Summer Surf Perch Fishing

From Southern California to Washington State, the Pacific Ocean offers astounding fishing opportunities, often right under your nose! Surf perch are a popular species to target and may be caught right near the shore from most beaches on the Pacific Ocean. Keep these tips in mind when targeting these feisty fish this summer.

Look for changes in the surf to indicate areas of deeper water or hidden structure. Perch will tend to congregate in such areas. Perch do not like flat, sandy waters as much as they like areas with changing structure. Learning to "read" the surf can be pretty difficult at first (everything looks the same!) but with practice (or a knowledgeable friend), such skills can be learned. Unlike freshwater, there usually is not visible rocks and trees to target, instead, eddies, breaks, and the like are the targets for saltwater surf perch anglers.

Keep moving until you find a school of perch that are willing to bite. Usually, when one is caught, many others will be found in the same area. Surf perch have a tendency to travel in large schools, so keep casting and moving until you find them.

Find out what the most popular local bait is, be it sand crabs, muscles, clam necks, shrimp, or sandworms. Many anglers like using artificials, such as plastic grubs, or flys. Berkely (a super popular fishing company) makes a nice set of saltwater Gulp biodegradable baits, designed for such surf fishing situations. Check the local bait and tackle shops to see what the residents recommend. I have had success with clam necks at Long Beach, Washington, but also caught them on cut up shrimp in Southern California.

Surfperch bites feel like little "tap-tap-taps." Some anglers recommend simply tightening up the line by reeling in, thus setting the hook, but others like slamming the hook home with a powerful jerk of the rod. I prefer the former, especially after a a veteran surf perch angler told me to hook them that way.

Be sure to be extremely cautious when fishing in the jetty or in the surf. When dressing, expect to get wet, even if you are on a jetty, and be sure to have appropriate footwear. The waves around jetties can be especially rough and wild, dangerously crashing over the rocks at times. Always, always, always be on the lookout for such waves and do not get in the habit of turning your back to the waves (big waves can happen at any moment, surprising even veteran anglers). Watch out for riptides and undertow in the surf; be sure to read up on these before venturing out. Such currents form on many beaches in the Pacific and pose a thread to anyone in the water. The surf is an amazing place to fish with awesome opportunities for anglers, but the dangers are very real and quite deadly.