Hey NorCal. Surf fishing for perch?

I put a thread in the fishing forum. Oddly enough- no bites!

I’ll try here. Anyone catching perch on the beach? I’m hooked. My first day I got six. None since. Still super fun.

I’ve been fishing Wright’s Beach. Kinda rough waters being all exposed like that. I’m gonna try Salmon creek beach I think, or head south.

Anyone here fully versed in beach fishing? I am a total rookie at this.

 

I love fishing for perch.

I’d say it’s hottest at the end of Dec-end if Jan. About mid February the sand fleas either breed or shed their carcasses and in the process the perch fill up quick and don’t take the bait as well.

I only fish Wright’s. It’s got nice coarse sand where all the food the perch is after can hide, and a decent drop off from a sandy beach - versus a slow sloping beach.

The fish bite the best when there’s a decent swell, but not when it’s crazy rough. Go up to the rocks to the north to get in a little protected zone if the swell is too high. Cast right over the crash zone of the waves, no reason to cast further.

We use a 2 hook set up, with weight at the very end of the line. Synthetic night crawlers catch the most perch, but not the biggest, synthetic grubs get the big boys.

Not uncommon to go out in late December and get a fish every single cast.

 

Thank you very much.

I got two dinks at Wright’s. I was fishing where two wave systems were coming together. Pretty much adjacent to the off shore rock islands.

Never thought about going to the ricks on the north end. The waves just look bigger over there.

 

If you ever want to meet up, reach out. I have a buddy coming out to spend New Years. We will be fishing.

 

Let me know when you guys go. I did fairly well there once too. I also surf cast with snares for crabs and if the waves aren’t too big I’ll paddle out in the kayak and drop traps.

 

I went once with a buddy in pismo, it was awesome! I tried once at Salmon Creek and had no luck. The current was super strong, and I could feel my pyramid sinker rolling across the bottom. I'm anxious to go again, I guess I'll have to check out Wright's next time.

 

I like fishing swimbaits from shore. With a weedless setup you can work around kelp.

 

What type of swimbait? And for perch? That sounds much more fun than throwing a 3 oz pyramid sinker with some little grubs and waiting, lol.

 

I have some shad swimbaits from the Bass Pro nearby. I much prefer to be active so I like casting and retrieving. Hardest is knowing where you can fish now. Many places I fished for years seem to be off limits nowadays.

 

Right on, I'll have to look for some smaller swimbait, I think my bass ones are a bit too big, lol. Yeah, I'm not a fan of sitting around and fishing either. Supposedly there are some good areas up here, I'll have to check them out.