It's Corbina Time; A Wade and See Strategy

Surf fishing for corbina in so-called skinny waters on the beach with a fly rod and reel can bring out the best in an angler – and nature.

Shadows of the surf, gray ghosts of the shoreline, that's corbina, a prized croaker that ranges from the Sea of Cortez to Point Conception. They can grow to 8 pounds and are known for their great initial runs and fights. Anglers say they're tough enough to catch with bait, such as sand crabs, which is 90 percent of their diet. It takes an artful angler to fool one with a fly.

This is corbina time, from now until September. As the best golfers in the world gather for the U.S. Open on the bluffs of Torrey Pines, surf fishermen know the surf zone below Torrey's sandstone cliffs is a prime spot. But corbina can be found from Imperial Beach to San Onofre. The water has heated up and the fish are showing in greater and greater numbers. Pockets of sand crabs can be seen on the beach as the waves cover and uncover their squiggly spots.

And corbina do show, literally, as nothing more than shadows moving in the shallow water. If you're lucky, you'll see a tail or the back of one as one gets too close to the beach and almost gets stuck.