# NASP Beach Report



## MacD (Feb 25, 2010)

Went out today from around 1100-1400, didn't have a whole lot of luck. Got one okay sized drum when I first I got there on a fresh dead shrimp on a #3/0 circle hook on 12" floro leader below a egg sinker. AND that was all she wrote for the day. The biggest problem I had was keeping the shrimp on the hook, literally as soon as I through it in it was pulled off by what I am assuming were a ton of small fish(tap tap tap gone). I switched one rod over to a gulp 3" shrimp and same thing, I never saw one get destroyed quite that quickly. I was also experimenting with a two drop rig above a pyramid sinker, but didnt have any luck at all with it. Any suggestions would be awesome, I just started fishing from the beach and could use some direction. Last but not least these same little fish kept breaking the surf getting chased by something repeatedly, fun to watch but couldnt get whatever was chasing'em interested in what I was offering.


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## floridaface (Nov 16, 2009)

i was at nas the other day with both of ur set ups. one dropper rig and one carolina rig ( the egg sinker set up) and i caught a red on each one. i was using fresh dead shrimp. literaly fresh dead. as in they only been dead for about an hr. where did you go?


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## floridaface (Nov 16, 2009)

i guess i forgot to mention some suggestions.. i cant remember what a no.3 size hook looks like, but my circle hooks werent that big and i didnt have a problem holding the shrimp or the fish on the hook. the thing about redfish that not too many people realizes or wants to admit is that they eat almost ANYTHING. there is no real redfish bait nor do they prefer anything special. i myself and many many others have caught them with live, fresh,dead,rotten shrimp. cut bait, live bait from and lys to 4 or 5in, pinfish, crabs, jigs, spoons,gulp. list goes on. 

try using crabs
hook your bait twice
floro is overrated. ive never use floro and i catch just as much as the people that do use it. but then again i fish simple. pompano,reds,trout,sheepies and mackerel. catchin those fish is like melting ice in the oven. i dont think i helped much but i hope i did. good luck


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## MacD (Feb 25, 2010)

I've been sitting up on the beach opposite "Lake Federick" usually not too far to the right of the buoys or right in front of them. Maybe its technique? I try and cast out to just beyond the color change from shallow to deep, then for the most part leave it alone unless I can guess that my shrimps been stolen or the rod is saying fish on. I'll be giving it another shot tomorrow or the next day. Thanks for the help


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## floridaface (Nov 16, 2009)

alot of times, catfish can play tricks on you. sometimes i reel em in and didnt even know they were on my line. and sometimes, ill watch my bait stay on the hook till it hits the water then check it 15 to 25 min later and its gone. the reason i check so frequent is because catfish are all over the base. and they will steal your bait.

try fishing late in the day. anytime i catch reds on base is always moments befor or shortly after the sun sets. 
my ideal time for fishing on base is between 7pm till midnight. ( when were talkin reds) 

i know u didnt mention much about reds but i just realized thats what ive been giving u tips for this whole time. thats all i ever fish for on base. i know there are lots of flounder,sheepies,bluefish, drum, ive heard of grouper and spanish but never saw it for myself, and various bait fish. ive caught lots of sheeps and bluefish on nas as well.

good luck and let me know how it went
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## MacD (Feb 25, 2010)

Went really well from 1300-1600. Felt like some things were working, I used squid(the crabs looked a little half dead) for the first time based on your advice that just about anything will work. And it did. Had some pretty good luck hooking up catfish, no luck with anything else but the bait stayed on the line. The little baitstealers were still out there like crazy, as soon as the line was in the line was twitching and jumping constantly. I threw one line out with a gulp shrimp just see if they would leave it alone today and I can honestly say Ive never seen a gulp devoured quite so fast in 2 casts maybe 35m total, the thing looked like swiss cheese. I had the time of day against me, I'll be trying to get out there before sunset one of these days to try my hand at reds. The only time I managed to hook them up was at charlie pier before i realized i needed stronger line and a net. But they were a ton of fun anyway. Are there any other places on base or even off base I might try from shore? Thanks again you've been a big help, and I did switch to a smaller hook. Helped alot


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## floridaface (Nov 16, 2009)

yeah those crabs dont stay alive long. especially once they have been hooked. but im glad to hear my advice has helped you. around this time of year most fishing in pcola is either johnsons beach to pcola beach pier. as far as on base, i never really found a sweet spot. its always been anywhere i go on base i have good luck, surfwise that is. i never had good luck along the sea walls. i used to go crabbing with my dad out there befor ivan but i think its banned now so i just go off the sunset boat docks. not too bad out there but nothing will ever compare to nas. 

anyways, did u buy those crabs or dig em out? when u go back, look for the golfball size holes in the sand and check which direction they go in, they usually go in at some kind of angle. then dig in the direction of the angle about a half a foot behind it and about a half a foot down. you'll catch a nice size crab. sometimes you will really have to dig em. i cant really explain it without showing you in person but i can assure you will get the hang of it after you dig out 2 or 3. you will slaughter the reds with those. but watch your fingers. they pinch as hard a full grown blue crab. 

dont worry about getting your rig a mile out. i usually keep it between 25 - 30ish yards out. regardless of the tide. when they come in at night, there actually crabbing. which is why they come in pretty close. if you ever noticed at night, you will see a bunch of crabs coming out of their holes and making a run for the water.

i really hope you find this helpful and that you get some reds. check out my friends under piers and bridges report. alabama redfish. we caught them exactly the way i described, except we used dead shrimp

good luck


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## floridaface (Nov 16, 2009)

i forgot to mention, redfish can be fought and landed without the use of very strong line. we caught the ones in that post with 15 and 12lb walmart crap. even our leaders where made out of that stuff. just dont be in a hurry to land it. let it get tired and give up. reel it in till he pulls then let him go back out. its all about how much line you have and how you set your drag. not too loose but loose enough to where you can real him in and let him swim back off with some but not a whole lot of pressure. just enough to make him feel like hes dragging something. 

i usually get him up to the shore then go in after him. grab him by the gills. ive lost soooo many reds by trying to reel them onto the shore because it seems to me that they fight a little harder when they see the shore or you. its pretty much do or die for them at that point

but if you feel more comfortable switching to stronger line, then by all means go for it. whats most important is that you land that sucker no matter what.

ill be looking forward to seeing how this works out for you.


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## MacD (Feb 25, 2010)

Got out there last night... Crabs and squid, bought the crabs think they were fiddler crabs pretty tiny. After the first two flew off I cut a little piece of squid to help hold it on the hook and woooah hang on. I got there around 0700 and we got to 11-12 before we stopped counting the cats. All sizes and shapes hookin up as soon as lines were in the water went down two just one pole each because we would have a all four hooked up. The success of the night. I wish I could have gotten a pic, a nice sized red fish maybe 23" or so just after dark which was lucky since NASP security had the lights on us as soon as it was released. Apparently the base CO has made night fishing a no go on base, something about the oil according to the security guy, I'll be stopping by on Monday to get a copy of the order since I could really understand the message he was trying to get across to me. Anyway it was a fantastic time, I'll be headed out to pcola beach tonight. Gotta fish as long as I've got the time right? As long as I'm catching something Im pretty excited even if its mostly cats Thanks again


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## lastcast (Oct 12, 2007)

If your catching alot of cats, take one of your rods and rig it with the two droppers, but leave about two feet from the bottom hook toyour sinker. Sometimes if you get it off the bottom a little the cats wont mess with it as much, it's worth a try.

Skip


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## MacD (Feb 25, 2010)

Will do, Gonna give it a shot tonight!


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## User6882 (Feb 4, 2009)

Night fishing has always been banned on base, not just because the oil. I fish the base ALOTTTTTT and if you want a few pointers, pm me and I can give you a few. As far as I know, I've got one of the largest gag groupers off the base. 

I almost strictly fish the walls and docks, and do good. It just takes time to learn the do's and don'ts of the base.


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## floridaface (Nov 16, 2009)

first of all, of corse, i must congrats u on the red. im glad to see my advise actually helped someone considering im not a pro. but i do know my redfish. and yeah i guess forgot to mention that fishing isnt really allowed at night but i go AAALLLL the time and ive been busted once but i still go. they dont hassle you and its usually always someone different. so i never payed it any mind therefore i forgot to mention it to you. but 23 is legal. you probly coulda kept it but im not sure about that perticular time being that fishing wasnt allowed. but anyways im still going at night atleast one more time this week.


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## MacD (Feb 25, 2010)

Would have kept the Red but had a charter booked for Sunday that I knew was gonna fill up the fridge, and it did! Had a great time out on the gulf for my first time on the Emerald Coast out of Perdido, great Captain and deckhand. Anyway as far as surf fishing on the base go, the advice has been invaluable and working on learning the base. Its gonna be a fun summer I think. Went out yesterday and couldn't catch up with anything at all except String Rays which I had no idea were so damn strong. All safely released.


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