there. Usually when I am catching hardheads it is late in the evening and you won't see me wading out to the sandbar late in the evening.....


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## dvldocz (Nov 9, 2011)

I am by no means an experienced surf fisher but I do fish Johnson Beach a couple of few nights out of the week after work. +1 sniper-_Sometimes you just have to weed through the cats to get to the pompano and reds that are there. Usually when I am catching hardheads it is late in the evening and you won't see me wading out to the sandbar late in the evening..... _
I have had some luck quite a few nights if I had the patience to wait out the hardheads. Have pulled in some nice red and black drum. Just have to be patient. And I know for sure I will not be wading in the waters at night...have seen and have caught too many sharks and other things to be doing that.


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## stevesmi (Mar 15, 2012)

catfish are fun to catch, I don't mind catching them.. seems to be in dirty water in my experience.. by dirty i mean not clear.


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## chicon monster (Mar 7, 2012)

Duke S said:


> just as the sun goes down they tend to show up in force and after feeding bait to a few I go home. if you get stuck, run hot water, as hot as you can stand, over it to denature the toxin. very painful. alcohol taken internally helps.


If you grab the catfish and rub the belly of it on the stab wound it works as an antivenom.I was told by a guy on bob shoes about it and didn't believe it till I got stabbed and it worked.I can see how alcohol would work.haha.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

dvldocz said:


> I am by no means an experienced surf fisher but I do fish Johnson Beach a couple of few nights out of the week after work. +1 sniper-_Sometimes you just have to weed through the cats to get to the pompano and reds that are there. Usually when I am catching hardheads it is late in the evening and you won't see me wading out to the sandbar late in the evening..... _
> I have had some luck quite a few nights if I had the patience to wait out the hardheads. Have pulled in some nice red and black drum. Just have to be patient. And I know for sure I will not be wading in the waters at night...have seen and have caught too many sharks and other things to be doing that.


 
So I don't have to throw out very far to catch a shark at night?


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

*Hardhead Catfish*



chicon monster said:


> If you grab the catfish and rub the belly of it on the stab wound it works as an antivenom.I was told by a guy on bob shoes about it and didn't believe it till I got stabbed and it worked.I can see how alcohol would work.haha.


Best thing is to buy/make a 'flipper'. You just flip the catfish off; your hands never touch. It also works on sting rays. C2


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

johnf said:


> So I don't have to throw out very far to catch a shark at night?


You don't have to throw out very far to catch a shark anytime....


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## billfishhead (Jan 15, 2008)

a 5 gallon bucket helps

lay the fish on the sand and put the bucket on it,,,,,,,,,step in the bucket and remove the hook


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## jakec (Oct 14, 2010)

we usually use a kayak to take the bait out sharkfishing. i wade out in the surf at night though fishing for other stuff and i havent been eaten yet. theres a lot of sharks nearshore during the day too.


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## Kachok (May 1, 2012)

The best way to avoid hardheads is simply to up size your baits a bit. I fished 4-5" pogies and half cracked crab all day long in the middle of a hardhead swarm last week and not one of them hit my baits. I was hooking up with drum and shark and everybody else was pulling in catfish after catfish after catfish. Now a big sailcat (aka gafftop) will slam your up-sized baits, but I don't mind catching them, they put up a solid fight on spinning tackle


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