If you love the cutting edge of sport, you owe it to yourself to explore the surf zone.
I’ve always been one for new adventures, so it made perfectly good sense to me to start flinging flies into the saltchuck. Twenty years ago I began to explore the surf zone and its unique challenges for light tackle sport; what I discovered was an unusually exciting and productive fishery. The coast has since become one of my favorite fishing haunts.
Considering the fact that there are over 800 miles of shoreline to explore and 365 days a year to do it, you’re unlikely to ever get bored. The numerous mini-habitats found within the surf zone offer a wide variety of challenges. From sandy beaches to rocky pocket pools, each slice of this marine environment is a delight to work with a fly rod. With a little know-how, you can catch surfperch, rockfish, stripers, and more.
To let you get a handle on where to start, I’m slanting this article toward the breakers and sandy bottom beach – and that means surfperch galore! Our coastline plays host to 18 different species of surfperch. They range in size from six to 18 inches and can top the scales at four-plus pounds. The five most common surfperch are: barred, calico, redtail, walleye, and silver. Their bodies are compressed and elliptical. Their colors are brilliant; silvery blue and brassy olive predominate. Vertical barring, horizontal stripes, and multi-color flecking are striking accents to the palette. They’re handsome game fish.
Gearing Up
When fishing the surf, your primary criteria for line weight are size of fish and habitat. On some days, the surfperch might weigh little more than a quarter pound, yet with heavy waves and five pounds of seaweed on your line, you can over-tax a light-weight outfit in no time flat. There’s a lot of salad floating in that soup!
When I head out to the beach, my cornerstone outfit is an 8-weight rod loaded with a super-fast sink-tip line (such as Hi-Speed Hi-D). If you are going to prowl the breakers, this outfit will have what it takes to handle the heavy hydraulics of the surf. When working the calmer protected waters, such as small coves and grass beds, I’ve found opportunities to go as light as a 5-weight outfit.
I recommend using a sink-tip line rather than a full-sinking line or a shooting head because of the extra control provided by the floating body. Mending line over rolling waves, roll cast pickups, and clearing the surface for a standard backcast can be accomplished quickly with a sink-tip line – and every second saved helps you to stay in the game. The turbulence of the breakers also makes lifting a full-sinking line a bit awkward, even impossible for some folks.
Most of my students have experienced success with 10-foot sink-tips. Longer sink-tips, however, can be an advantage during high tide periods when the surfperch tend to hold farther out from shore.
Keep your leaders short. It’s easy to lose control of your fly in the tumultuous surf. My leaders are kept under six feet in overall length. In extremely heavy water, I’ll use a three-foot leader.
Surfperch are not leader-shy trout; they are ocean-charged fish and serious about their predator/prey relationship. Most of my work takes place with 2x to 1/0 tippet diameters.
Flies: Hot Stuff
Your fly patterns will vary with the waters you ply. For starters, you can dip into your steelhead selection. Standards such as the Thor, Polar Shrimp, and Gold Comet make good choices. The main focus is the color scheme. Stay to the hot end of the spectrum: reds, hot pinks, oranges. Add a bit of flash in silver and gold and you’ve got a potential winner.
I’ve found that if you fish central California (that is, between Point Arena and Point Conception), you’re better off with small- or medium-sized patterns (sizes 2 through 8). For the northern and southern coasts, you’ll want to supplement the selection with flies as large as 2/0. Much depends on the type of perch – the size of their mouths, actually – and other game species available. If in doubt, though, undersize the fly.
Your surfperch fly box should encompass a range of sizes that will allow you to fish through all phases of the tide. Generally, you’ll use your smaller flies during the low end of the tide, when the surf is at its calmest, and your larger and heavier flies at peak flood. A range of sizes and weights will also give you the ability to suspend a fly or dredge the sandy shore if necessary. It all boils down to adaptability and choice.
Two newer patterns of special note are the ‘Surf Percher Red” (by John Shewey of Oregon) and the “Screamin’ Shrimp” (original designer unknown). Both have topped the charts on my hit parade of killer flies. They have all the right elements for attracting any of the saltwater species in the surf zone. John developed his Surf Percher for ‘thick” water and rocky shorelines. The Screamin’ Shrimp is best used for the low end of the ride and calmer waters. Try ‘cm – they’re knock outs!
Timing Is Everything
Learn to read the tide tables – it’s an absolute must for any serious surf fisher. The monthly table allows you to take advantage of the perfect “window” for flyrodding. Each month we have new moon and full moon phases. The tides during these periods are known as “spring tides.” Try to match one of these dates with a minus tide and you’re on your way to success. Better yet, find a minus-tide date that includes an early morning incoming tide and you’ve got great potential for some hot perchin’ action. Early morning is when the wind is weakest and sunlight is subdued.
I’ve kept a fishing journal over the years. It clearly indicates the best surf perch angling has been on the spring tide. I interpret that to be the days just preceding a new or full moon. The least productive times have been during quarter-moon phases of the month, which is when “neap” tides occur.
I prefer to start fishing approximately one hour after low tide, and I’ll continue for three hours or so. You can use the low slack period – which is generally not worth fishing – to locate the holes, depressions and channels that will contain fish as the tide rises. The moving water of a rising tide is critical for bringing the fish in close and concentrating them in these holding zones.
As the tide approaches its peak, the fish tend to spread out, making them more difficult to locate. For this reason I usually don’t fish the last hour or two of the rising tide. However, while recently hosting John Shewey on my local waters, I asked why he preferred to work the high end of the tide. His answer was simple: “Because in my home surf that’s the safest time to be out there!” Different parts of the coast have their own quirks. The incoming push in some areas, for example, is too violent to wade safely. In places like this, wait for the water level to rise and flatten out. The higher water column becomes its own shock absorber. The high end of the tide is particularly productive around rocky structure.
The peak season for surfperch is late spring through late autumn. In other words, get out there now!
The Surf‘s A Tough Read
The most difficult part of surf fishing is figuring out where the fish are likely to be found. Reading the water is just as important for the surf zone as it is for stream fishing. Prime holding water includes: (a) troughs which run parallel to the shore and, because of their depth, serve as staging areas for most surf zone species; (b) channels, which run perpendicular to the shore and provide the lanes through which fish will travel from the troughs to reach (c) the close-in holes and cuts where food collects (and which are high priorities for your initial casts).
Channels can be identified by low points in waves and by dirty or sandy water. Holes and cuts are more difficult to spot – they’re often hidden by the churn – but these deeper spots will sometimes be highlighted in the foam by cross-currents and draining water. You can also find them by walking along the beach at low tide, when they lay revealed, or by wading (be careful!).
Another prime physical feature is the pools on either side of high points on the beach. The more prominent the sandy peninsula, the larger the pool potential. The scouring of the surf against the walls of the pool creates a tremendous feeding zone for perch.
Becoming familiar with beach topography is essential to success. One of the tricks I find productive is to watch a wave as it floods up a beach. When it recedes, the “S curves” left by the water are the key to finding good pools. The lower water line indicates high ground running to sea, while the higher line registers deeper water – and fish.
Fishing Technique
Casting and retrieving techniques are rather simple. Use the wind and water to your advantage. One of the most common casting errors is trying to shoot the line straight out to sea. Not a good idea; strong offshore winds are usually directly in your face, and the breaking surf is going to drive the line right around your knees. The end result is usually pretty ugly!
Instead, turn your body slightly sideways to the surf. It is far more efficient to quarter your cast up-beach or down-beach, with the wind helping to deliver the line. Try casting parallel to the waves, laying your line just in front of or behind a roller. This keeps your fly in the feeding zone longer (also allowing it to sink) and increases your chances for a strike. When it comes to the retrieve, move the fly fast! Try using a foot-long strip. These fish feed like they’re on a quarterback blitz; ‘now or never” is their rule. Surfperch don’t have the leisurely feeding patterns of stillwater trout.
Work the fly all the way in. Perch will sometimes hit just a few inches from your legs. Also, try and keep your casts relatively short – 30 to 50 feet or so. This will help prevent loss of line control, which is always a threat in the churning surf.
Since nearly all of the fishing action takes place below the surface it’s not necessary to constantly watch your line. This is “fishing through your fingertips” country. Keep your rod tip low during the retrieve and keep slack line to a minimum. Set your hook with a hard strip of the line rather than with your rod. Lift the rod’s tip only when you feeI the positive tug of a hooked fish. If it feels like a trophy don’t fight the waves, but rather use them to help flush your prize toward shallow water.
Scanning is a very important field skill. Keeping an eye out for rogue waves or timing of the next set is just basic to survival. Also, watch for diving birds or sea lions/seals in the troughs; they are surely there because of schooling fish. Experienced bait fishermen will fish the best holes; watch where they go (and arrive earlier).
Ken’s Proven Surfperch Flies
Surf Percher Red
(by John Shewey)
Hook: Mustad 3407, size 2 – 6
Thread: Red
Eyes: Large bead chain
Tail: Yellow marabou short
Body: Red diamond braid
Wing: Red marabou
Overwing: Red cryslal flash
Board (optional): Yellow marabou
Screamin’ Shrimp
(designer unknown)
Hook: Muslad 3407. size 2- 6
Thread: Fluorescent orange
Tail: White bucktail (long enough to tie in at eye with tips extending past bend in hook)
Antennae: Remaining tips from tail plus crystal flash from the carapace
Tip: Tying thread
Eyes: Medium bead chain, tied in above barb
Ribbing: Gold wire
Carapace: Pale orange cryslal flash
Overbody: Clear V-rib or Larva Lace (over which carapace is pulled toward eye and then ribbed wilh wire)
Body: Fluorescent orange thread (laper heavier at rear)
WARNING!
The California surf is an extremely hazardous place to fish. Every year, anglers are swept from the rocks and beaches, and drowned. You need to take the utmost care when fishing the coast. Keep your wading to a minimum. If you must enter or cross water, stay within your physical abilities and remember that the surf will usually rise as you fish. If you feel at all uncomfortable or unsure of yourself, then move to a safer location. Watch the horizon for giant rogue waves – also known as sleepers – and run for high land if you see one. Wear a wading belt if your waders are not neoprene, and make sure it is tightly cinched. Also useful is an emergency floatation device that will instantly inflate when you pull a ripcord (Browning has actually built such a device into a fishing vest). And try to fish within the sight of other people – they can call the Coast Guard if necessary.
– Richard Anderson
