How to Catch Barred Surfperch - Carolina Rig

When the fall halibut bite begins to slow down with cooler water temperatures, many anglers will begin to prepare for winter/spring barred surfperch action! During this time, larger barred surfperch are readily caught (although large “slab” barred surfperch can be caught throughout the year).

Description: “The body of the barred surfperch is oval and compressed. The head is blunt and the mouth is comparatively large. The color is olive green to yellow green on the back becoming silver below; with bronze, brassy or yellow vertical bars and spots on the side. This surf perch is one of three living off sandy beaches with similar color markings; however, it can be distinguished from the other two (calico and redtail) by its lower jaw being slightly shorter than the upper, and by the absence of red or reddish color on its fins.

Range: The barred surfperch occurs from Plaza Maria Bay, Baja California, to Bodega Bay, California. It is more abundant than the calico and redtail south of Cayucos, California. Barred surf perch are found in the surf zone along sandy beaches where they seem to congregate in depressions on the bottom. They have been taken from water as deep as 240 feet.

Natural History: “The major portion of the barred surf perch diet is sand crabs, with other crustaceans, bean clams and small crabs comprising the remainder. Barred surfperch give birth to living young from March to July. As few as four and as many as 113 have been counted, but the average is 33 per female. They are about 2.5 inches long at birth, and mature when about 6.5 inches long and 1 or 2 years old. This species is relatively short lived with the oldest males being about 6 years old and 12 inches long. The oldest females are about 9 years old and up to 17 inches long. Tagging studies indicate barred surfperch move very little, usually less than 2 miles, although movements up to 31 miles have been recorded.

Daily Bag & Possession Limits: “The recreational fishery for surfperch (family Embiotocidae) is open year-round. The daily bag and possession limit is 20 fish in combination of all species (except shiner perch), with not more than 10 fish of any one species. Shiner perch (Cymatogaster aggregata) have a separate bag and possession limit of 20 fish. Redtail surfperch (Amphistichus rhodoterus) have a minimum size limit of 10 1/2 inches total length.” - California DFG

C-Rig Terminal Tackle - A Carolina Rig (C-Rig) consists of five components: hook, leader line, barrel swivel, glass bead and sinker (lead egg sinkers are most common).

In regards to the style and size of the hook, it depends on the natural or artificial bait intended to be used:

Sand Crabs - Owner Mosquito hook in #6 - #2 (depending on the size of the sand crab). When using sand crabs, soft shelled sand crabs with bright roe are best. If soft shells are difficult to find, use small to small/medium sand crabs that have bright orange roe.

Worms (Nuclear, Lug, Blood, and Sand worms) - Depending on the thickness and length of the worm, some hooks to consider are #4 - #1 baitholder hooks or straight shank worm hooks (the barbs on the shank of the hook will help prevent long worms that are threaded onto the hook from slipping). 2.5″ - 4″ pieces are ideal. There is no need to use the entire worm.

Mussel & Clams - #4-#1 bait holder, Owner Mosquito or Gamakatsu Octopus hook. When using mussel or clams, do not use the frozen type sold in markets. Mussel and clams gathered from the rocks and sand are best as the meat is firmer and stays on the hook better.

Ghost Shrimp - #4-#1/0 bait holder, Owner Mosquito or Gamakatsu Octopus hook. Although barred surfperch are suckers for ghost shrimp, I really do not recommend the use of the ghost shrimp when targeting barred surf perch because it is very expensive to purchase and often time consuming and difficult to catch with a ghost shrimp pump (slurp gun). When hooking ghost shrimp, thread the shrimp starting from the tail end working the hook toward the center of the shrimp and exiting the hook on “belly” side of the shrimp. Ghost shrimp can be found in various sizes and colors. I prefer using 2-3″ sizes that are bright in color (the translucent shrimp are not as effective as brighter orange colored shrimp).

Plastic Grubs - # 6-#1 Owner Mosquito or baitholder hooks (although baitholder hooks will help prevent the plastic bodied grub from slipping off the shank of the hook, bait holder hooks are not as effective as Owner Mosquito hooks in terms of hook up ratio). 1.75″-3″ grubs made by Berkley and Big Hammer are fantastic. Colors to consider are motor oil/red flake (morf), motoroil, motor oil green & gold, pumpkinseed, clear red and green pumpkin. Although I prefer threading a grub with a hook point facing up and away from the tail, often times I will “nose hook” the grub when too many smaller fish are around.

Berkley Gulp! Sandworm - #6-#2 Owner Mosquito hooks. Either “nose hook” it or thread it on as if using a natural worm. 2-3″ seems to work best. As for colors, Camo, Motor Oil Red Flake and Bloody are sure winners.

Berkley Gulp! Shrimp (2″ & 3″ models) - #4 or #6 Owner Mosquito hooks. Thread the Gulp! Shimp similarly to hooking ghost shrimp. Some colors to consider are New Penny, Nuclear Chicken, Camo and Natural Shrimp.

NOTE: When fishing with the baits above, barred surfperch are often gut-hooked and smaller sized barred surfperch often becomes a hassle. For these reasons, consider using slightly larger hooks than normal (helps when removing the hooks and often times prevents the fish from completely swallowing it) and using these presentations: CLICK HERE.

Line - For the main line, you can use 3 different choices: 15-10# braid, 6-8# monofilament or 6-8# fluorocarbon lines. As for leaders, 4-6# fluorocarbon (18″-36″ in length. Rougher the water, shorter the length). I personally fish with 6# flurocarbon main line with #4-6# fluorocarbon leader. The lack of stretch and “invisibility” of the line helps detect the slightest of bites and a higher hook up ratio.

Barrel Swivel - #10-#12. High quality swivels will prevent line twists.

Glass Bead - 6mm-10mm red glass beads. Actually, I don’t think the color matters. Red glass beads are the most commonly beads on the market. Glass beads are not used to lure fish in. Rather, it is used to prevent shock/impact of the sinker from weakening the knot.

Sinkers - 1/4 - 1.5oz. lead egg sinkers or bullet sinkers (designed for Texas Rigs) depending on the amount of current and swells. The lighter the better.

Note: Barred surfperch are viviparous; meaning they give birth to live young. During the winter and spring months, large females are filled with live young that are 2″-3″ in length. When large females are caught and stressed, their bodies will automatically begin releasing its young (mother’s survival instinct for her young) out of the water. For this reason, it is important to release these fish IMMEDIATELY! If you must take a picture, do it quickly as possible. Being conservation minded will help our fishery for the future.

Rod and Reel:

Rod - Although many today fish with 2 piece steelhead rods that are 8′-9′ in length, I do not recommend the use of these rods for several reasons:

- 2 piece rods are less sensitive than shorter/single piece rods. The lack of sensitivity will result in more deeply hooked (gut-hooked) fish.

- Steelhead rods are HEAVY!

- Steelhead rods can’t be effectively used for the dropshot rig. Often times, I will switch from a C-Rig to a dropshot rig when conditions change and/or when halibut are found in a specific beach.

- Majority of the barred surfperch caught are in “foamy” white water. There is no need to cast extremely far.

I prefer fishing with a high quality 7′-7.5′ graphite rod that is rated 6-12# test with a fast action taper (not extra fast). If you prefer lighter equipment and want a challenge, then I would suggest a 7′ rod that is rated either 4-10# or 6-10# with a fast action.

Some things I consider when choosing a rod are:

- Is the rod properly “spined?”

- What type of graphite is the blank? IM6, IM7, IM8?

- What type of guides are used? Aluminum Oxide (yuck!), Fuji Concept Alconite, Fuji SiC (silicon carbide)?

- How fast is the taper?

Reel - Shimano 1000 sized reels. Some reels to consider are Shimano: Sedona, Sahara, Saros and if you have expensive taste, the Stradic MGFB, Sustain and if you’re a “tackle whore” the Stella.

So why Shimano and not Daiwa or other manufacturers? I’ve onced used Daiwa spinning reels and all the reels in the $100-$200 price range had poor drag systems. After 2 or 3 trips and routine maintenance (rinsing with freshwater), I noticed the drags became very “jerky.” When fishing with light line, it is crucial to have a proper/smooth drag system. Shimano reels are by far the smoothest and most dependable drags system I’ve used. Even the cheaper Sedona reels are excellent!

Note: Before rinsing off your spinning reels with freshwater (mist spray), tighten the drag and blow out any excess water that may have entered the creases between the top of the spool and the drag knob. This will prevent any moisture from wetting the drag washers.

Finding Fish - Now that you have the proper gear, let’s find and catch some fish!

Barred surfperch can be caught virtually anywhere along the coast. Although majority of them are caught along long stretches of sandy beaches, I’ve caught them near jetties and rocky areas such as the Laguna Beach and Leo Carillo State Beach.

When looking for fish along stretches of sandy beach, look for troughs, rip tides, sand bars, and holes. Anything that looks abnormal is a good place to start (I will have a complete video demonstration of “reading the water” shortly). In the mean time, allow me to illustrate some of the things that will be discussed in the future video clips.

Jetties - When targeting barred surfperch and other species near jetties, focus your efforts on the side (south or north side of the jetty) where water is being pushed against the jetty. The push of water can be caused by winds, currents and even the wake created by boats. When water is pushed against the jetty, forage such as peeler (a.k.a. sidewinder) crabs and mussel are often dislodged from the rocks creating a feast for fish. Bait fish are also pushed against the jetty causing a natural fish or better yet “food” trap for predatory fish.

Often times, both sides of the jetty will be equally effective as the surge from swells will break against both sides of the jetty.

Eddies are often created by currents clashing against the end of jetties. To give you a better picture of this, picture a jetty positioned (east/west) perpendicular to the sand (beach). When currents from the north clash with the north side of a jetty (at the end of the jetty), an eddy will be created on the south side of the jetty (slightly closer to shore from the end of the jetty). When this phenomenon takes place, feeding fish will position themselves in and around the eddy in search of forage such as smaller bait fish and other edible treats that get trapped in this “washing machine” like area.

River Mouths - Up and down the coast, man made and some natural rivers will dispense freshwater and nutrients that attracts bait fish (often filthy right after a storm). Although I strongly suggest avoiding these types of areas right after a storm due to high bacteria levels, the runoffs from these rivers will leave depressions creating a funnel for fish to feed in. Moreover, side-to-side sand bars and troughs are created and once the bacteria levels from a storm’s runoff clears, these areas can be highly effective for barred surfperch and other fish such as halibut, corbina and croakers.

Tides & Currents - When deciding on what part of the tidal movement to fish, remember barred surfperch and many other fish will be most active between 2 hours before high tide and 2 hours after high tide. Significant amount of water should be displaced between the high and low tide periods. However, I’ve rarely had good outings fishing after an extreme low tide (-minus tide), leading into a significant high tide in a short time span.

Some beaches fish better during the outgoing tide and vice versa.

Check for strong southern and northern currents. These types of currents along the shore will rage havoc on your ability to present your offering properly. Winds play another major factor. If faced with windy conditions, having winds blowing from the west is ideal as it will help push plankton and smaller baitfish towards shore.

During the warmer summer months, finding cooler water will often result in quality as well as quantity: Water Temps.

When fishing with a grub instead of a natural bait or GULP!, cast out your offering and with a slow/medium retrieve, steadily retrieve your rig back and repeat this process by fan casting and moving along the beach (keep your eyes open for structure). You will feel distinct “taps.” Set the hook immediately!

With natural baits and Gulp! fish the white “foamy” area. You cast further and slowly begin working your offerring back to find which area of the water column the fish are most active, but from my experience, majority of the fish (especially larger models) will be feeding in the shallow “foamy” area.

As mentioned, barred surfperch and other fish will swallow natural baits and Gulp! should enough time be given. To prevent gut-hooking, immediately set the hook whenever a tap is felt.

One Final Thought - Applying scent to plastic grubs can often times result in more and larger fish. Although there are many scent manufacturers on the market today, I’ve found Smelly Jelly to be the most effective for a couple of reasons. First, Smelly Jelly has a petroleum jelly type texture which will adhere to plastics a LOT longer than other scents on the market today. Second, glitter is infused into the Smelly Jelly mixture giving it a flashy and natural appeal to fish.

Smelly Jelly makes a wide array of scents and for the most part, they all work for barred surf perch and other species. However, some flavors to consider are: Bass Feast, Salt Shrimp, Anchovy, Special Mix and Sand Shrimp!

Example of a trough.