[tictactug]

Just curious if anyone can give me the run-down on this fishery.

Is it open year round? What's the typical gear? Is it so easy even a caveman could do it? Gerneral locations?

I have some razor clam scraps that I vacuum packed and froze (the siphon tips). I heard these worked good for bait, so I kept them.

I've just never done it, and its on my to-do list of '08

 

[volynsky]

open year round.

The most important tip: do NOT wade in the surf, unless you want to end up in the 6:00 news.

 

[WaFlyCaster]

ive caught them off jetties or rocky points... i was using lures that resembled bait fish in the summer months..... but i talked to a guy that was fishing bait off the bottom and he was doing quite well... he was using sand shrimp and or muscles for his bait.

 

[Robert]

I go to Kalaloch twice every summer for camping. I always bring my surf rod and smelt nets. I normally catch my limit of perch early in the morning 6-7ish with two baited hooks. I use the asian supermarket shrimp, raw, shelled. sometimes the fish will bite nearly every cast, sometimes I wont get a bite for a while, so I would walk to a different spot to fish. When I cast, I try to cast my rig past the incoming surf. im sure the clams will work because i've seen some other guys using clam meat.

 

[Netdab]

Perch could be anywhere along the Beach and like he said - the need to cast beyond the surf is important. One time a few years ago I took a friend out surf perchen in the late spring and in a few hours I had my limit. Some were very nice sized. My friend cought one. We fished a couple hundred yards apart. He was pissed off that he was almost zippo and couldn't figure out why? I told him that if the bait has no smell then no perch. He forgot that little detail and only used a couple baits the whole time outthere, He figured that the bait look good and didn't think it needed change very often. All the baits indicated work just fine. Sand shrimp are a bugger to keep on the hook, but using the stretchy string to ty them on helps some. Minny bagging them is a hassel. Store shimp - Yes. Small tiny rock crabs - great.
I prefer muscles, they are tough and brighter colored, but after each cast I almost always change baits. You can get muscles in most food stores and are usually frozen. The larger the muscle the better. Make friends with the Butcher and they can ordor special for you fresh and big. $$$ What I like to do is to shuck them just before heading down the beach into bait size in a small plastic jar - the jar that oysters come in in the store works great with the big screw on lid. If you feel like it -during low tide, look for any kind of a draw, depression or easy hump (island) where that when the tide is coming in it will cause the perch to collect in the deeper part of the draw, that's where their food concentrates. When you find a change in the sand topo then go way up the beach bank and Mark-it so that you can find it later. Incoming tide is best being High High and Low Low tide changes are best. Sand weights are needed because of the side currents, You can use a sludge hammer and flatten old pyramid sinker to make a sand sinker for the drop setup. I have no idea what perch is like in mid winter, but have hear that thats their home and that they're alway there.

 

[THE TRAPPER]

What is a "sand sinker"? One of these? "TRAPPER"

 

[YellowFever]

well put netdab- they aren't tough to catch if you put a little effort into it. They are basically all up and down the coast, but look for places where the sand makes bars that stir up current or dips, points, etc. Fish these on the incoming tide. For gear, i've always used a steelhead pole, but be careful because you can really screw up a good reel in that saltwater and sand! A long rod always helps, and i've used 10 to 15lb test with good results. Alot of guys rig up a 3 way with a dropper and 1 or 2 hooks coming off, but for the sake of simplicity I always just rigged like you would any carolina or bait rig for trout, with my mainline going to a swivel, a slide sinker on the mainline, and a 2 or 3 foot leader with a size 2 or 4 hook on the end. The clam necks work good for bait, just put a couple of them on there and make sure they stay put. Then... just run out on a good wave, launch as far as you can and run back before the wave gets ya. Keep that line tight and wait for any slow tugs, nibbles, movement. The waves can play with ya, but alot of times they swallow the bait anyways.... Good luck!

 

[Netdab]

I like the phrase where you run out and launch it and run back. How true. I've always fished in the summer, wearing Strapon sandled and cutoffs when it's a little harmer. I've seen the guys out there wearing waders, with no Raincoat and not belted tight. They're done for in only a short time before they're up the beach stripping down to unload a couple gallons of wader water. Running with waders take a hardy effort to do the - Run Launch and Retreat.
I hear about the clam necks, but years ago, up at Ruby Beach, I harvested some tubeworms during minus tides, that worked fantastic. Q: Is it illegal now to harvest tubeworms for surfperchen?????????? say at Ruby Beach???????????

 

[Netdab]

What is a "sand sinker"? One of these? "TRAPPER"

I haven't seen that before. learn sompom everyday.
I'm curious - What are the advantage of this sand sinker verses a sand disc sinks? expense, environment, presentation, casting, effectiveness????????????

 

[volynsky]

I like the phrase where you run out and launch it and run back. How true. I've always fished in the summer, wearing Strapon sandled and cutoffs when it's a little harmer. I've seen the guys out there wearing waders, with no Raincoat and not belted tight. They're done for in only a short time before they're up the beach stripping down to unload a couple gallons of wader water. Running with waders take a hardy effort to do the - Run Launch and Retreat.
I hear about the clam necks, but years ago, up at Ruby Beach, I harvested some tubeworms during minus tides, that worked fantastic. Q: Is it illegal now to harvest tubeworms for surfperchen?????????? say at Ruby Beach???????????

pile worms or tube worms fall under the "unclassified marine invertebrates". The regs say limit 10, with no harvest allowed in State Parks. Sheesh... a limit of 10 worms.

For Ruby Beach, if that is in the Oly National Park, I think they have their own set of rules.

 

[Netdab]

Thanks for the respond! 10 worms 10 casts, that's a very short day for perchen with tubeworms and that's if you can find them at all other than at a State Park, but I do understand the total restriction of No harest on State Parks. Oh Well.

 

[backlash II]

Very good surf perching from Garyland south into Willapa Bay. Surf perch school by size
, so if your catching small ones move up or down the beach. Rig, 10 lb. power pro or braid of your choice, 1 oz. egg sinker on main line then 2 green beads. Tie on a swivel, take a 2 ft. steelhead leader size 2 or 4 hook w/egg loop, slide a lg. red cookie on & peg it at the hook. Tie to swivel, 6 to 8 ins. of fine copper wire w/ one end wound thro hook eye. Sand shimp for bait, secure to hook w/wire. 10 ft. or longer med. lt. rod, works great.

 

[coaster]

along the ocean beaches, there is typically a current running parallel to the beach. cast "upcurrent" to maybe 10 o'clock, and when your rig drifts/drags to around 2 o'clock, reel in and cast again, moving 50 yards one way or the other if no bites. search for a school. if you see the foam/current "stop" or move away from the beach (a little "rip tide"), try casting there.

the 3/4 or 1-ounce rigs are a delight to fish with, but at times it is necessary to cast into a strong wind, or across one. then i use a 13-foot surf rod and a 5-ounce "bank sinker," shaped somewhat like a teardrop and relatively aerodynamic. with a strong surf fishing type of cast, it will sling the bait out there a long ways. the current will still drag that "bank sinker" along.

a strong cast with a long rod and a 5-ounce weight can break your line, so consider using a 50 pound test "shock leader" like east coast and gulf coast surf fishermen do.

 

[THE TRAPPER]

Less Lead left in the Surf. Tup: "TRAPPER"

 

[tictactug]

So, does anybody ever really attempt this in Feb or March???

 

[volynsky]

So, does anybody ever really attempt this in Feb or March???

Yes, and I have done well. You need to find good days when the surf is not too big. Big surf and strong wind are not the best conditions

 

[backlash II]

Feb.& Mar. aregood fishing around Grayland but you've got to watch the weather wind + rain & high surf make for misrable fishing. The wind & surf are the reason to use small dia. braided line, less resistance + casts a mile.

 

[Jake Dogfish]

This is a great thread with Excellent info. I have only fished for Surf Perch once but next time I will be ready.
Does anybody know how to catch the larger Tiger striped perch that live in Puget Sound?

 

[volynsky]

This is a great thread with Excellent info. I have only fished for Surf Perch once but next time I will be ready.
Does anybody know how to catch the larger Tiger striped perch that live in Puget Sound?

extremely difficult. I have been trying for almost 30 years with limited success. They are really finicky. Suggestions, use very light line or flourocarbon, light sinker, small hook. Use the standard shrimp, worms, clams, squid etc. bait. Keep your bait near the pilings and rocks where they feed. Also, fish for them in the winter and early spring. By summertime, there will be too many shiner perch around robbing your bait, and you'll have a hard time even reaching the striped perch.

 

[Dizane]

This is a great thread with Excellent info. I have only fished for Surf Perch once but next time I will be ready.
Does anybody know how to catch the larger Tiger striped perch that live in Puget Sound?

If you're thinking pile perch I've had some success on them while fishing for SRC.

A brownish colored clouser stripped slowly along the bottom has resulted in a fish almost every cast when I've come across schools of them.