Can I fish for Surf Perch this time of year at Roosevelt Beach? Is Surf Perch fishing open this time of year?

Surf perch fishing is allowed year round at all beaches except area 12 (Hood Canal). Get out your Washington sport fishing rules book because there are a lot of special notes for each marine area. I love to fish for them. sometimes I catch a limit and sometimes I get skunked. I have my best results where there is a small depression in the beach as the tide is coming in. Be careful though. These ares of small depression are where the under tow can be most dangerous. I have a 15' whoopin' stick from Cabellas and have tossed 4 OZ of lead 180 yards to the bottom of my spool with it. You have to put tape on your finger or you will hurt your self and The best techniques are shown on the beach fishing for Stripe rs web sites. Oh and trying to catch surf perch with 4oz of lead at over a hundred yards just doesnt work. They have a gentle bite and I cant feel a thing with that much mono out there. I only get that kind of performance about 1 cast in ten. Ive wondered if I might hook a salmon if I cast a Buzz bomb around that far on a steep beach..Surf perch taste very good to me. Sometimes I pickle them. Worth the effort. Where is Roosevelt Beach?,,,,,Dan out

I've done really well there in the spring when there for clammies. Like dnantha, I employ 4 oz of lead but on a much shorter stick. I like the whoopin stick idea.... Anyhow, raw shell on prawns work tremendous as bait. Incoming tide is the ticket. Adjust lead accordingly...

Roosevelt Beach is north of ocean shores WA
What do you mean by this "Stripe rs web sites"

Limited up there the day I fished last weekend with the ol 4oz on a dropper and bait hook with clam necks. Chucking as far as I could...fish were in full attack mode with little doubt on bites. Each cast was the same, sometimes they stuck, other times they came off. Made for some great fish tacos!

winterchrome:
Would you explain this "ol 4oz on a dropper" What is "ol on a dropper?

4 oz pyramid dropper.

My set up is mainline to three way swivel . Tie a length of dropper leader with a snap swivel to the bottom of the three way and then snap in you weight. Off the free barrel on the three way, attach your bait hook. I buy pre-tied bait hooks and just loop them into the barrel. Others probably have different methods for this, but it works for me. As others have said, find some variation in the bottom and cast. I'm not a fan of being hammered by surf, so I usually just walk out a safe distance, chuck, then walk back.

Good luck!

I dont think we have them this far north, but a stripper is a fish that they fish for along the warmer parts of the coast.Sort of look like a huge bass with dark stripes running the length of its body. Often or maybe usually from the beach. I dont know much more about them than that. On the web sites Ive looked at about how to do it. They seem to want to get the bait out there as far as possible. Ive caught most of my sea perch within fifty yards or less of the surf line. I dont know what a 4oz dropper setup is either, but Im dieing to hear what it is. Could you help explain the set up for me Winterchrome?....Dan out

A great eating fish!

I fish them periodically when I burn out on the salmon/steelhead thing and need to change it up a bit.

What has worked for me:

- A good minus tide. Start an hour before and fish a couple hours into the incoming. Starting at this time defines more of the irregularities in the beach and helps pinpoint where to fish.

- I've also found there's kind of a magic zone well out into the waves where they will concentrate. Find a school and it will be bites almost every cast. Fall short of this zone and my bites go way down. If the surf's up at all it's tough to get into this zone. I wade out deeper than I should to help reach this zone. I don't recommend this.

- They are infinitely more fun on light gear and given a chance, are damn good fighters. Before I broke the rod on a river trip I was regularly using a 9'6" 8 wt fly rod blank I had built as a summer run spinning rod. 1/2 to 1 oz on 8-10lb test gets it out there a ways. Finesse is a must as it's quite a load on the rod. But hook one of those big 2-3lb females or two at a time if your fishing tandem hooks and it's game on on that light gear. What a hoot!

- Clam necks are over rated and a crap bait compared to fresh sand shrimp (my favorite) or a chunk of raw prawn.

They can be caught year around but I've found spring/early summer to be best. all of our central/south coast beaches in Washington have populations.

Awesome: I fished last night from 5 to dark cought 9.... 4 big 5 small loose drag lots of fun. I found the school of perch. Cast and bite within 5 seconds using shrimp tails on a 2 hook setup. I wonder if the fish will be in the same spot today? Going out after the seahawks game Go HAWKS!