Hit Monterey Bay For Light Tackle Perch, Jayson Lira, Fishsniffer Online

Like FishSniffer.com?
Send This Page to a Friend!

Hit Monterey Bay For Light Tackle Perch

By: Jayson Lira
March 3, 2003

More Articles by Jayson

If you're interested in using light tackle to battle hard-fighting surfperch from the shoreline, now's the time head over to the piers and sandy beaches of Monterey Bay to catch quality surf perch (Embiotocidae) to 3 pounds.

"Fishing for barred and rubberlipped perch is very consistent now," said Roger Diaz at The Tackle Box. "Since there hasn't been much of a striper bite in the area over the past several years, the perch have been able to grow and get fat. The best perch reports are coming from the Marina State Beach and Rio Del Mar Beach."

If you haven't been out perch fishing before, it's a good idea to go out on a low tide and look for deep holes that the fish may hold in to improve your chances of catching fish on a high tide. "Also, you want to make sure to constantly move around because the fish move in schools," Diaz added. "If one fish is spooked, the others in the school may also be spooked."

According to Diaz, the top baits are blood worms fished on two hook surf leaders with #4 hooks and a 3-5 ounce pyramid weights. "If you don't like the mess of blood from the bait, using a motor oil or cotton candy 1-2 inch plastic grub is also effective," he advised. "Make sure to use a 1-2 ounce egg or torpedo sinker above a swivel, with an 18-36 inch leader and #4 hook."

Diaz noted that you want to use a cast and retrieve method while perch fishing. He advised using more weight with a shorter leader in rough conditions and less weight with a longer leader in calm water. One of the bonuses of fishing perch in Monterey Bay is that you may also hook a striped bass while tossing out bait and plastic grubs.

Bill Rawson of Shamrock Charters has found similar success fishing the beaches south of Santa Cruz. The beaches of Monterey Bay are now loaded with barred perch in the 1-1/2 to 3 lb. class.

"Some of the best fishing I've experienced in the past month has been off Sunset, Rio Del Mar and Sand Dollar beaches," he explained. "The bite should remain good through April as long as the weather change isn't too dramatic." Rawson noted that local anglers are reporting catching and releasing 4 to 15 fish per trip. "Everyone needs to make sure to check their regulation books because this year the bag limit for perch has dropped to only five per person," emphasized Rawson.

Anglers are enticing the fish using a variety of baits like pile worms or cut prawns, but I prefer using a 2-3 inch root beer grub, according to Rawson. Fly fishermen also can take perch in the surf on the calm days while using a variety of patterns.

Hippo Lau of Hi's Tackle Box confirmed the successful fishing taking place along the beach fronts and piers of the San Francisco shoreline, including the Embarcadero. "The majority of fish are rainbow perch ranging from 6 inches to 1 pound, but anglers are also bagging the occasional silver perch," explained Lau.

"The fish usually favor areas of shallow water near a pier where there is live structure such as barnacles or soft shell crab to feed on," said Lau. "They also will hit grass shrimp, pile worms, blood worms and cut prawns." For more information on surf perch fishing along the coast, contact Roger Diaz of The Tackle Box in Salinas at 831-757-9797, Bill Rawson of Shamrock Charters in Santa Cruz at 831-476-2648 (www.scurfslanding.com), or Hippo Lau of Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco at 415-221-3825. Make sure to check your sportfishing regulation book for restrictions and bag possession limits.