Peninsula Perchicide

JustCallMeDave · 03-06-2006, 08:43 AM

Yesterday was a nice day over on the coast, so I figured that I'd give perch fishing another try. I had tried in the past with a beefy surf pole and what was called a surf fishing rig, which essentially was mono with two loops in it and a swivel at the end. In past attempts with my self-tied hooks they'd only get tangled up with the main line. While discouraged, posts here on IFish kept my hopes up and as it turned out a little bit of tackle tweaking proved effective.

Change #1: leave the beef stick rod at home and instead use a simple 8 1/2 foot spinrod, medium action. In the future I might look for a longer, heavier glass rod but this worked fine.

Change #2: crappie setup with wire spreaders keeps things cleanly separated on the cheap.

Change #3: sure it's got a slight cool factor to tie the hooks myself, but as it turns out the pre-tied stiff mono size 4 Eagle Claws with the familiar guy in the hat with all of the trout proved effective.

Change #4: while shrimp tastes good when curried up and broiled, they make lousy perch bait. Clam neck pieces are tough enough to last through several perch and are very effective.

So I went to the end of Oysterville Road and there was already four anglers in the surf fishing the low incoming. As I was expecting to fish the high tide, I figured that I misread the tide tables. Oh well, fishing is fishing.

With the 4oz cannon ball clipped on and clam necks baited I waded out to about knee-deep water and gave it a shot. It took about 30 minutes, but I finally caught my first surf perch. Wasn't any mistaking the strike, as they hit like a passing freight train. The first was small, so I let him go.

Over about two and a half hours I landed seven perch and kept four good eaters. They're definitely schoolers, as the action mostly happened within an hour. Next time I'll try the high tide and see how that works.

It had been almost three years since I had caught a fish, and as I wasn't that good at filleting back then I wasn't any better this time around. I've read all of the instructions on how to do it and seen numerous videos, but nothing replaces good ol' experience.

By the second fish I was really surprised at the amount of blood that these perch have, and it wasn't until the third fish that I realized that it was MY blood on the fish. No stitches, but it took awhile for the bleeding to stop.

Dredged through egg wash and spiced up flour, then fried in olive oil, these turned out quite good. May have to do the Foreman grill thing next time, because the house still smells of fish.

I'm thinking that this surf perch fishing could be addictive. I may not officially be a Salty Dog yet, I'd say that I'm on my way.

STGRule · 03-06-2006, 08:56 AM

Surf perch fishing is my new fish of choice. I've only fished on low and incoming. Is high tide better?

Salty Walty · 03-06-2006, 11:03 AM

Sounds like fun Dave. Glad you got to feel a little tug on the line after such a long layoff.

earlybird007 · 03-06-2006, 01:12 PM

Most all surf perch fishing high tide is best. Iv done the best an hour ot two before high tide....right up till the high tide.
If the surf is small, the the fish will bite an hour or more after high tide as well....

Deep fried they are hard to beat.

Sand shrimp with stretchy thread is always a killer

Chesapeake · 03-06-2006, 02:06 PM

I've always done the best fishing the last half of the incoming tide. It also works out good if you dig razors and then return to the cabin, clean the clams, grab the poles and head for the beach again. Clams work good because they stay on, squid or octopus also does good.

I think a 10 foot 2 piece rod with a spin reel, or conventional reel(if you can cast it) are about optimal as far as transportation ease and cast ability. I use the same cheap snells and 3 way swivels to rig and then use pyramid or the pyramid/dumbell weights in 4 and 6 oz.

Fish_N_Russ · 03-07-2006, 03:47 PM

a little chunk of squid has worked good for me in the past.......OR a peice of raw prawn (like the ones u get at the store).

So wheres Oysterville road?

JustCallMeDave · 03-07-2006, 05:18 PM

Quote:

So wheres Oysterville road?

Oysterville, WA...North end of the Long Beach peninsula.

SilverFly · 03-07-2006, 05:28 PM

If the surf is moderate to light and you really want to have fun, try a noodle rod loaded with 4# Maxima or a light superbraid. I don't have any problems using blood-knot droppers instead of spreaders and with the light line you can get away with as little as 1oz or less of weight. Trust me, those little guys put up a great fight on that tackle!