New to ocean fishing, looking for spots to shore, pier, or jetty fish in Long Beach and sourounding areas.Any tips on bait, rigs,etc is appreciated.

Hi Ryan. Welcome to Fishing Reminder.

Looking on the map, it looks like you might be restricted mainly to piers and jetties. The first thing to do would be to check the local laws and regulations. Any tackle store should have that info. Looking at the beach area, I would be very surprised if fishing was allowed. The jetties might be public or private and might have rules for each individual one.

Looks like it might be a bit of a drive. But I would be looking at Newport Pier if fishing is allowed there.

Grabillo Beach looks perfect for a beginner. Plenty of car parking. Rock, beach and pier all short walks. Both sheltered water and direct ocean water, literally across the road from each other.

With more experience, I would definitely be hitting Point Vicente area.

The local tackle store can tell you the best bait for the area. Just remember, they might tell you the best bait they want to sell which might not be the best bait for you to catch a fish !!

Just go with the good old standard raw prawn.

I assume you will be using a standard threadline reel. (AKA eggbeater or spin). Start with a very basic rig. A single hook and a round (ball) sinker.

Use my tried and true "scientifically" proven, never fail system of selecting hook and sinker size --- "Yep, that looks about right."

A round ball sinker can fit back out of anything it falls in. Other shapes can turn and get stuck. Just pick a size "that looks about right" for the conditions. Same for the hook. A size "that looks about right" for the size of the bait and the fish you think might be in the area.

If you are using a threadline reel, there is no need for a swivel etc. You can use the very basic straight through line with running sinker. Simply slide the sinker on the line and tie on the hook.

Once you get out there, you will meet other fisher folk. Most of them are quite happy to share tips and tricks for the local area.

What's up, my name is Thor. I live on the beach in south OC. This is just what works for me when fishing from the beach and I catch some big fish from the sand. Lures to throw- go to Walmart and they have bags of Berkeley mullet baits that are bright yellow green in color, they are saturated in some juice and they will dry out. Get a matching jig head and throw it out in the surf at high tide. Do a slow retrieve but keep it moving. If you use braided line use 50 lbs. Test line if you use mono use 20 lbs test line and set your drag so a fish can take out line if it runs. If bait fishing put a pyramid weight on 2-3-4 oz depending on surf/ if it's just sand on bottom. 2' up from the weight tie on a snelled hook maybe 2 hooks a foot apart . Live bait is best, live smelt, ghost shrimp are best. Fresh muscles, blood worms are great. Sand crabs or maybe squid will even do it. Good luck.

Thor thanks for the info. I usually fish at night after work. I usually fish the pier or jetty in seal Beach. I have been wanting to try the surf but had no idea where to go. Thanks for the tips. Keep them coming.

Thanks for the input I've been doing allrightjust had to switch my freshwater knowledge to saltwater. My father fished bass tournaments for ranger boats so I grew up fishing. I have been putting all those bass lures to work in the ocean. I drove to mission bay in San Diego and rented a boat last week. Did allright caught some nice spotties on repala jerkbaits. I have been to Newport pir caught a lot of rays. Been sticking to seal Beach jetty. Thanks for the reply.

If there are lots of rays. Then there is a good chance there will be larger pelagic fish above them.

Sharks eat rays. Especially tiger sharks.

Might be worth using a float or even a balloon.

When you say use a float or balloon Can you be more specific, thanks for the reply.

You might call them bobby corks.

They come in all sorts of styles and sizes. You want a casting style. Like the cone shaped pictured. They are cone shaped to reduce air drag when casting.

Use a float stopper as pictured. The float stopper is safe to go over the rod guides. Using a float stopper means you can adjust the depth of your bait. Just ask your local tackle shop to show you how to put the stopper on the line. It is very easy...Just tell them Itsaboat from Fishing Reminder sent you hahaha.

You can also use lures with a float. The "teaser" float pictured is ideal for lures. For 50 years I called them glitter floats. But apparently they are called teaser floats. The flickering light gets the fish attention. When they come to look they find your lure. The water movement makes the lure move a little bit and looks like something nice to eat.

Ballooning is a big step up from floating but same principle. If you are using a heavier bait, like a live bait, then a balloon is usually better.

Some people will use a short length of line to attach the balloon. I strongly object to that. Tie the balloon direct to your main line. That way you can still slide the balloon up and down to adjust for depth and if the balloon burst and the tag line breaks it is not left in the water for some poor turtle to choke on !!

I have talked about it many times over the years. 90% of people cast straight over the fish they are trying to catch. In this case you are putting your bait on the bottom where the rays are. Affectively "casting" past the fish you are trying to catch. If there are rays, then above them will be sharks and above the sharks will be the target fish. Pelagic (surface hunters) will be there. The idea is you want to float your bait (or lure) at the depth (feeding zone) of the pelagics.

I usually start between 6 and 10 feet depth and go from there....A few years ago I found a very interesting spot. I posted about it at the time. I was fishing a beach gutter at Lake Bunga in Victoria. It was a strike every cast. But the feed zone was so tight, casting just 30cm (12 inches) to the side meant no strike.

Thanks for the reply itsaboat. I have all those bobbers in my 7 boxes of tackle. I will try it out tomorrow morning. Haven't been out fishing this week. New jobs working nights demoing a goodwill. Off tomorrow. I know how to use the bobber stops. I always fish from bottom up but your approach from the surface down will hopefully avoid all the rays. Have a great day and thanks again.