fished for the once-plentiful barred surfperch often with my father while growing up, and while deploying our basketlike sand-crab traps beneath a local pier, these other fish would on occasion appear suddenly in the sudsy backwash, then disappear with a large swirl. I can remember looking up, soaked to my waist, and asking dad about these wonderfully silvery sleek creatures, and all he could muster was a disgusting murmur hinting at their challenging demeanor. “Oh, those are corbina,” he said. I think he was trying to tell me something, a message that after almost half a century I am only now beginning to understand.
Found along over two hundred miles of coastline, this fish of a thousand casts, perhaps our most challenging of surf species to sight fish, offers a multitude of opportunities to the dedicated Southern California fly angler. And I mean dedicated. Even after you have located suitable holding water, corbina are often difficult to spot and track. Once you’re in a position to make the all-important first and what may be your only cast, the presentation has to be absolutely pinpoint perfect, and only then do you discover how spooky they really are, because the fish may still bolt at the sight of your artificial offering. But on the rare occasions when a corbina is actually enticed into eating, you hope the hook stays pinned in its rubbery lip and avoids throngs of summertime swimmers as this unrelenting fighter heads parallel to the beach or straight for Hawaii. Quite simply, they offer outstanding sport for those willing to take on the challenge.
For fly fishers who have had the opportunity to pursue other saltwater flats species, especially bonefish, the transition will be relatively easy and familiar. California corbina are similar in profile and have a propensity to feed in similar shallow-water habitats. However, most would agree that this is where their likeness ends, because corbina can be much harder to fool than your average tropics-based bonefish. Some would go so far as to say that they are at least as challenging as the wildly popular and coveted permit. Avid carp hunters seeking additional sight-fishing challenges will also find corbina an extremely worthwhile target.
I caught my first corbina on the fly four short seasons ago. In that first season, I made exactly 30 surfside trips while visiting numerous beaches and walking hundreds of miles and went home mostly with only memories, because I saw dozens while landing only three. Yet I was thrilled and could not wait for the following summer to arrive. Since that first summer, I have recorded an additional 69 California corbina in three successive seasons from 2014 to 2016, including 3 International Game Fish Association tippet world records in the 4-pound, 12-pound, and 16-pound-test categories last year.
Silver Surfers
Our friends at Wikipedia define the California corbina (Menticirrhus undulatus) as a saltwater fish that is a member of the croaker family, mostly found along sandy beaches and in shallow bays. While informative, this says little about its most telling physical characteristics. A downturned, toothless, vacuumlike mouth strongly suggests how and upon what it mainly feeds. Most importantly, it dictates where your offering needs to be presented — but more on that later. A corbina’s sloped forehead, large pectoral fins, and slim, bottom-flat fuselage allow it to take full advantage of shallow surf-line conditions as it rides waves in toward the edge where sand meets surf, its dorsal fin and back sometimes fully exposed, hoping to locate its favorite meal, the soft-shelled sand crab. If the depth remains suitably safe, it will linger, often cruising parallel to the shore and feeding into the current. Buffeted by the surf’s microcurrents, its trajectory can also be quite irregular as it continues to feed. With a smooth, gliding turn, it then rides the same wave, now receding, out toward open ocean, where it will await its next opportunity to feed and venture back shoreward, searching for its next meal. Depending on the fish, that subsequent opportunity may occur on the exact same patch of sand or possibly a football field’s length farther down the beach.
Corbina also have an incredible sense of smell and can detect a bed of sand crabs well below the surface, as can be witnessed by large divots left where one has burrowed down half a foot into the firm hardpack. They are equipped with small, beady eyes, and it is surprising how well they can see, whether it is a stalking fly fisher a long cast away, a fish-hunting osprey floating well above, or the tiniest movement of the smallest of flies. They are also armed with an incredibly sensitive lateral line running almost the entire length of the body that can quickly register your fly’s splashdown, even amid the chaos of the surf zone. I know this, as I’ve watched my worst casts land well behind the intended target, only to see the corbina turn on a dime to investigate. It is such an amazing quarry.
And You Can Get a Tan
Although each season can vary significantly with a particular year’s weather patterns, corbina traditionally start showing up along Southern California’s beaches in early June and remain until the earliest of fall storms causes a significant drop in water temperature, which will send them packing to who knows where. It behooves you to check your local beaches well before the “official” season begins, though, because it is not unusual for springtime temperature spikes to cause them to move into sandy beach shallows. For example, during 2015’s El Niño, they showed up on a nearby beach in early March and offered great action, if only for a short time, until a storm caused them to vacate that stretch of coast overnight. The water temperature was unaffected by the fast-moving front, but the fish-holding structure was completely eliminated. Though that instance was an anomaly, it still is worth giving potential holding areas a periodic check, especially after significant weather changes, because they can also create structure.
Many would agree that the peak season seems to be from July to August, when the fish become comfortable in their routine as summer water temperatures stabilize and food sources become consistently available. Last year, they could be seen roaming the beaches well into September, because coastal temperatures remained favorable, though only a few were caught — the fish were extremely skittish by then, having endured an entire summer’s worth of human exposure, whether from beachgoers, swimmers, surfers, or anglers. That said, resident corbina can be found available almost year-round by those preferring to blind cast in sheltered harbors, bays, and channels. The focus of this article, though, is almost entirely on corbina stalked and cast to in the surf.
Backyard Bones
Although corbina are not well known outside of Southern California, they generally range from Point Conception southward, with tremendous opportunities available for anglers willing to venture even farther south into Baja waters. California’s local beaches, whether in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, or San Diego Counties, all offer potential fish-holding habitat on any given day. Most often, the fish will be where their food is prevalent. Stomach sampling suggests that 90 percent of their diet is composed of sand crabs (proper name, mole crabs) with clams, ghost shrimp, and mussels making up the remainder. It is no wonder that sand crab patterns work so well.
As their name suggests, sand crabs are found in sandy environments, moving up and down the beach with each tidal cycle, often changing their depth according to the size of the waves present and the water temperature. If they are buried near the surface in large groups, their antennae will leave noticeable Vs in the wet sand as a wave recedes. I’ve seen these groupings from as small as a doormat to the length of a baseball field. If found near fish-holding structure, these areas are always worth monitoring. Shorebirds find them an easy meal and can reveal their locations as they race up and down the beach, probing with their beaks into the soft sand while trying to keep their plumage dry. Sand crabs can be found in a variety of sizes throughout the season, most often in a matte gray color, though a molting or “soft-shell” sand crab can take on an almost transparent beige appearance. A spawning female sand crab ripe with a bright orange clutch of eggs offers an attractive nutritious meal to any surf zone predator. For some reason, sand crabs love to bury themselves near large jetty rocks, mussel-covered pier pilings, or concrete storm-drain structures, perhaps seeking the protection and feeding opportunities afforded by these large, immovable objects, which also are sometimes covered with mussels or provide sanctuary for small fish. That’s why you may also see any number of other species there, such as rays, leopard sharks, shovelnose guitarfish, and barred surfperch. They are there to feed, so make note of these areas, because if they hold sand crabs, they also can hold corbina.
Though I have not seen them do so yet, corbina will undoubtedly eat fairly large baitfish, and I have caught a handful of them while pursuing California halibut with relatively large grunion-imitating jerkbaits on conventional gear. All of these food options are important to note, because they will inform your fly types, sizes, and colors, as well as where you fish.
The Hunt for Structure
Day in and day out, your success will be dependent on fish-holding structure. Whether a trough, flat, pool or rip, none seems to offer much success without the aforementioned food sources and proper water temperature — say in the mid-60s to mid-70s, according to my trip logs.
The process for finding structure is simple: walk, walk, and walk some more during low tide. I often fully commit to the endeavor by leaving my fly rod at home so that I can observe as much shoreline as possible. On occasion, certain beaches can be surveyed from a higher vantage point, which helps expedite the data-gathering process, but most of the time, you’ll need to hoof it. Low tide will reveal all of the subtleties of structure, from the high-tide line down to the water’s edge, all of which can potentially hold fish. I especially look for pathways leading into the beach from outside the surf, because those can be used as gateways for fish to arrive in and depart from feeding areas. You will often hear the term “keyhole” used by veteran fly anglers to describe a channel leading into a large, sandy depression. Once found, these kinds of features can offer consistent sighting opportunities. The channel might be only be a few inches deep, but that can be enough. Rip currents, or “rips,” formed by converging retreating waves, create more water depth and function in the same way a channel does, by providing additional visual safety for corbina so that they feel comfortable coming into the beach.
While seemingly featureless, gradually tapering sand flats are among the best areas for pursuing corbina. With waves breaking on an outside sand bar and the remaining energy arriving in soft, rolling wavelets, these expanses have the potential to hold large groups of fish. They can also involve more stalking as you try and find the section of sand that the fish have chosen to frequent on that particular day. That stretch of beach might be a fly line’s length wide and contain one or two players, or it might be a mile wide with schools of corbina spread out evenly, feeding on scattered clusters of sand crabs.
Whatever the size, not all beach flats fish the same, because some may fish best on an incoming tide and some on the outgoing. These differences may even occur from day to day for no specific reason, though once a pattern is established, it is likely that the feeding window will remain the same, but just later with each day’s tide. This is especially so if there is consistent weather and no change in beach activity. As an example of the latter, one day we found terrific action on a mostly empty beach, but the next morning it experienced an invasion of junior lifeguards numbering in the hundreds stampeding across the beach 10 abreast. We just shook our heads and went to breakfast early.
On flats, spots to target are usually quite subtle. As with larger rips, conditions to look for include seams where converging waves gently collide, making dislodged sand crabs available to feeding corbina. Think of these areas as the foam line in a trout stream, except instead of insects, the food source is dislodged crabs. Gentle pools or depressions, anywhere from a few inches deep to a foot or deeper than the surrounding beach, can offer holding areas where a corbina can hover, expending the least amount of energy while awaiting the maximum amount of food. Sometimes a small shoreline lip is all that is needed to create an edge that directs a corbina to feed. Like all fish, they are more willing to eat if comfortable, so key in on those areas where food and security merge.
Keep It Simple
One of the main reasons why I love corbina fishing is that it requires a minimal amount of tackle. A standard, medium-to-fast-action 9-foot 6-to-8-weight fly rod with enough flex to minimize hooks pulling out during violent headshakes, but enough power to contend with afternoon winds, will work nicely. This is not a distance game, so being able to place your fly accurately at a distance of 50 feet or less is most important. I prefer a 6-weight rod with “tip flex,” because it affords me the accuracy, flexibility, and power to entice and land a tough-to-fool, hard-fighting corbina. A lightweight saltwater-quality reel with a large arbor and a smooth, powerful drag and a capacity of at least 100 yards of backing is perfect. Many of my peers enjoy using 7-weight and 8-weight outfits and are quite successful. In a pinch, a 5-weight trout outfit can work, though it will be a little light when it comes to propelling your average corbina fly in the surf zone.
I’ve tried a number of fly lines for corbina over the past few seasons, and I believe I’ve found the best one for sight fishing. I’ve settled on a full-sinking weight-forward fly line with a Type 6 sink rate of four to six inches per second. It is designed to cover much deeper water, so why use it in surf depths often measured in only inches? To keep your presentation on the bottom where it belongs. This fly line will sink down and stay down below the swirling surge, thus allowing you to remain in touch with your fly as much as possible. This is extremely important, because the subtle take of a corbina might otherwise be missed. To maximize every opportunity, I clean my fly line after every outing. After gently rinsing my entire outfit, I dry my line and pull it through a towel that has been sprayed with a cleaner protectant. Routinely cleaning and lubricating your line will increase your line’s longevity and shootability.
Leader construction is a simple affair. While you can buy them premade, I prefer to construct my own out of fluorocarbon, not for its transparency, but for its abrasion resistance and its sink rate. I want my presentation on the bottom. Having my leaders always be the same 8-foot length serves two purposes. First, it keeps the fly line end far enough away from the fish so as not to alert it, but more importantly, it gives me a much better idea of where my fly should be, in case I lose sight of it, but can still see the corbina. In other words, you can still feed the fish without seeing your fly. The butt section of the leader is constructed from 5 feet of 20-pound fluorocarbon with a Perfection Loop on the fly-line end. It is connected to a 3-foot section of 10-pound fluorocarbon using a 2-millimeter tippet ring. Use of these cost-saving rings has in no way negatively affected my presentations or cost me fish, If anything, when using Trilene Knots, I believe they produce a stronger connection versus the usual Triple Surgeon’s Knot or Blood Knot connections. And although the premade leader manufacturers will hate me, do yourself a favor and buy 250-yard spools of fluorocarbon and save a bundle. Though the initial expenditure is costly, over the long haul, you will save significant dollars by not buying those tiny 25-yard spools, which always seem to run out of material at the most inopportune time.
When it comes to corbina, my approach to fly selection is always to keep it simple. Why? Because you can! Too many fly choices can lead to on-the-water confusion, as well as unnecessary expense. Although literally dozens of different patterns have been designed for the surf zone, there is one pattern that I use every time out, and that is the Surfin’ Merkin by fellow corbina addict Paul Cronin. I tie it with either silver gray or salmon pink Enrico Puglisi (EP) Fibers on a saltwater-tough Gamakatsu SL113H hook in size 6. To imitate an actively burrowing sand crab, I want that Surfin’ Merkin to create puffs of sand when stripped across the bottom, so I use small or medium lead dumbbell eyes. The small size is used in water less than a foot deep, the heavier when fishing deeper water or in faster currents. I am fond of the more natural-colored gray version, using it 80 percent of the time, going to the pink only in low-visibility, silty conditions or when I’m getting follows and refusals.
There are those occasions when a “rolling” or dislodged sand crab may need to be imitated, as well, so consider having a couple of Merkins with medium bead chain eyes, too. There are also rare times when ultra finicky corbina can be seen sipping quarter-inch sand crabs in clear calm water. A tiny size 8 or 10 deer hair sand crab with a long, downsized tippet can be effective, though the chances of landing a fish decrease with the diminished holding power of a small hook gape.
Fly fishing in the surf can be rough on leaders and flies. Periodically check your leader for frays and nicks. Rolling shells or a stray back cast can cause damage and cost you a fish, as will dull hooks or presentation-killing twisted dumbbell eyes. Do yourself a favor and check everything often. The surf environment is harsh. I replace my leader after every trip. The most effective leader connection to any of the above patterns is some kind of loop knot, because it will allow your fly to move freely with each strip of line. There are a number of popular knots available, but I prefer the Non-Slip Loop Knot, because it is quick to tie and strong. A stripping basket will allow you to manage your fly line better by keeping it off the sand, out of the water, and away from your feet. I’ve been using a commercial model, and it is very lightweight, durable, and holds the line well even when it’s windy. Others prefer those that are deeper and made of hypalon, but I personally find them unnecessarily deep and too bulky to run down a beach with.
For having such small beady eyes, Mr. Corbina can see surprisingly well, especially us anglers, and even at fairly long distances. While they’re great for photos, resist wearing bright-colored clothes, because that will only amplify the fish’s ability to see you. I opt for dull colors such as gray, tan, or light blue, because they match sand and sky well. I wear sandals from the car to the sand and walk the beach barefoot. You will likely cover some distance, so wear what you are most comfortable with.
Once the sun hits the water, a pair of polarized sunglasses will be absolutely essential. Fish-hiding glare must be neutralized in order to see and track your quarry, especially in the late afternoon. when you face directly west into the setting sun. I’ve tried every color of lens, and what works best for me are rose-colored lenses, because they afford good glare reduction and excellent contrast between a silvery-gray corbina and a beige-gray sand bottom. Copper lenses are also a good choice. And don’t forget your favorite baseball cap.
Finally, always wash all of your gear, flies included, with a gentle spray of fresh water and let it air dry before storing. Resist the temptation to use a harsh, blasting stream, because that will drive salt into the small corners of your reel and reel seat. Given the opportunity, salt water will destroy your expensive equipment, so protect your investment.
Walk This Way
You’ve carefully selected your fishing location and assessed the conditions. Your fly gear is fully prepared, you are dressed for success, and are now ready for the stalk. So what do you look for?
Even with all of that water moving around, I begin by looking through the water with my eyes relaxed, trying not to fixate on any one thing. I then look for any kind of contrasting underwater movement, something that is different, an object that is out of place. Sometimes you might see an entire fish, other times just a bit of dark gray pectoral fin or tail. As I learned from bonefishing, I find that I spot fish best when scanning potential holding water using my peripheral vision and then panning back over that area if I think I saw a fish. Others pan best front to back, because that is said to help minimize eye strain. Regardless of the method, my advice is to look only where you can see something.
Insufficient light, especially early or late in the day or during cloudy conditions, requires a change in strategy. Shift your approach to looking for surface pushes of cruising or feeding corbina on shallow flats. If near deeper pools or troughs, walk a little closer to the water’s edge than you normally would so that you can reduce glare and look down into the structure. Yes, you may spook a fish, but it may be your only opportunity until sight fishing conditions improve.
You suddenly spot a corbina, so now what?
If that fish is coming toward you, perfect! You are in a position to make the all-important first cast. If not, you need to make an adjustment, because a corbina swimming away is only going to spook if you cast and strip your fly toward it. Keeping your eye on the prize, walk up the beach and position yourself well ahead of the fish. Let it come to you, and stay out of the water so as to avoid detection. You are now ready to cast. I like to present the fly between the fish and the beach, because that is where I am assuming it will turn to feed. As the corbina approaches to within a couple feet of your fly, begin stripping with small, short strips. As they say, “Be the sand crab.” Watch the attitude of the fish, taking note of any sharp or turning movements, and if you suspect a take, use a long, steady strip strike to drive the hook home, especially if you feel weight. Then be prepared to let line slip through your grip, because the fish may turn and rocket away. If it does and you don’t, you risk breaking your leader. These are reaction bites, and as such, some will be aggressive and followed by a strong run. Once the fish is hooked, ignore the temptation to admire the bend in your fly rod or to watch the fish running off. Instead, quickly look down and clear your fly line, assuring that it will not tangle in a large heap as it leaves the stripping basket.
Every fish is different. Some of them will eat the fly and instead of turning away, they will swim directly toward you, creating slack and not allowing you to set the hook. In those situations, keep stripping until you feel the weight of the corbina, but again, be prepared for a turning, surging run.
Before we move on to the fight, we need to discuss beach safety. It is paramount that you understand the environment in which you will be fishing. You will be sharing the sand with any number of others. They might be surfers or swimmers, joggers or out-of-town visitors. Any one of them can be hooked by your back cast if you are not paying attention. On your local trout stream, you risk hooking a tree and losing your fly. On the beach, you risk much more damage. Always check to either side and behind before you cast. Conditions change very quickly, so never assume that you have a clear area for your back cast. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been engrossed in tracking a fish, only to be completely surprised as an unsuspecting jogger or beachcomber shows up directly behind me. So always check behind you.
The Moment Of Truth
You’ve done everything right. You’ve found your target, made an accurate presentation, and enticed a corbina to eat. Now the fun begins! You set your drag properly well before you’ve started fishing, and now your quarry, feeling pressure, is headed away fast. With a bend in your rod and your corbina on the reel, enjoy the moment. Let that drag sing and do its job of tiring your prize, but be ready to crank fast should it turn in toward the beach, especially if pushed in by a wave. Expect to feel a lot of head shakes as well, as it tries to shake the offending fly from its mouth. That powerful first run, and perhaps a second, can be exhilarating.
Being in such a dynamic environment, the corbina will likely end up paralleling the shoreline during the battle. I try to fight it perpendicular to the beach, because corbina have been known to charge right up the sand and beach themselves. As the fish begins to tire, continue to apply steady pressure by lifting your rod in short lifts and quickly winding down. Learned from fighting larger offshore game fish, my lifts are kept below a 45-degree angle so as to take full advantage of the fly rod’s powerful lower section. Doing so can help minimize rod tip breakage, as well. I also like to keep the rod to my side, parallel to the sand, to apply more side pressure and shorten the battle. Pulling in the opposite direction from the fish will also keep it off balance, the goal to always minimize stress on your catch.
By now, your corbina is tiring, but you are often left with the daunting task of beaching a large fish through what can be a pounding shorebreak. To help maintain a proper pulling angle, I begin walking backward up the sand, using the push of an incoming wave, letting each kick of the fish’s tail propel it farther up the sand. If you miss your opportunity to land it, be prepared to rush down toward the water, because your fish will now be caught in the suction of the receding wave. Trying to stop it at this point will often cause your leader to break, because there is very little cushion left with only your leader and a bit of fly line outside your rod tip. It may take a few tries, but if done effectively, you’ll land your corbina.
We all like to record our catches, especially those of special species such as the corbina. Here are a few things to remember. Corbina, though built for the harsh surf environment, are extremely delicate, especially after a tiring battle. To minimize stress on the fish, I try to follow the same general rule that applies when photographing other species, and that is to keep your catch out of the water only for the same amount of time you can hold your breath. Have your camera equipment ready so that it can be deployed in a few seconds. My sling pack contains a point-and-shoot camera and folding monopod that can be fully deployed in less than 30 seconds. With the timer feature already set before I left the house, I can have that fish posing for pics and back in its home quickly. This may sound odd, but practice setting up your equipment at home. All of your “released-alive” catches will thank you.
With your catch documented, quickly return it to the water, reviving it by facing it upright into gentle incoming waves until it begins to kick and swims away. We need to do everything we can to preserve this marvelous near-shore fishery.
Best of luck to all, and I’ll see you on the sand.
