One expert at catching these tasty fish is Hippo Lau of Hi's Tackle Box. Lau has targeted beach fronts and wharfs for perch for many years and offers his insight into catching these popular fish.

"The main thing I look for before I start fishing are barnacles or other 'live structure' like shellfish or rock pilings with crabs," said Lau. "The live structure provides a place for perch to raise their young in a safe environment. The rock pilings also provide aquatic vegetation for the fish to feed on. Other structures to target for surfperch are wharfs and piers that contain small crustaceans and mussels for forage."

It's important to note that perch don't inhabit all sandy areas or shallow water. "If an area is shallow, but loaded with stripers or sturgeon that typically feed on the perch, you will not find any action along that area," stated Lau. "Also, an area with a lot of particles floating in the water from sand or shells will cause the fish to move, as the particles obstruct air from entering their gills."

Once you find a good school of fish, you want to be sure to pull your catch out of the water as soon as possible. "When the fish struggles, it lets out a warning to others in the school. They will move out and you won't catch any more fish for a long period of time," explained Hippo.

For the best results, Lau suggested using light tackle rods with 6-8 lb. test line. When fishing off the sandy beaches, try using a molting crab (soft shell crab). Inside San Francisco Bay, the fish prefer mussels, pile and blood worms (cut into pieces), grass shrimp or cut prawns.

The entire northern and central California coast features good perch fishing opportunities. Some of the better spots include Ocean Beach and Fleishackers in San Francisco County and Thornton Beach, the Pacifica Pier, Rockaway Beach, Linda Mar Beach, the Pillar Point Harbor Jetty and the Half Moon Bay state beaches in San Mateo County. Further down the coast, San Gregorio, Pigeon Point and Pescadero offer ample opportunities for the perch enthusiast.

In northern Santa Cruz County, the Waddell Creek, Scott Creek, Davenport and Natural Bridges areas provide good perch action. Monterey Bay also has plenty of perch roaming in its fertile waters. Pier and jetty anglers can fish the Santa Cruz Municipal Pier, Capitola Wharf, Cement Ship and Monterey area piers. Anglers preferring to fish beaches can try Sunset, Manresa, Moss Landing and Marina state beaches.