I'm going to long beach in mid march, I would like to do some fishing for surf perch. I've searched the site and got an idea what I need for gear but I have a few other questions. The first, has anyone done good or fished at all in march off long beach? How far out do I need to cast? And are there any spots you can point me to or is it the same up and down the beach. Also I read somewhere about a jetti that they catch all sorts of fish off of but I can't find any info on where it's at. Any help or info would be great as I will only have a day to fish, so I don't really have the time to do much searching this trip. Thanks guys

oh yeah, and what pound test line would be good for heavy surf.

I last hit surf perch back in September, but I'm pretty sure they are there year-round. I used a 4oz pyramid on a slider w/ 20# mono, but frankly, I think this was overdoing it. Hey, it my first time surfcasting! :p

The best place to aim for when casting is as far as you can chuck it. I generally didn't get a bite unless I put the weight beyond the first big row of breakers, which I admittedly didn't do very often due to my attempts to teach myself the Modified Pendulum Cast. When it works, it really works, but when it doesn't, duck and cover!

Check out the beach at low tide and look for troughs...when the tide comes in try to cast to these areas because food will collect here. Regarding how far to cast I've found the farther the better as the fish tend to be in the deeper water just past the first set of breaking waves (closest to shore) and beyond. Waders are helpful, but a long rod with plenty of weight should work as well.
JMS

You may alredy know this but just in case.
I get my bait here because they charge to much on the coast and sometimes you can go through alot of bait. The best bait I have used for surf perch is strips of goeyduck neck. I dig em up In polluted waters so there no good for eating. Also another super perch bait is sand worms, pilling worms, clam worms, or neries There all the same worm just different names. both these baits you can fish with confidence there the best and they stay on a long time!

Get ther about 2 hours before the lowest tide. Find an area that makes a depretion with a spit close to it a higher spot. Start fishing the incoming tide to high slack. A long rod with about 12lb is just fine. you don't need any more than about 4oz oflead. I tie a big snap swivle to my line then go up about a foot and mak a loop in my line and tie a leader to that, then do another foot and tye another loop and a leader. Any type of shrimp or prawns work, clam necks work, or what my grandpa calls kelp worms. They are those black worms under the muscels on the rocks, Those are the best, but I think it's not legal to dig for them anymore. The jetty is at Fort Canby state park, Be very carefull on that it is very dangerous! That should about do it. Good luck
Buck

Tube worms have always worked best for perch but it is now illegal to use them as it takes many years for them grow. I switched to night crawlers and have found them to be a great alternative. Stay off the jetty at Ft. Canby, like Buck said it is slippery this time of year and you can catch just as many fish in the surf in front of the campground. Sand shrimp work well for bait, but throwing 4 oz of lead as far as you can, usually results in the shrimp becoming airborne half way to the water. Great eating fish.

AB,

If you're going to wade out to cast (as most do) just make dam sure you're fishing an incoming tide. Every year, anglers are lost who ignore this rule.

I have some "special" surf casting tackle that I got at Johnsons Store in Copalis - it's the only place I've seen it. Sand shrimp hooks w/ "safety pins" to hold the shrimp on and "open" triangular weights with little spikes that hold in the sand.

doug p, tube worms are illegal to use for bait now? I didn't know that.

Hey thanks for the info guys.
Slab, why are you supposed to wade on an incoming tide? wouldn't you want to wade an outgoing so if you get stuck you have time to get out?

Oh my, digging through pix tonight to find some gallery shots, I ran across this one and thought I'd share it ...



Goes back almost half my life span

The triangular weights with the spikes work great! I always did my fishing around Pacific Beach while Mom cleaned the razor clams ... the neck ends worked great!

Time your waves, run out, cast as fas as you can, and start running like hell back up the beach

If you get swept in, you want the tide coming back, not going out to sea!