NorthWest Kayak Anglers
Regional Discussions => Oregon Kayak Fishing => Topic started by: Cosmo on January 04, 2019, 11:49:55 AM
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Not necessarily a Kayak fishing topic, but with fishing options being limited this time of year, I'm looking for new species to target. I'm reading in the Fisherman's Marine fish report that Surf Perch fishing is unusually good this time of year.
I've fished for them in Southern California, where we don't need long rods or need to cast out far, however, I'm interested to learn where to go, and if I need to bring my surf rod or if I can use a lite spinning rod?
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks.
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Hi Cosmo
I usually had luck at two places:
Rockaway, close to the rock. Access is easy. From 101 turn left on W Washington St then right. There is a small small park on left that gets you access to beach, called Rockaway Beach City Park I think, with parking on right side of road.
Oceanside Beach State Recreation Site (I think that’s what it’s called). Head north from Oceanside on Cape Mears Loop a mile or so. Steps down to beach. Fish from rocks to left of stairs. Do not go here during incoming tide you will get stranded.
I have done this with trout poles but just acquired a long pole which I am eager to try. I have been thinking of going and could show you.
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I tried surf perch fishing a few times during late summer. My best luck was in Lincoln City. Be aware if you fish there, you need to fish south of the NW 35th Ct. beach access (44.59.25 N latitude). North of there is in the Cascade Head Marine Reserve Area, and closed to all fishing. I found some easy pickings just to the south of that access point.
As for rods, I took the advice of PK Yi, who has dozens of YouTube videos on surf perch fishing, and use a 9' steelhead rod. The length helps keep the line above the waves, and I found that 1-1/2oz bank sinkers on a drop shot rig work well, so my rod needs to be able to cast 2 ounces. Most perch hit pretty close to shore, so distance casting isn't a requisite, but keeping a taut line in rolling surf is, hence the need to handle some weight.
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I'll echo Sherminator's advice: check out PK Yi's YouTube channel. Tons of great info in his videos.
As much fun as it'd be to catch perch on a light trout rod in the surf, you typically need a rod that can handle some lead. I use a medium-weight steelhead rod, 8.5 feet long, and typically use 1 to 2 ounce sinkers. The perch still make a good account of themselves on this outfit. I'll usually cast out a Berkley Gulp sand worm, then do a slow retrieve. Hits can occur at any point in the cast, but most often happen just beyond the first breaker from the beach. Anywhere you can see the waves churning up the sand is a good place to try.
I haven't found location as important a factor in perch fishing success as the tides. I look to fish around the top of the high tide, last hour of the incoming and the first hour of the outgoing. Be mobile--if the perch are around, you'll usually get hit quickly. I've had success fishing Nye Beach here in Newport, the beach north of the mouth of the Alsea River, and the beach just north of Yachats.
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Cosmo, I have several spares set up and ready to go. Let me know when and we'll hit it.
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I've heard of some folks having luck on the northside (Ocean side) of the north jetty at Tillamook Bay. I've been wanting to try there.
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They're everywhere. You can't spit into the ocean without hitting a surf perch on the head. Stand wherever you want, fish for ten minutes and if you haven't found them, move 100 feet and repeat until you do find them.
You don't need to make prodigious casts unless the beach you choose has a very shallow slope. You only need to cast just past the final shore break to be in their zone, and we find them anywhere from 10 feet to 60 feet from the beach on the steeply sloped beaches down here. Water depth doesn't seem to matter - sometimes they'll strike when you're reeling in for another cast, in water that can't be deep enough to hide in.
A light rod is probably not the right choice because you're casting into surf and need to hold your bait in place for as long as you can. It usually takes a 3 or 4 ounce pyramid weight to keep your hook in their zone. A surf rod isn't necessary but since you already own one, it'll do the job.
Don't over-think this, Cosmo. I've never seen (or even heard of) a "best time" to catch perch. They're always around, but you do have to hunt for them. When you find them, you almost can't do anything wrong. They're nearly pesky.
I run 20# Fireline to a 12# Maxima Chameleon leader - no swivel - to the pyramid sinker. I use a double surgeon's knot to attach a foot of 8# or 10# Maxima about 18" above the sinker, and a #4 octopus or circle hook. You can use a two hook setup if you want, but I've always found two hooks to be more of a pain than they're worth. YMMV.
I use as light a line for the dropper as I can get away with because the hook tends to get hung up most often and it's easier to replace a hook than it is to replace the pyramid sinker. Tying directly to the leader with a surgeon's knot has proven to be the strongest way for me to create a dropper, but I don't think it makes all that much difference. Use what you're most comfortable tying.
I stopped using a swivel because they collect too much seaweed, but again, your mileage may vary.
I keep promising myself I'll take my fly rod to catch them, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Good luck. They're fun to catch.
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To add a twist to this thread:
Anyone have advice where/how to catch STRIPPED surf perch here in Oregon? Do they occupy the same sandy beach areas as Redtail perch? Or do they prefer a different habitat? Maybe more reef type/rocky areas? Do they show up at different seasons of the year?
Or do I just need to weed thru enough Redtail to find a lone Stripped?
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I've never caught a striped surf perch, but I've been told redtail and striped perch don't party together.
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Tinker’s setup works. I got a $20 2 piece 12’ cheap prod at bimart it can huck lead as far as you need.
Use red Berkeley gulp worms, gulp mole crabs, or go dig sand crabs at low tide for bait. Read the holes at low tide then fish them at the high tide since you know where they are and that’s where the red tails will be.
You could also troll the Rogue right at the mouth during summer and maybe catch a salmon for every 10 red tails. That’s how I roll.
As for striped perch use small hooks - #8 or 10 - and a small piece of raw shrimp on a dropper, fish jetty tips, pilings in bays, and protected kelp beds. They are pretty but don’t eat as good and aren’t the best fighters.
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Stripped surf perch? That's what we used to call Pogies when I was a kid. We caught them off the rocks. I haven't target them since. Caught one last summer while fishing for Red Tails. He was right next to some rocks that was near the sandy area.
We had a guy move across the street with a diasabled sticker on his license plate a few years ago. The doctor must have told him he couldn't pick anything heavier than a 6' trout rod. He followed the doctor's orders. He became known as the local 'Perch Whisperer.'
He'd buy a 2 lb bag of raw shrimp, cut them up, divy it up in snack baggies, and take out of the freezer what he needed for the day. He also would chum with a can of catfood. I'm not sure how legal that was.
He chastised me for casting over the top of the perch. He was right. He guided for perch before he moved. He wasn't afraid to move to a different spot if he didn't catch some quickly. Good fisherman.
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crash is right, and I forgot to mention that striped surf perch have really tiny mouths. Good catch, crash!
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Thanks for all of the advice guys. It sounds like I can get by with what I've got. Now, if the ocean would just calm down a bit, I think it may be an option.
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To add a twist to this thread:
Anyone have advice where/how to catch STRIPPED surf perch here in Oregon? Do they occupy the same sandy beach areas as Redtail perch? Or do they prefer a different habitat? Maybe more reef type/rocky areas? Do they show up at different seasons of the year?
Or do I just need to weed thru enough Redtail to find a lone Stripped?
They can be found along sheltered areas of the ocean (kelp beds and rocky structure and such) and in the estuaries around pilings, jetties and underwater reefs. They can be found quite far up the estuaries, farther then one thinks. They are the first of the perch species to spawn and they don't move around much as compared to the other perch species. You need to go small as for hook and bait wise, their mouths are a little bit bigger than a end of a pencil(your pinky finger won't fit in there mouths)
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This guy posts some cool videos of fishing solo from a skiff around Newport. The video here is of him catching pile perch in Yaquina Bay. Big ones! I used to target pile perch in Humboldt Bay, and boy could they be fickle. I only rarely caught them on cut bait. Most of my success was fishing live shore crabs with a back the size of a nickel. I want to give the spot in this video a shot later this winter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW4jGDTQCP0
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Nobaddays calling Nobaddays!!!! He’s the bay pilling perch king! Won several TBKD’s with them.
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Hi Cosmos,
Another good place is about a 1/4 mile north of the Ocean Park beach approach on the Long Beach peninsula. Start about a half hour before the beginning of the incoming tide and work your way back with the tide. Clam necks work great.
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Another good location is the Clatsop spit.
Also, I have found that many locations have holes that are so far out as to only be reachable with a cast at low tide. It all just depends - some locations you want to fish high tide, some low.
Too lazy to grab a link, on youtube look up a cat named Rich Troxler. He's an east coast surf fisherman, so he's pulling fluke, bluefish, and stripers and the gear is heavier. But he has a couple very good videos on how to read the beach and know what's under the surface by what you see in the surf action.
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Join the Oregon Surf Perch Fishing group on Facebook. I've learned a lot there.
As far as "striped" perch (I think stripper perch hang out in different places) you can catch them on the ocean shore near rocks, especially rocks that have kelp on/near them. I seem to usually catch kelp greenling in the same places where I fish for striped perch, so if you aren't picky you may get several tasty species at once.
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You could also troll the Rogue right at the mouth during summer and maybe catch a salmon for every 10 red tails. That’s how I roll.
Those damn perch snatching the 'chovies killed me man. They had some good size to them though.
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So, are these critters something to try for off a breakwater jetty? Now that I have been retired, thinking about a trip out to the (WA) beaches...
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You could also troll the Rogue right at the mouth during summer and maybe catch a salmon for every 10 red tails. That’s how I roll.
Those damn perch snatching the 'chovies killed me man. They had some good size to them though.
The one that the lady caught off the guide boat was ginormous. It had to be 18 or 19".
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So, are these critters something to try for off a breakwater jetty? Now that I have been retired, thinking about a trip out to the (WA) beaches...
Yes - look for sandy bottoms with some deeper pockets. Sometimes they hit near the jetty rocks, but I'll usually cast out a bit. Like others said, if you don't get a bite right away, cast in different spots or move. I've found spring to be the best time of year. Striped perch & greenling will hang close to the rocks. Look for the deeper cracks. On jetties, I never turn my back to the water & always keep an eye on the swell.
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I have found that after locating them on the beach and the bite is on...I change to a piece of grey foam "backer rod" cut into sand crab size pieces and threaded on the hook, works quite well and you get a lifetimes supply when you buy a roll of it. You can add color if you like with yarn and a needle, similar to steelhead "rags".
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I always have good luck at Cannon beach North of haystack rock by about 500-1000 feet.
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Devils river mouth in Lincoln city Last weekend. Seas were a bit angry.
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Devils river mouth in Lincoln city Last weekend. Seas were a bit angry.
Holy Carp Yaktastic is that your kiddo? They grow so fast!
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Devils river mouth in Lincoln city Last weekend. Seas were a bit angry.
Holy Carp Yaktastic is that your kiddo? They grow so fast!
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Devils river mouth in Lincoln city Last weekend. Seas were a bit angry.
Holy Carp Yaktastic is that your kiddo? They grow so fast!
Lucky for her she has her mom’s looks ;)