Surf perch report

Been taking a little break from the salmon and steelhead action once a week to hit the beach for surf perch.....it's been great and seems to have picked up steam the last couple weeks. I'm fishing grayland on a low tide with sand shrimp.

I've got the salmon/steelhead sickness as much as the next guy but I'll tell you fellas, give it a try sometime if your gettin the itch for something different. Drag the family along, build a fire and make a day of it. When you find a school of them it's one after another and they are darned good eating too. They've got some size right now as well. I'm using light steelhead gear so I can enjoy the fight.....they're a gas!

Just FYI

Eric

How do you rig up the shrimp (like for steelhead fishing?).

Also is it easy to get into a school of them.

Thanks for any advice.

Eric, what kind of rig do you use? Do you plunk or what?

I go to different spots at grayland. There is no one particular "hotspot". I do concentrate on minor depressions in the beach.

As for rigging, I use my 9 1/2 ft steelhead spinning rod which was built from an 8 wt fly rod blank. Since saltwater is hard on reels, I went to walmart and baught a cheap $13.00 spinningreel to which I put 8 lb. maxima. At the end of my mainline I attach a 1-2 oz cannonball sinker; depending on current. Back up the line (above the sinker) about a foot apart, I attach 2 one foot leaders of 12lb. maxima with #4 gammies using the egg loop knot. I then attach shrimp tails just like I was steelhead fishing.

I've seen some guys go more elaborate with fancy wire hooks and bigger, longer rods with more weight but I don't think it's really necessary. I like to keep it simple.

Hope that helps.

I to have been Surf Perch fishing for the past two weeks. I have been taking my family out to Rialto beach just outside of Forks. Lots of Sun, beach combing, had a beach fire and the fishing is excellant.

VooDo: I use a 10 foot steelhead Spinning rod. 10lbs test line with a two hook setup. I was using size 6 hooks but I kept missing bites so I went to size 4. These peasky little buggers love sandshrimp or Night Crawlers. I use two hooks and place one on each. YOU WILL GET MORE BITES ON NIGHTCRAWLERS THEN SANDSHRIMP AND THEY STAY ON YOUR HOOK BETTER. When using sandshrimp cut them in half so you dont go thru them so fast. I was Only casting out as far as maybe 30-40 yards off the beach. GOOD LUCK

FORGOT TO SAY

If you dont get bites or into small fish. Walk up or down the beach 40-50 yards and try again. You'll soon find them or they will come to you. Once your into them the fishing is fast and fun.
Like Eric says, fish the depressions, they like to hand out in holes.

Interesting take on the use of nightcrawlers. Do you use the whole worm or cut em' in half? Seems to me it would be more difficult to get a hooksetwith all that worm in that tiny little mouth.

Eric

Next time you go Surf Perch fishing take a box or two of NightCrawlers. I use a #4 snelled Eagle Claw hook, you can get about 1/2 a crawler on it. They work just as good or better than sandshrimp, there cheaper and they stay on the hook longer.

Three weeks ago I was at Rialto beach with sandshrimp. This lady who was fishing about 30 yards from me was using Nightcrawlers and she was out fishing me 4 to 1. After wathing her get her limit I bought some next time I went. The Perch love them.