Fly fishing the surf

[Yorkshire]

So I'm heading to Ocean Shores with my wife's family this weekend and I have it in my head that a few hours fishing may preserve my sanity. :beathead: I'd like to try fishing for surf perch, and what better way to increase my chance of success/enjoyment than by scouring the collective WFF community for a little education.

What exactly are "surf perch"? -classification, brief summary of life history, etc. would be useful. Tactics? I have a 5 weight and the standard array of lines, or an 8 weight with versitip. Is it any more involved than chucking a baitfish imitation and stripping? What kind of depth/distance from shore am I aiming for? Is there a type of beach to look for and what, if any, tidal preference? Are there any other species I might find on the end of my line?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

James :confused:

[Salmon fisher]

Look for places on the beach that have structure (chanels). You will probably need the 8 weight because of the wind out there.

[Yorkshire]

I've also heard that these fish are tasty. Recipes anyone? :beer2:

[frankrutledge]

Look for places on the beach that have structure (chanels). You will probably need the 8 weight because of the wind out there.

Salmon fisher is right the wind is going to most likely be real bad, so I'd bring the 8 wt. It's best (not to sound motherly) to have the wind coming across you, so that your casting hand is on the other side, this way the fly is swinging away from you head/eyes. I prefer sunglasses too, even if it's raining, you just never know where that damn thing will end up if the wind changes. Enough of that.
I would bring the Rio wallet too, I have found the sink tips are better than the floating lines because the denser material gets the line out farther in the wind and it's smaller in diameter so that helps with resistance.
Flies, I like the the egg sucking leaches best, but in a zonker body instead of chenille. I also like the maraboo style flies and closers, all in size 2-4. All of those sort of have a little wiggle to them, looks fishy! I have attached a photo of some that I have tied, sometimes they work and well other time.....like today. I fish the beaches almost daily, and I tend to work down the beach like in a run on the river. Cast....strip, cast...strip. Move, ect...
Best of luck.
Frank.
Pm me when you get back I'm interested to find out how you faired out.

[Wayne Jordan]

Clouser minnows and your SRC flies will work fine. Knowing you you'll probably hook into a halibut!

[AZTKflyguy]

Try this site it has a lot of info:

http://www.fliflicker.com/tactics.htm

[Gary Thompson]

Don't forget to wash up your gear really well. Damn salt water.
Channels and holes between the sand bars. Watch for seals feeding, birds, etc.
Seals always scare the shit out of me when they pop up right in front of me.
Round headed ones are cool, the big black harbors come by and it's by, by fish.

[Tom H]

Try a search through NW Fly Fishing magazine. I seem to remember an article on the surf fishing the Washington Coast a few years ago. From what I can recall about the article, Salmon fisher hit covered the primary points........heavy rod due to wind, look for channels and time your casts with the waves.

[Yorkshire]

Thanks for all the info. The site recommended by AZTKflyguy is very good. I will hit the water with more confidence.
James

[Banzai]

The latest Fly Tyer magazine has some good info and patterns in it for Surf Perch.

[Yorkshire]

Clouser minnows and your SRC flies will work fine. Knowing you you'll probably hook into a halibut!

Tasty!

[Wayne Jordan]

Just make sure you aren't eating lunch when it happens...

[D3Smartie]

fliflicker is a good one, as well as Dan Blanton's board. I have never done surf fishing here in WA but spent a few years doing it down in CA. The fish are pretty easy to catch once you find them. I liked little puff ball flies, or gremmies. Orange seemed to be a great color down there. find the troughs along the beaches where food will collect and work them. Your fly should be right on the bottom.

[Wayne Jordan]

fliflicker is a good one, as well as Dan Blanton's board. I have never done surf fishing here in WA but spent a few years doing it down in CA. The fish are pretty easy to catch once you find them. I liked little puff ball flies, or gremmies. Orange seemed to be a great color down there. find the troughs along the beaches where food will collect and work them. Your fly should be right on the bottom.

Did you ever get a chance to fish for corbina? I had the chance to catch a few last May in Cali. What a cool fish!

[salt dog]

Walk out until the waves are going to smack the crap out of ya, then back off 2 paces, then cast. Never turn you back on the ocean.....watch for sneaker waves.

[hbstriker]

Surf perch are actually not very good eating, at least barred surf perch. The meat turns a wierd texture when cooked. They are opportunistic feeders, and will attack almost anything that swims by them. They usually will be in schools, so if you find one, there will be more. The best place to find them will be near structures, or sandy depressions. And time your casts and retrieves so you are dopping your fly just behind a breaking wave. That is when they shoot around looking for whatever was uprooted from the sand. Use at least an 8 wieght, because if you snag kelp or junk in the water, the wave action will pull that stuff, and end up snapping your rod, so you should have a decent amount of backbone. Clousers in bright colors or white work best. This is all socal surf fishing knowledge by the way, but the surf perch species are the same on the entire west coast.

have fun

[D3Smartie]

W.J.- never got a corbina. Most of the time when i was able to sneak away from school and baseball, it was off season for them. And usually when i did get to fish my friend and i took his boat out off P.V. and caught calico sea bass.
I did see a few but never hooked one. The beaches in Malibu werent the greatest but there are some decent perch in there.

[AZTKflyguy]

Gary Bulla also has a WC oriented saltwater FF message board w/info. mostly related to SoCal. If you ever get the chance to get south & fish the San Diego & LA surf you will enjoy it. La Jolla & Torrey Pines as well as other beaches can be very good for CA Corbina on a fly.
Good Luck.

[Les Johnson]

I believe that "Trout and Beyond" by John Shewey, the first edition, has considerable text dedicated to fly fishing the surf for redtail perch and the like. Ken Hanley also wrote a book on surf fishing with a fly. It was "Fishing the Surf Zone' as I recall. My copy has disappeared.
Good Fishing,
Les Johnson

[Jim Wallace]

Yesterday would have been perfect for tossing flies at the redtails here on Grayland beach. I was getting ready to go to work, and a friend dropped by and convinced me to go clamming with him. Wrong already! I should have been gearing up to go after the surf perch.
Very light wind all morning...almost zippo. Sunny and warming up nicely. Very user friendly.
A perfect setup near the beach between two adjacent breaks with the whitewater converging from both directions into a large trough area. It was one hour before low tide.
About a half dozen perch anglers were slaying them about as mercilessly as I have ever seen. One guy had a streak going and was hooking up about every two minutes. I don't know what he was using for bait, but I saw one guy bring in a very nice perch about 13" - 14" or so, using a razor clam neck for bait.
None of these guys were flinging flies, but the conditions were perfect, and a 50' or 60' cast would have put you in the money.

That was yesterday. This morning, there is a very light on-and-off drizzle, and the moderate offshore wind that is currently blowing is supposed to pick up as the front moves onshore. In fact, conditions are deteriorating at this moment. Maybe some other day.:(

I'm going to tie some lake patterns, and maybe a few "perch buggers."



At least the clams were good!:beer1:

[Yorkshire]

Success! Thankyou for all the input. I had a great morning on Saturday and made it back for breakfast. I think I learnt a great deal about the lay and structure of the beach and the little bit of homework really paid off. I had about an hour without a touch when bang, I caught 3 red tailed perch on the edge of a small rip over a trough. They all came in the calm between wave sets. This seemed to be the time when I had the best line control and connection with the fly. All the takes seemed robust, so maybe I missed some of the softer takes desribed to me by fellow fly fishers. My casting arm was toast by about 9am, hauling a sinktip close to my full line length. Then the wind kicked up. Game over. Clam dig was taking place. Holy cow, there are lots of people who REALLY like razor clams!
Glad I wore my waterproof jacket OVER the waders. Took a few heavy shots to the chest. Do you regular surf fisherman fish with a buddie? I can see the potential for disappearing on an undertow never to seen again!
I took one fish back for lunch. Noticed a parasitic worm in the fillet which I subsequently removed. Cooked it up (made sure everything was dead!). Taste 7/10, texture 3/10. Really soft. Reminded me of the plaice I used to eat as a kid, but maybe the worm encouraged me to cook it too long. All catch and release in the future. You live and learn. Some of my family took pics. I'll post 'em later.
Cheers,
James:beer2:

[Banzai]

Went out to Westport yesterday, got there about 1100 hrs., incoming tide,onshore breeze. Surf's UP! Wind wasn't too bad, but Wowee those breakers. I should have called the surf shop first. Lots of 'boarders to keep me company off the rocks in town so I headed to he the beach at Twin Harbors State Park. Same conditions but less folks in the casting zone. No love today from fishies. I seem to remember less gravel and better footing on that stretch of beach, but I could be wrong. There were spots of "quicksand" that would have you up to mid-shin just like you stepped in to a bucket. Unnerving when you are standing a full cast from the edge of the surf and the next set of waves brings you waist deep in less than 20 seconds. Reccomendation to newbies to the shore or less than superior swimmers, wear a PFD. I have a waist pack inflatable that I wear when out there, doubles as a belt for the waders. Ya never know.... I know the fish were there as a friendly Asian fellow a couple of yards down the beach with a spinning rod was doing quite well on both Barred and Redtail perch using clam neck for bait. He graciously offered me this bait as he was leaving with his catch, suggesting that maybe I could rub some on the fly to make it smell better. I think the difference was in the distance. 60+ feet for me, and about 30+ yards for him. Well, it was an eye opener for me, as this was the first time out there in surf that heavy with a fly rod. Had fun though, and gave the wife a good giggle or two as she watched me run up and down the beach to get a cast off between wave sets. G'day all.

[Jim Wallace]

Nice work, James! You found some!:thumb:
Keep them alive in a bucket, or kill and immediately bleed them and ice 'em down and they'll be better.
Don't cook the fillets any longer than 2 minutes on a side, max. I bread em in Krusteaz Bake 'n Fry and fry 'em up in olive oil.

Damn, Gene! Had I known you were going to be there, I might have wandered up that way just to say hello. I live less than 2 miles South of the Twin Harbors beach approach.

On Sunday morning, I went back to the spot I mentioned with my spin outfit, as well as my 8 wt. It wasn't the same user-friendly setup that had existed only two days earlier. The tide wasn't as low, the wind was onshore, and the other guy there bait fishing also got skunked. We worked the spot for nearly an hour, he with sandshrimp, and myself with clam necks. It looked like busting out the 8 wt would have been a complete waste of time. The perch had moved. :hmmm:

[CovingtonFly]

Way to go Yorky, Let's see those Pictures!

[Yorkshire]

Pics

[Jim Wallace]

That, my friend, is a very nice surf perch! Bigger than average!

[Banzai]

I agree. That's a nice fish. Sorry Jim, I didn't really know I was going to get a chance to wet a line that day. Luckily, I had my beach gear still in the rig from the previous day when Wifey said: "Why don't you fish while I take a walk on the beach". Can do! I don't know if you could have been been able to stand while watching me trying to work that surf. :) I'll be making another trip out soon. I'll PM you. Maybe we can hook up.

[d. camp]

I'd try the bay off Damon Point. The last two winters have changed the area a lot, but the perch are still there, espeially this early. The wind is a little lighter and there is no need to cast as far as you do in the surf. However, if you want to fish the surf, try just north of the jetty. The beach gradient it steeper and so the fish are closer. (Damon Point used to be the best location on the north beach.) BTW perch make great fish tacos.

[Banzai]

Thanks Don. I'll give it a shot. Thumbs up on the fish tacos :).

[tonemike]

thanks for posting the pictures yorkshire. very nice!!

[CovingtonFly]

Nice pics. Thats a big perch!