Barred Surfperch Tips - Targeting Slabs!

Barred surfperch are abundant in the surf environment and can be caught on both artificial and natural baits. Because they are readily available and easy to catch, barred surfperch offers both children and novice adult surf fishermen a chance to fish a local beach with the utmost confidence that they will not walk away empty handed.

For decades, anglers seeking barred surf perch have utilized the Carolina rig (C-Rig) with natural baits such as sand crabs, mussel, sea worms, ghost shrimp and artificial plastic grubs. Although this method is quite effective, I’ve found there were a couple areas that could be improved on: First, too many fish caught on the C-Rig are gut hooked (especially when using natural baits) and second, too many juvenile fish are caught.

In this article, I will discuss methods that will resolve the above issues of using the C-Rig and assist you in catching more and larger barred surfperch.

Barred Surf Perch Range - Although Barred Surf Perch range from Bodega Bay, CA to Plaza Maria Bay, Baja California, they are most commonly found from Cayucos, CA south to El Rosario, Baja California. Although they can be caught throughout the year, barred surf perch (especially the larger models) fishing takes off during the colder months of December to March. During this time, many pregnant females will be full of live young and it is important to release these fish as quickly as possible. If a pregnant fish undergoes an extreme amount of stress, her body will instinctively begin releasing live young onto the beach which will usually result in certain death of the live young. There is no size limit to these fish (I strongly believe the DFG should set a size limit), but there is a daily bag limit of 10 per person/ per day with a 20 bag limit of a mixture of perch species (regulations are changed regularly; always have a copy of an up to date regulations book handy).

Drop Shot

Finesse Drop Shot Rig - As many of you well know, the drop shot rig was developed by Japanese bass fishermen to assist in catching wary largemouth bass in clear water impoundments. By making a few changes to this rig, the drop shot can be fished efficiently when targeting larger grade barred surf perch and unlike traditional barred surf perch methods, the use of the drop shot rig will greatly increase your chance of catching bait fish seeking predators such as the California halibut.

Terminal Tackle and Plastics - Depending on current and the force of the surf’s break, I would suggest using slender torpedo shaped sinkers for mild conditions and in rough conditions, a pyramid sinker. As for the amount of weight, use the lightest amount of weight you can get away with. In mild areas, I would use ¼ - 3/8oz. sinkers. In rougher areas, I would use ½ to 1 oz. sinkers. In areas where a south or north current poses a problem, 1-2 oz. pyramid sinkers may be utilized.

Depending on the size of the plastic you are using, I recommend using a #4 - #1 drop shot style hook such as a Gamakatsu “split shot/ drop shot” hook and nose hooking these plastics. If you are constantly getting “short bit,” thread your plastics onto a long shanked straight worm hook in the #2 - #1 size.

Anglers today are truly blessed with today’s fishing technology. There are hundreds of styles of plastics and colors that can be utilized for barred surf perch. Here are some of my personal favorites:

Zoom Tiny Fluke, Roboworm Alive Shad (3 & 4”), Berkley Gulp! Minnow (2.5 & 3”), 3” Sluggos, 3” pieces of Berkley Gulp! Sandworms and even tiny plastic worms designed for trout fishermen. Although most will agree that barred surf perch will sift through the shallows of the surf’s environment looking for sand crabs and sea worms, most do not understand that larger sized barred surf perch will readily strike a bait fish imitation whereas smaller perch will usually pass up on such as large “meal.” For this reason, using a drop shot rig with bait fish imitating plastics will usually result in larger barred surf perch.

Barred surf perch have extremely keen eye sights and the use of fluorocarbon lines will increase the amount of bites. Fluorocarbon line has much less stretch than traditional monofilament lines. This lack of stretch in fluorocarbon will enable you to set hooks with greater success and help your sense of feel. For the drop shot rig, I strongly suggest fishing with 6# fluorocarbon line.

When targeting barred surf perch with traditional rigs such as the C-Rig with plastic grubs, I’ve found that once I find a high volume of fish in a specific water column, the C-Rig couldn’t fish the key fish holding areas with much effectiveness because a grub must be constantly retrieved to impart action and get bit. For instance, let’s say the fish are holding 60’ from the water’s edge and the area that is holding fish is only 10’ in circumference. If you were to cast and retrieve and C-Rig with a grub, your presentation will only be in the 10’ strike zone for a few seconds and will give a perch a slight window of opportunity to commit (strike). However, with the drop shot rig, you can accurately cast into the strike and constantly impart action to your plastic without moving it away from the strike zone; giving the fish a longer time to hone-in on your presentation.

To impart action, it is quite simple. After the initial cast, retrieve any slack line. Once your line is nice a taught, begin to slightly “shake” the rod top while holding your rod in the 10 o’clock position. If smaller fish are in the area, you will begin to get short bites (which is a good thing) and once a fish large enough to “eat” your offering arrives, you will be able to hook the fish on the outer part of the mouth and prevent gut-hooking that is associated with the C-Rig.

The distance between the sinker and hook should be 6-18” depending on the volume of water where the fish are most active. Another thing consider when choosing the appropriate length is the angle in which you will be working the presentation. For instance, if you have an 18” length but casting further out, you should consider that your line will be in a 45 degree angle which will cause the hook to be closer to the bottom.

Drop Shot Rods and Reels - A 7’ to 7’ 4” graphite rod that is rated between 6-10# and 6-12# is optimal. My rod of choice is a Lamgilas XPS 702X “Drop Shot Special II” in mild conditions (lighter sinkers) and when in rougher areas, a Lamiglas SR 743 (Skeet Reese’s Drop Shot Special). The sensitivity on these rods is hands down the best on the market and light weight of the rods will be thanked by your wrist. Although these rods are designed for finesse tactics, halibut as large as 30” have been caught without a problem. These rods are well constructed and with a little care, they should last a life time.

I’ve used spinning reels made by various reel manufacturers and without question; I believe Shimano makes the smoothest, strongest, and most dependable reels on the market. A Shimano reel in the 1000 or 2500 size is perfect. Some reels to consider are Shimano’s Stradic MGFB, Sedonas and Saros.

When spooling line onto these reels, make sure the line comes directly off the spool just in the same manner line comes off the spool of a bait casting reel. To further prevent line twist, I strongly urge you to have the line come off the bottom of the spool when spooling your spinning reels and the opposite when spooling bait casting reels.

Hard Baits

Although I primarily fish hard baits in the surf when targeting halibut, you will be surprised at the vast number large barred surf perch that are caught on these 4-5” lures. Along with large barred surf perch, fish such as white sea bass, calico bass, corbina, yellowfin croaker, striped bass, leopard sharks and even coho salmon have been caught off our local beaches.

Due to the possibility of catching much larger fish than barred surf perch, it is imperative to use proper tackle.

Rods and Reels - When using hard baits such as the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110, Pointer 100, Slender Pointer 112MR and Lipless Pointer 90, I recommend using the same tackle that freshwater bass fishermen use when presenting deep diving crank baits. The slower gear ratio reel and the forgiveness of crank bait designed rods will allow for easy casting, forgiveness of the rod to prevent fish from “spitting” the hook during the initial strike, enough back bone to beach large fish and enough “give” from the rod to prevent head shaking fish such as halibut from shaking the hooks out of its mouth.

I’ve once used longer 8’ graphite crank bait rods and by switching to a 7’ fiberglass crank bait rod, I’ve noticed a couple things. First, when it was time to “beach” a fish, I found I had better control of the fish with a shorter rod. Second, casting accuracy improved greatly. Moreover, with a 7’ fiberglass rod, I was able to use this rod for other presentations such as spoons, topwater, spinner baits, crank baits and saltwater swim baits. With an 8’ graphite crank bait rod, I realized I only used this rod for a single presentation.

Lamiglas’ XCF 705R and the slightly lighter version the XCF 705 are both incredibly made rod. Theses rods are constructed with E-Glass and have a fantastic parabolic action with a strong back bone. The action of these rods will enable you to cast relatively light lures a great distance without the trouble associated with a longer graphite rod (casting accuracy and fish control). Because the rods parabolic nature and strong back bone, they are rated from 8-20# test which in return will enable you to use this rod for a wide arrange of presentation. It is definitely a must have for any serious surf and bass fisherman.

Shimano’s Curado E5 bait casting reel is truly a work of art. It has the body frame (profile) of finesse bait casting reels with the line capacity (larger spool size) and strength of larger bait casting reels on the market today. This reels is capable of casting light lures, has the smoothest drag on the market (no need to replace drag washers like other reels on the market today), and is lighter than most reels in the same category. The Curado’s E5 gear ratio is 5.0:1 and is perfectly suited for working hard baits effectively in the surf.

Spool this reel with 10# fluorocarbon line and match it up with a Lamiglas XCF 705R or the XCF 705 and you will have one killer of a set-up that is sure to help you catch just about everything in the surf!

Hard Baits and Irons - Some of the things I look for when searching for hard baits on the market are weight transfer systems, finish, quality split and oval rings, high quality injection plastic molding and most importantly the action of the lure.

I’ve literally spent thousands of dollars experimenting with countless lures on the market today and without question, the folks at Lucky Craft have perfected the art of building high quality hard baits. Some lures to consider when targeting larger barred surf perch are the Lipless Pointer 90, Wander 95, Flash Minnow 95MR, Flash Minnow 110, Pointer 100 and the Slender Pointer 112MR.

The Lipless Pointer 90 and Wander 95 are best used when targeting perch located in deeper volume of water whereas “lipped” hard baits are best utilized in the 2-5’ surf zone. Although these hard baits can be used with many different types of retrieves, I’ve caught the bulk of my catch with a slow and steady retrieve.

As for colors of these hard baits, anything that is shiny or resembles a bait fish will work. Some colors to consider are: Aurora Black, Aurora Brown, Metallic Sardine, American Shad, MS MJ Herring, Salty Chrome, Aurora Mackerel, Zebra Sardine and Bluefin Tuna.

There are certain beaches that have a lot of “skinny” or flat water prior to leading to the first surf break. In these areas, casting distance is crucial and a metal spoon such as a Kastmaster or Krocodile will enable you to reach the fish. When selecting Kastmasters, stick with ½ -3/4oz models in chromes and golds. With Krocodiles, the 5/8oz. version is the only model would use in the surf. Once again, stick to colors that reflect a lot of light. During clear water conditions, I prefer fishing with chrome patterns whereas in stained or slightly off colored water, I prefer gold patterns. Another rule of thumb is use chrome during sunny days and gold during cloudy days.

With “irons” such as Kastmasters and Krocodiles, a medium retrieve is fast enough to keep the lure off the bottom, but slow enough to prevent the loss the side-to-side action.

With both hard baits and spoons, it is important to “burn” (retrieving as fast as possible) the reel during the initial strike followed by the “sweeping” of the rod to complete the hook setting process. Do not “pump” the fish in as if you were fighting a tuna. A slow and gradual turn of the reel and a good bend of the rod will prevent any slack line and the “spitting” of the hook.

If you are unsuccessful at “beaching” a fish on your first attempt, immediately back off the drag a full 1/3 to ½ turn drag tensioner and allow the suction of the receding water to take the fish back towards the main body of water. When it is time to “beach” the fish again, tighten the drag and with conjunction of incoming water, pull the fish in with your tip facing the sand. If you were to pull with your rod tip high in the sky, you will be promoting the fish to raise its head which will result in more water resistance.

Leadheads & Plastics - Using the same equipment mentioned for the drop shot rig, various leadheads and plastics can be used with much success. Two presentations to consider are ¼ - 3/8oz. fishheads (made by Sunrize Tackle) with a 3” Big Hammer swim bait or a simple 1/4oz. round leadhead with a 3” curly tail grub (motor oil w/ red flakes and rootbeer w/ gold flakes are fantastic colors). Although just about every color on the 3” Big Hammers swim baits will work, the following colors have traditionally caught large barred surf perch with great consistency: Bay Smelt, Christmas Tree, Wookie Wacker, Keylime, Halloween, Baitfish and Silverside.

Presenting these plastic bodied lures is quite simple. A steady slow to medium retrieve is all that is required. Determining the depth in which the swim bait or grub swims can be accomplished by allowing more or less time for the lure to sink and the lowering and raising of the rod tip during the retrieve will lower and raise your presentation respectively.

Scents - I am a definite believer of scents and always carry an assortment of Smelly Jelly scents. Some of my favorites are Bass Feast, Anchovy, Special Mix (Shrimp/Anise), and Sardine. There are many scent manufacturers on the market today and most of these products are effective but the reason why I heavily favor Smelly Jelly scents is this: It is extremely adhesive! Imagine covering your lure with a coating of petroleum jelly (it has the same consistency). The Smelly Jelly mixture is infused with glitter which resembles the scales of small fish. The glitter reflects light well and therefore presents your artificial lures in a much livelier manner.