How to Sight Fish Corbina in SoCal Surf [Bait, Rig, Structure]

In this video I cover some basic tips & tricks for Sight Fishing Corbina in the SoCal surf such as bait (sand crabs), my rig of choice, as well as identifying ideal structure for targeting these beautiful and finicky fish.
As mentioned during this video, I highly recommend watching THIS if you want to learn more - • Corbina are BACK!! SoC...
More Corbina & Light Line Surf Fishing - • Light Line Surf Fishing
Getting Bit Basics - • Getting Bit Basics
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How I like to setup the Carolina Rig - 1/8 to 3/4 oz egg or bullet sinker, orange bead, size 12 barrel swivel, size 8 owner mosquito hook. 6" to 8" leader when sight fishing, 18" to 24" when blind casting structure.
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[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thanks so much for all the support everyone, truly means so much 🙏! If this video is helpful for you, please consider giving it a like - let’s see if we can get to 250, and I’ll make another one for y’all!!

[@cstarsfly]

What an excellent video! Informative and enthralling! Well done!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Greatly appreciate your encouragement and kind words. Thank you!!

[@theoldsurffisher1943]

Wow! What a concentration of big sand crabs. Your photo of the baited sand crab digging in (like naturally) illustrated what is a tremendous presentation.

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thanks Ron, I was trying (in vain) to get underwater footage of it but the day I went out, the water was just too rough. There's always next time!

[@theoldsurffisher1943]

@@BenjieKimFishing It's tough to improve on near excellence!

[@minh7170]

Thanks for another great video benjie.

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Greatly appreciate your positive stoke bro, thank you so much!

[@giveitago4212]

Caught my very first one in mission beach recently, so much fun

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Excellent, much congrats on that first one. Many more to come!!!

[@GaryGiffin]

Glad I found your KZbin channel. Great information here and I am ready to surf fish!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Hi Gary, thanks so much for your positivity and I'm stoked that you're exploring the surf! Tight lines and wishing you much success!

[@GaryGiffin]

@@BenjieKimFishing Going to try Berkley Big Gulp and drop shot in Cardiff tonight ;)

[@dewdog]

You make it look so easy. But I'll keep trying.

[@BenjieKimFishing]

haha thanks brotha, also keep in mind that part of my job is to keep it engaging for y'all...the grind is definitely real and while some days and weeks can be really good, other days and weeks can be really tough. Stick with it and enjoy the beauty of our SoCal fishery!

[@CastNreeL82]

Yeah~!!! You are a real hunter and good teacher👍👍👍👍 I have to try it soon. Maybe tomorrow ~ hahaha Thanks for sharing this video!!!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thanks Tony, I love that you're back home and grinding it out again, makes me feel like we are in this together!!! Let's finish out this season STRONG with hopefully many big fish!

[@StevenDelCastillo]

Great work and vid! Time to give a shorter leader a try

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thank you brotha!! When sight fishing these buggers, I'm completely sold - shorter leader is the way to go. My mentor is using straight braid with a split shot not more than 2 to 3 inches above the hook. And he KILLS it man, makes me realize I'm still in Kindergarten with these guys. One of the days/years, we'll get that 25!

[@StevenDelCastillo]

@@BenjieKimFishing let's get that 25 incher! gluck to us

[@johns9226]

Nice one Benjie. Keep em coming

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Appreciate it, thank you!

[@MohammedM66]

Benjie the legend! Awesome info here

[@BenjieKimFishing]

I'm a legendary grinder!!! Much love brotha!!

[@jwestfishing3229]

Benjie! You're taking me to school again! My leader is getting shorter.... Thanks for the video!

[@noelnolasco4440]

Awesome video bro 😎

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Appreciate that Noel, thank you!

[@snoozn11]

Thanks for all the tips and positive vibes Benjie (and great video edit here)! I just went to my local spot, made a hail mary cast into the surf, using a similar setup to what you have...and next thing I know I thought I'd snagged a rock...and the rock started tugging on my line. I pulled in an 18" bean, after an epic battle, and my daughter gave it a little pet before we sent it back. First and only cast, one huge fish! What a rush!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

So grateful for positive folks like you Adam, thank you so much bro. HUGE congrats on that 18", they surely get fun at around that size and so cool that your daughter was there to witness it. Tight lines and many more fish coming your way bro!

[@jackdude2626]

impressive

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thank you!

[@noride11]

Thank you for all the great information! On another note, to all the new and seasoned anglers, please police your trash. I ran into two "fishermen" this morning drinking beer at the crack of dawn and tossing the empty beer cans into the rocks behind them. I went and handed one of them his beer can back and reminded him he doesn't own the beach. Not the most comfortable thing to have to do, but it had to be done I am seeing more and more trash around our local beaches.

[@BenjieKimFishing]

I appreciate you bringing this to light, this fishery is truly up to us to take care of and if we all do our small part, it can continue to be a special place. Thank you.

[@snipergene]

Great video Benjie! I always learn something from you. I need to shorten my leaders!!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thanks Eugene! Keep in mind, short leaders are specific to when you’re sight fishing em…at least for me!! Can’t wait to see your next report!

[@micahlee8661]

Awesome video! Just caught my 1st corbina a couple of days ago. Thanks for all of the tips!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thanks Micah, and HUGE congrats on getting that first one out of the way. Many more are coming your way!!

[@Imjoshuabailey]

Great video Benjie! Very cool seeing the different conditions in the same stretch of sand!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Always appreciate it Josh, thank you brotha!!

[@csmats5374]

Nice corbina! That was interesting the way it used the seaweed to hide and maybe even get a little too comfortable and cocky. I'll remember that because whenever I used to see seaweed like that I'd steer well clear of it. Good to see you back on the surf, but I also know there are so many ways to fish and man cannot live on bread alone, right? For my part, this past month I've been fishing with my son a lot on jetties and boats, both my best friend's and half day. Nothing noteworthy on the boats but on the jetties we've caught a bunch of halibut (none legal but a good number of nice ones around the 18" range) and some hog spotted bay bass (about a half dozen give or take in the 16" to 17" range). It's just kind of hard to fish the surf in the middle of summer with all the people in the water. My son is going to grad school at Kansas State University in a little over a week so we've also been getting him up to speed on largemouth bass fishing. As a beginner he's already notched a very fat 18 incher and has hooked up but lost a couple big ones. He's really taken to it and all the different techniques, which I'm glad for because if I remember my U.S. geography from grade school, there ain't no saltwater anywhere near Kansas. Can't wait for your next corbina hunting video. Tight lines, brother!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thank you so much for the update and much blessings to your son at KSU. What a time of transition and excitement...wishing him a smooth transition and a transformative few years (and many big bass!). It sounds like you've had some good times on the water lately, what a gift to get out there regardless of boat, sand, or lake!!

[@christianmance8015]

Awesome video from start to finish. Caught 2 Beans this year. IB baby! 🤙🏽

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thank you brotha. That's a great start to the season! Many many more coming your way!

[@papajorge88]

Dude another killer video! What time of day was that or do you normally go out?

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thank you Jorge, when targeting Corbina, I try to line it up with the tide. Most beaches, I like hunting em at a 1.0 to 2.0 or so, with a tide swing as mild as possible. If there's a day where that window coincides with early morning, that seems to be ideal for me. Hope that helps.

[@bwindle776]

Love the videos Benjie. Got into surf fishing this year and have landed quite a few Yellowfin croacker, corvina, and halibut this season. Yet to land the Corbina. Gotta find them big sand crabs! So much props to you buddy for steering us in the right direction! Oh also props to Rodney! Like the collab videos you've done. Good people. See you at the beach!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Good stuff Brian thanks for sharing your experience thus far and WOW, corvina! That's a bucket list fish for me, maybe one of these days I'll get lucky. The beans are definitely out there and you'll certainly get em. Appreciate the positive stoke brotha, tight lines!

[@bwindle776]

@@BenjieKimFishing Got the Corvina on a Luckycraft sp 110 minnow. Cherry berry baby!!

[@diabetichoneybee8796]

Hi Benjie, I'm watching all your Corbina videos. Good stuff. I'm wondering, if you were going to fish for Corbina only using artificial lures what specific lures would you use?

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Oh man, I don't have enough experience to have the best response but outside of flies, small plastics would be choice. 2" curly tails and similar small swimbaits. Or 2" to 3" gulp camo worms would work too. When they're up high and we are sight fishing, they can be extremely finicky. Blind casting into structure, not so much.

[@Droops.18]

Another amazing video by the great benjie💪🏽💯 CSA Strong

[@BenjieKimFishing]

YEEEWW! Always appreciate the stoke Edgar, thank you brotha!

[@tansen3633]

Great video! 🤙🏽 Happy to see another corbina video. Still looking to catch a corbina. When are we fishing again?😝

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Thanks Tan! Lezgo brotha, always happy to share the sand with you 🤙

[@drierdan]

Great stuff. Forget 250. Just make another one. They’re always great. Curious to get your thoughts on hook size, presentation, water temp, and time of day. Or, I’d love to hear you’re thoughts on Solunar times. As always, thanks for another awesome video

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Greatly appreciate the encouragement and positive stoke Doug. And wow, that's quite a handful of stuff to talk about...just goes to show how many variables are in play when hoping to stalk these guys in the skinny. hook size - smaller the better. I use owner mosquito size 8 but I know plenty of guys who use smaller...size 10, 12... presentation - bigger the crab the better. Short leader = natural presentation of crab digging in and no helicoptering. water temp - around 67 seems to be the sweet spot but doesn't mean they won't be around if its colder. time of day - grey light is great if the tide lines up. But I'm more likely to chase em when the tide is lined up - personally I like 1.0 to 2.0 in or out. But really seems to depend on the beach. solunar? I'll save that for another video but I don't pay as much attention to it as maybe others. The whole idea of barometric pressure and water movement triggering feeding times is tantalizing AND true, but for various reasons, I tend to pay attention to other variables first (that may or may not line up with the moon phase).

[@Fishingwithdaboys]

👏👏👏👏👏🎣🎣

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Hey brotha, thanks for all the stoke, haven't forgotten about ya, we'll try and figure out a day soon!

[@miles8307]

what weights do you use for the caroliina rig?

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Really depends on the day and conditions. If I’m just casting holes and structure, anywhere from 1/2 to 1 oz. Calm water days, 1/2. Rough water days 1 oz. When I’m sight fishing corbina (which is what a lot of my videos are about), I’m using a 1/8 oz egg or bullet with a 4” to 6” leader length. But as previously mentioned in a different comment thread, this is a very specific technique reserved for sightfishing these guys….Much much different from the typical understanding of surf fishing.

[@salvcolorado9874]

Where is this beach that you catch those???

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Hey brotha, I don't specify locations but this was in El Segundo/Manhattan beach. During the Summer, they're on most SoCal beaches in LA/OC/SD as well as Ventura/Santa Barbara. Just gotta find flat/skinny water at a lower tide (most of the time) and you'll see em coming up high to eat from the sand crab beds.

[@miles8307]

@@BenjieKimFishing YO I just moved to manhatten beach, I'll probs be spending more time onh the beach. I've mostly caught the corbinas on a dropper loop rig but i'm getting uised to the carolina. how do you keep the line taght/feel the bites? thakns!

[@BenjieKimFishing]

@@miles8307 I’m sight casting these guys in 6 inches of water on low tide and calm water days. Very specific method for targeting them and extremely different from bait and waiting. If you’re just casting into structure and bait and waiting, the dropper loop might be the way to go over the c-rig. The c-rig is still good for blind casting, just gotta adjust the sinker to the conditions (that’s how you can keep your line tight and hence feel bites). One benefit of this is if it’s fairly calm conditions, you can get away with a 1/2 oz and use the current to drift your bait into the edges of holes, which can extremely productive and deadly. So much more to talk about but I hope this helps.

[@FishingWithJimbo]

Do you always use a leader this short when fishing for other species like YFC and BSP?

[@BenjieKimFishing]

Hey there! No, not at all. This is only for when I'm sight fishing corbina in ultra skinny water. It's a totally different game then just casting out to structure. Hope that makes sense!

[@FishingWithJimbo]

And is your weight when targeting corbina normally 1/8?

[@BenjieKimFishing]

@@FishingWithJimbo ideally yes. But really depends on the swell. If it’s calm, 1/8 oz or even a little split shot using straight braid. If it’s rougher and they’re still swimming up high, I’ll move up to a 1/4 or even 1/2 if necessary.

[@FishingWithJimbo]

@@BenjieKimFishing thanks bro!!!