Hunting in the Surf

Compass · Feb 10, 2018

About a month ago I found my 1st (and only) gold so far this year. I finally got around to putting a video together that shows a portion of that hunt. I like to hunt during high tide when beach erosion is taking place but it can be a little risky sometimes.
In the video the waves don't look that intimidating but there were occasional sets that came in hard and I got knocked down a couple of times. It could very well be that my balance isn't quite as good as it was before my brain surgery last year but I really find surf hunting to be exhilarating. I don't see many other hunters in the surf during these times- most show up 2-3 hours AFTER high tide.

I hope you enjoy! GL and HH!

Surf Master · Feb 11, 2018

Nice Flick

I will have to try the high tide surf hunt, mostly low tide hunt's, a new year to experiment thanks for sharing , congrats on the gold, plenty target's on that Ca coast 4 sure , happy hunting Earl

Compass · Feb 11, 2018

Thanks Earl, Most of the time you can time it and lean into the incoming and outgoing surf for leverage but got to watch out for a few sneaker and cross waves. Also have to be careful not to get trapped between a big cut and big wave- smaller cuts 3 feet or less not as much. Good luck! :yes:

Surf Master · Feb 11, 2018

Ya

With the DF i can see that coil getting ripped up quick , i would try it with a Excalibur 800, but the ears on the Whites DF :jawdrop:

sooner or later , calmer day's maybe are ok, howboutit .

FelixtheCat · Feb 11, 2018

You have much wider areas of wet sand to work in compared to that what we have down here. When the surf is rough here the wave energy doesn't get dissipated over such a long stretch. Nice production on that video!

Mud-puppy · Feb 11, 2018

"Down goes Frazier!" Loved it! That surf was tight! I thought the Ocean had a bit of time between rollers?...here in West MI you got about 5 seconds to do a scoop between them...really tough conditions you had there..packed high and tight with that angular ankle sweeping rip going on ..Great video that showed about unhuntable conditions...Good on ya for getting in it and scoring some NICE Gold Geo! Well earned!

brncofan · Feb 11, 2018

congrats on your 1st gold, glad to hear your feeling and doing better

Compass · Feb 11, 2018

Surf Master said:
With the DF i can see that coil getting ripped up quick , i would try it with a Excalibur 800, but the ears on the Whites DF sooner or later , calmer day's maybe are ok, howboutit .

Very true Earl. I think I'm on my 3rd coil now. :roll:

However, I've wizened up a bit and have added a coil stabilizer to the bottom of the shaft. I also, instinctively now, lift the coil out of the surf during an incoming roller or outgoing surge. I learned the hard way having my shins bashed by the coil (or scoop) from an incoming wave! :wow:

FelixtheCat said:
You have much wider areas of wet sand to work in compared to that what we have down here. When the surf is rough here the wave energy doesn't get dissipated over such a long stretch. Nice production on that video!

Thanks Felix, I wondered why you have said in the past that the water was too rough to work in. I don't know that I've seen that here too often. No matter how rough the surf is I can usually work high on the slope and follow the tide out. It seems that a lot of the hunters here don't want to get wet. I'm also starting to believe that in some situations, if you don't get the targets as they are being washed out, they have enough time before low tide to get buried again. :yes:

Mud-puppy said:
"Down goes Frazier!" Loved it! That surf was tight! I thought the Ocean had a bit of time between rollers?...here in West MI you got about 5 seconds to do a scoop between them...really tough conditions you had there..packed high and tight with that angular ankle sweeping rip going on ..Great video that showed about unhuntable conditions...Good on ya for getting in it and scoring some NICE Gold Geo! Well earned!

Thanks Mud, I can anticipate which way to lean about 95% of the time. It's that other 5% that can result in a stumble or knockdown!

Sometimes I miss the target and think that I am fast enough to get another scoop in before the next wave is on top of me. It's pretty unnerving to be in that situation when the sun is low on the horizon and the shadow of a big wave dims the lights, letting you know that you are about to be slammed! :shock:

brncofan said:
congrats on your 1st gold, glad to hear your feeling and doing better

Thanks brncofan! I really appreciate that! I feels great to be out in the surf again. Even with the hearing loss, things don't seem any different to me. I'm not complaining- just surprised. :?:

brncofan · Feb 11, 2018

Thats good to hear

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

71DHB · Feb 11, 2018

Congrats on the gold and all those targets! Thats some movement out there!

chumly · Feb 11, 2018

cool video

Thanks for showing us! It was fun.

metaladdict · Feb 11, 2018

Now that looks very hard to recover a target in! :shock:

Pyriteboy · Feb 11, 2018

Hey George,
The first thing my mentor told me was to hunt during the time when targets are being eroded down the slope, if possible. He showed me a picture of a few guys hunting the high tide somewhere in Newport with the monster cuts; it looked insane......I have done the high tide thing a few times and lived to tell about it, but those days are over unless I am in the company of others.....I know first-hand that good targets eroded out of the slope sometimes end up washed out to sea, so if you arrive 2-3 hours after high tide there is nothing to be had below a good cut. Conversely, some of those targets picked up during high tide erosion could be thrown up from the sea on to the beach. Nice video!

Jerry

Compass · Feb 11, 2018

71DHB said:
Congrats on the gold and all those targets! Thats some movement out there!

Thank you! For as much sand movement as there was it should have been even better detecting but it will still be there for some future hunt. :yes:

chumly said:
Thanks for showing us! It was fun.

Thanks chumly, I sure enjoyed it. GL&HH!

metaladdict said:
Now that looks very hard to recover a target in!

Actually, after the targets wash out they are often pretty shallow for a while. It usually takes 1 or 2 scoops to get them. Just got to be quick sometimes. :yes:

Pyriteboy said:
Hey George,
The first thing my mentor told me was to hunt during the time when targets are being eroded down the slope, if possible. He showed me a picture of a few guys hunting the high tide somewhere in Newport with the monster cuts; it looked insane......I have done the high tide thing a few times and lived to tell about it, but those days are over unless I am in the company of others.....I know first-hand that good targets eroded out of the slope sometimes end up washed out to sea, so if you arrive 2-3 hours after high tide there is nothing to be had below a good cut. Conversely, some of those targets picked up during high tide erosion could be thrown up from the sea on to the beach. Nice video!

Jerry

Thanks Jerry! I've heard a lot of amazing stories from credible hunters and have seen some pretty strange things myself over the years in regards to the surf moving targets around. The one common denominator seems to be big or at least powerful surf. But there are so many variables involved like the angle that the waves are hitting the shore from, the combination with different swells, the tide- there has to be thousands of possible scenarios. Sometimes just being at the right beach at the right time is a matter of luck!

melbajoe · Feb 11, 2018

enjoyed that video, showed a different style of hunting with the long flats. East coast is different esp in CT. with Long Island Sound vs the ocean. congrats on the first of the year gold.

DigDeepNow · Feb 11, 2018

Nice gold and video!!

Ra1der5 · Feb 11, 2018

Great vid Compass. Glad you're back on your feet and found your first 2018 gold.

R5

strick · Feb 12, 2018

Nice hunt lots of old targets..dont get swallowed up !

strick

Cfmct · Feb 12, 2018

Nice vid George except for your music... I rather hear you talking about your hunt... I turned the music off

Compass · Feb 13, 2018

melbajoe said:
enjoyed that video, showed a different style of hunting with the long flats. East coast is different esp in CT. with Long Island Sound vs the ocean. congrats on the first of the year gold.

Thanks Joe, I don't know how many more opportunities we'll have for surf hunting this winter- it's been a pretty mild season even by southern California standards. :yes:

DigDeepNow said:
Nice gold and video!!

Thanks DDN!

Ra1der5 said:
Great vid Compass. Glad you're back on your feet and found your first 2018 gold.
Thanks Raider, If I'm not 100% I think I'm about as close as I will get and that will work!

R5

strick said:
Nice hunt lots of old targets..dont get swallowed up !

strick

Thanks strick, I really should have had my emergency vest on- next time. :yes:

Cfmct said:
Nice vid George except for your music... I rather hear you talking about your hunt... I turned the music off

Thanks Craig, I had a feeling you were going to say something about the music. I knew I was going to get wet so I had my GoPro in its waterproof/sound proof case. That's why there is no commentary. Even if there was, it was windy and that noise would have annoyed you more than the music!

Hunting in the Surf

Compass

Surf Master

Compass

Surf Master

FelixtheCat

A Moderating Knight of the Round Coil

Mud-puppy

brncofan

Elite Member

Compass

brncofan

Elite Member

71DHB

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chumly

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metaladdict

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Pyriteboy

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Compass

melbajoe

DigDeepNow

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Ra1der5

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strick

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Cfmct

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Compass

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