Sunrise on an empty California beach is one of the planet’s perfect places. Facing Hawaii, it’s easy to imagine you are the Earth’s sole inhabitant. It’s not uncommon to see dolphins surfing, great whites hunting, sea otters cracking clams, and doormat-size bat rays leaping clear of the water. You might even spot breaching humpback whales. All of those things and many more happened to me multiple times last year. There’s also a good chance you’ll catch some fish.
Barred, redtail, and walleye surfperch are, pound for pound, tougher than trout. Jacksmelt will rocket through the waves, readily matching the speed of steelhead. Halibut will put up a darn good tussle, and few fish taste better than a fresh-from-the-sea flattie. Southern California offers the bonefish-like challenge of corbinas, and there have in fact been bonefish caught near San Diego. And along the Central and Northern Coasts, striped bass over five pounds will often remove all your fly line and a healthy length of backing before the fight even begins. For anyone who lives near the coast, a lot of exciting fly fishing and astounding beauty are just a few miles from home.
There’s plenty of information online, in magazines, and in books on how to fly fish the surf. As with many other forms of fly fishing, there are multiple ways to go about it. Anyone who has read a handful of articles or seen a few online videos can be excused for thinking it requires a lot of new and often expensive tackle. Truth be told, the gear side of the equation doesn’t have to be that complicated or expensive.
Personal Flotation Devices
According to the Centers for Disease Control, every day, 10 people lose their lives to drowning in the United States. For those lucky enough to survive, there is a very high probability of permanent brain damage. Whether you fish in fresh water or salt, drowning represents a very real way to take your last breath. I really don’t think it is overstating things to say that a personal flotation device (PFD) is the single most important item of fishing gear you can own and use. This is certainly true for anyone stepping into the surf. Sneaker waves can knock you down, surging currents can sluice the sand from below your feet, and powerful rip currents can carry you offshore. Whether it’s a simple $20 foam-filled jacket or one of the more expensive inflatable devices, don’t step into the water without one. If you use an inflatable system, make sure you know exactly how it works. You can’t read the manual underwater.
Light and Tight
The key to comfortable and efficient surf fly fishing is to keep things light and tight. You may find fish within yards of your parking place, but it’s more likely you’ll have to do some walking. Sand has a way of vacuuming the strength from your legs. The more stuff you carry, the quicker you’ll tire. An extra pound or two won’t make much difference, but five pounds will, especially if the best fishing is a mile or so down the beach. Pack only what you need, and at the end of the trip, take note of what items of gear merely went along for the ride. After two or three surf sessions, you’ll be able to determine what’s really necessary and adjust accordingly.
Like a Jack Russell terrier, the surf has an uncanny way of finding anything that is loose, especially when it comes to your attire. Surging waves will quickly flip unsecured gaiters inside out, forcing sand into your boots. Any gap at the end of your sleeves will inevitably become a conduit for cold seawater. And salt water is pretty much guaranteed to find a loose collar and make its way down past your navel. Before you step into the water, check that everything is zipped, cinched, or buttoned up, and double-check frequently.
Waders
Fly fishing the surf comfortably is mainly about heat control. Wear the wrong gear, and you will find yourself sweating or shivering. The water at Newport Beach ranges from 66 to 70 degrees, which can make fishing in shorts practicable, especially in warmer weather. In contrast, you’ll want to wear waders when fishing the Central or North Coast beaches. Monterey Bay waters seldom get above 60 degrees and can quickly drop into the low 50s when coastal upwelling gets going. And don’t expect anything above 53 if you are fishing in the Mendocino area. Stand bare-legged in these waters for more than 15 minutes, and your feet and legs will become cryogenically numb. While I like hip waders for certain types of fishing, they don’t make much sense in the surf. Even a modest two-foot surf will produce enough splash and spray to pour a pint of Pacific chill down each leg. Walking down a beach with soggy legs and squishy feet isn’t very comfortable. Neoprene waders are a valid option if you fish the North Coast, not expecting to walk too far to find fish. But for all-around versatility, it’s hard to beat a pair of breathable chest waders.
Some folks are concerned that salt water will damage breathable waders. As far as the breathable fabric is concerned, this is simply not true. The only part of the waders that has the potential for problems are the small metal tabs on gaiters, which can corrode. A simple wash with fresh water and a thorough drying after each use will keep your waders rust free and breathing nicely.
Bootfoot or stockingfoot waders both work fine in the suds. If you use stockingfoot waders, be aware that the surf will inevitably force sand into your boots. This can make any laces or zips hard to undo. Cinching gaiters tight to your boots with double-sided Velcro will make a big difference at the end of the day. As far as wading boots are concerned, felt-soled wading boots will be OK for your first couple of trips, but eventually, you’ll want something lighter and more flexible. Flats booties work great in the surf, and surfing booties can be a good option, too. Just go one or two sizes larger than your foot size, to accommodate the neoprene stockingfoot. I have been using ForEverlast Flats Boots for the past few years. They have a thick, but flexible sole and seem to hold up a bit longer than other brands. At just $40, they won’t have you filing under Chapter 11.
Finally, don’t omit the webbing belt that came with the waders. It wasn’t provided so you could show off your hourglass figure. It’s a safety feature that stops any water that gets over the top of the waders from working its way south.
Paddle Tops
I have a Gore-Tex wading jacket that is great for fishing in the rain or on cold, windy days. You’d think that would make it ideal for the surf, but it isn’t. The problem is that it retains too much heat. After much experimentation, I have found that kayakers’ paddling tops are a better (but not perfect) option. They are lighter than dedicated fishing jackets and designed for more strenuous activity. They also feature cuffs and collars that are better designed to keep water out, which isn’t always the case with wading jackets.
Going Topless
When air temperatures climb into the 70s, even a paddle top can be too warm. This is when you’ll generally be better off just wearing a shirt and cinching the top of your waders down tight. You’ll get damp, but with the warmer air, it seldom gets uncomfortable. I have tried waterproofing shirts, but the results haven’t been that great. Products such as silicone-based sprays and Greenland Wax looked promising, but none seem to be able to handle a session in the surf.
Rods and Reels
One of the biggest misconceptions about fly fishing the surf is that you need big, heavy-duty rods and reels fitted with drags powerful enough to stop an aircraft carrier. This is rubbish. All you really need is a 6-weight or 7-weight single-handed rod and a matching reel with an adjustable drag. Hooking a striper on a 6-weight can be a handful, but for surfperch, smelt, and most halibut, it’s pretty much perfect. Even a 5-weight is fine. I use trout gear when the stripers have moved off and the surf is infested with perch or jacksmelt. As for backing on the reel, 100 yards is plenty.
Lines
I used to think that shooting heads were the only way to fish the surf effectively. My reasoning was pretty simple. You can stuff three different-density heads into your wader pocket, which means it’s easy to fish from the water’s surface all the way down to the sand without the need to carry extra reels or spools. But you can do fine with just two lines. All you really need is one reel and an extra spool. This adds a bit more weight than a plastic baggy of heads, but certainly not enough to worry about.
While they may not cast as far as a good shooting head, integrated heads, with their thicker running lines, are much easier to use. A fast-sinking (high-density) and an intermediate-density line will cover 99 percent of your surf-fishing needs. For fast-sinking lines, take a look at the Scientific Anglers Sonar triple density line, Orvis’s Hydros HD Depth Charge, RIO’s In Touch 24-foot sink-tip or Cortland’s Quick Descent 24-footer. They all do a fine job of getting the fly out and down. For intermediate-density lines, check out the Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Full Intermediate, Orvis’s Hydros Coldwater Intermediate, RIO’s Coastal Quickshooter, or Cortland’s Compact Intermediate.
I use the intermediate-density line mostly when fishing for stripers. Intermediate lines barely sink in the surf (unless you have very calm conditions and count them down), so the fly is usually running just a foot or so below the surface. This is ideal for baitfish patterns. My assumption, based on my GoPro video work, is that the intermediate line provides three ways for stripers to see the fly: direct line of sight, silhouetted against the sky, or reflected in the mirror of the surface above the fly. Three is better than one.
Hi-density lines run deeper and are much less likely to produce a silhouette or reflection in the mirror. However, they are usually the right line when stripers are feeding on sand crabs.
Stripping Baskets
Let me begin by saying that stripping baskets are not really essential. Back in the 1990s, surf-zone pioneers Ken Hanley and Jay Murakoshi taught a lot of people how to strip line into the surf so that it did not end up forming a macramé project around their legs. While not totally foolproof, this technique was more than adequate for 40-to-50-foot casts, which were all you needed to catch surfperch. Up until the late nineties, you’d often see folks fishing this way. In fact, basket wearers were a distinct minority back then. I know, because I was one and was well aware how dorky I looked.
But in the late nineties, stripers started to show up more regularly, especially on Monterey Bay’s popular beaches. While stripers can be found in close, it didn’t take long for folks to realize they got more fish the farther they cast. With a 50-foot cast, you’ll typically strip about 25 feet of line into the water. Once you start throwing 70-foot casts, that number jumps up to 45 feet, and that’s when the headaches start. Just keeping that much line from tangling around itself, or around bits of weed, was challenging enough, but the bigger problem was with casting. So much of the cast energy was taken up pulling line from the water that very little was left to send the line out over the waves. Casting more than 60 feet required good technique. At the very least, you had to know how to double haul properly, which most folks don’t. Stripping baskets keep the retrieved (stripped) line out of the water, so you don’t need to be a great caster to reach out beyond 60 feet. Being able to cast 60 or 70 feet allows you to put your fly close to the end of rips or along the outer edge of larger troughs — places where stripers and surfperch feed aggressively.
If you don’t do DIY, there are several baskets on the market that work well. For starters, ignore any basket that isn’t made from heavy foam or hard plastic. Fabric baskets fold when hit by waves and eventually sag, spilling line into the water at inopportune times. The most popular basket is the Hip Shooter, originally designed by Californian Stan Pleskunas. This foam basket design is comfortable and can be worn in front or to one side. Orvis has sold their Durable Stripping Basket for many years, and it is one of the better hard plastic designs. Recently, Linekurv and Cabelas have introduced hard plastic baskets based on a curved front design similar to one that L.L. Bean sold for many years. The Bean basket was a solid performer, and I suspect the Linekurv and Cabelas units will be, too.
If you are into DIY, there are all kinds of interesting designs you can find online. Surf-zone nomad Mark Won has developed a foam basket that is large enough to double as a dog bed. While it looks ungainly, there’s no denying that it holds a lot of line. Recently,
I have been using the bottom half of a five-gallon plastic water bottle. Buckets, storage totes, and even shopping baskets have all been turned into very serviceable stripping baskets. A few minutes online or walking down the aisles at Walmart, Lowe’s, or Home Depot should give you plenty of ideas.
Leaders
I haven’t found any evidence to suggest that surf-zone fish are leader shy, so just knot three to six feet of 10-to-20pound mono onto the end of your line and go fishing. The surf is really hard on leaders, so regularly check for any nicks or abraded areas. You can do this quickly and easily by running the leader across your fingers. It sucks to hook a hot fish, only to reel in a frayed piece of nylon.
Flies
If you tie your own flies, there are more than enough examples of surf flies online for you to play with. Don’t get too carried away with details, such as antennas or eyes. Quite frankly, for surfperch and jacksmelt, you’ll do just fine with a bit of Glo-Bug yarn tied to a bare hook. If such a utilitarian approach to fly tying bothers you, just think of it as a saltwater San Juan Worm.
If you are buying flies, it’s hard to beat a pattern that includes a lot of red or orange material. More than likely, the fish identify this as sand-crab roe, which is an easily digestible and nutritionally dense food source. For halibut and stripers, you’ll usually do better with Clousers and streamers that feature a lot of chartreuse. I don’t have any experience with
corbinas, but saltwater expert Nick Curcione does. Nick’s response to my e-mail summed things up nicely: “Contrary to what some might preach, I do not believe there is a particularly hot fly for this species. Presentation is everything. Most of what I toss is a variation of one of the hundreds of bonefish patterns.”
Mats
At the end of the fishing session, you’ll need to get out of your boots and waders. I am sure there are some folks who can do this gracefully. Not me. I find it helps if you have something to stand on. In the past, I have used pieces of carpet, burlap sacks, and numerous other materials. Most worked OK, but inevitably carried a fair amount of sand and salt water into my car. Automobile carpeting and fabrics can get a bit odorous when dampened with salt water.
A few months back, I decided to try out a mat from C Gear. Their Personal Sand-Free Mat is made from a mold-free, nonabsorbent mesh that is porous to both water and sand. I shed my booties and waders onto the mat, pull together the four corner eyelets, shake out any residual water or sand, and shove the lot into a plastic bin. When I get home, I simply grab the mat with its salty cargo, drop it in the backyard, and hose it down. At $30, it’s a cheap way to leave most of the beach at the beach.
A morning on a California beach can be as stimulating as coffee and as relaxing as meditation. It doesn’t require a lot of gear, and there are literally hundreds of miles for you to explore and millions of fish awaiting your casts.
