A few facts to understand…

Fish are cold blooded creatures. When the water cools, their metabolism slows down causing them to become sluggish and at times down right difficult to catch. Moreover, with a slower metabolism fish such as halibut do not need to feed as often. However, it is during the winter months some of the largest halibut can be caught. Why?

During the winter months, egg-filled female halibut have one thing in mind: to incubate their eggs and nourish it to the best of their abilities by feeding whenever possible.

In open faced beaches such as Huntington and Santa Monica, the shallow areas of the surfline is more prone to colder currents and large wave breaks and winds have a tendency of cooling the surface water temperatures more than stretches of beach that are protected. Targeting winter halibut in areas where the water is less violent and finding finer/softer/darker sand is key. The combination of calmer waters and better sand quality enables that specific region to warm up quicker with sunlight exposure. Why is this important?

Sunbathe…

Larger breeding halibut situated in their deeper “holes” often times move into the shallows during the daylight hours (as long as they are not overly pressured by various factors such as boats, surfers etc…) to warm their bodies to help incubate their eggs properly and perhaps grab a meal if the opportunity arises. Similar to freshwater largemouth bass, halibut are often found “sunbathing” in the shallows for the first couple of hours of sunrise and as long as their is just enough wind to disrupt the surface water, halibut may sunbathe throughout the day.

Slow down…

During the spring and winter months, the action can be furious as halibut compete for forage. During these times, faster presentations such as spoons, swimbaits and the highly regarded Lucky Craft hardbait(s) are recommended.

However, with colder conditions, using a slower presentation will usually be the difference between catching that sluggish halibut and going home empty.

Dropshot Rig…

There is no better presentation than the dropshot rig to catch winter halibut. The ability to “work” a plastic offering with the slowest of movements while giving enough “action” of the plastic to gain interest from a halibut makes the dropshot rig a true winner!

I highly encourage fishing with larger 5″ soft jerkbaits smeared with a scent such as Smelly Jelly. My personal favorite is a Berkley 5″ Power Bait Saltwater Jerk Shad in the Pearl color laced with Smelly Jelly’s “Bass Feast.”

The reason why I prefer a larger offering is to first discourage smaller “pancake” sized halibut from biting and to give a larger halibut a substantial meal to encourage the fish to move (become active) and ultimately bite!

Importance of scents…

With cold air temperatures and numbing of the hands, we as angler lose sensitivity. When halibut bite the dropshot rig, it is usually a subtle “tick” and with numbed hands it becomes challenging to detect a soft bite.

By applying scent, halibut are less likely to “spit” an offering and will give an angler more time to detect a bite and set the hook.

Sand and beach…

During my days as a tournament bass angler, I learned a great amount of information in regards to how fish relate to various types of structure during a specific time of year. During the winter months, my tournament partners informed me that areas such as red clay banks heat up quicker than other parts of the lake and that these areas are often abundant with fish sunbathing and a foraging.

Taking the “red clay” concept to the surf was a natural thing for me to do. Halibut and largemouth bass are both predatory fish, they both spawn during the same time of the year and react in many similar ways.

In areas such as Stearn’s Wharf/East Beach in Santa Barbara and the middle sections of Long Beach, darker and finer sand qualities can be found. Along with the sand quality, these areas are somewhat protected from colder currents coming from the north and due to its protected characteristics, the waters in the shallows will warm up quicker than other stretches of beach’ providing a welcoming environment for egg-filled halibut.

Tides…

The same concept for spring and fall halibut seasons is used for winter halibut fishing with one BIG exception: slower the better.

Slower the better? To explain, in the winter months I look for conditions where a high volume of water slowly recedes to a bottom low to .5 to 1 feet. This is important as it will allow enough time for the sun to warm the shallow water and a high enough volume of water for the halibut to feel secure enough to remain shallow.

For instance, if an a.m. high tide peak is predicted at 6 feet at 7a.m. (sunrise) and bottoms out (low tide) to 1 foot by noon, there is a 5 hour window between the high and low tides. In this type of tidal setting, I will focus my efforts on the first half hour of the outgoing tidal shift as there will be enough volume of water to keep the fish shallow.

Heatwave…

Californians are truly blessed to live in a climate that allows for summer like conditions even during the dead of winter. When a winter heat wave passes the region, get out there and fish! The sudden increase in water temperature will usually ignite the fish into a feeding mode.

Cloud cover…

Believe it or not, evening cloud cover keeps an area a bit warmer during the night hours. If the weather man predicts thick cloud cover during the p.m. hours diminishing into clear skies in the a.m. hours, this slight increase in temperature will often times be enough to get sluggish fish into biting and/or drawing more and larger fish into the shallows.

Conclusion…

Don’t expect to go out to a stretch of beach in the winter months and catch 5 or even 10 legal halibut. Leave those epic moments for the spring and fall. During the winter months fishing for halibut is noticeably slower than other times of years and ideal conditions are often hard to come by, but by paying attention to tidal and climate changes and selecting an appropriate beach, anglers can venture out and catch quality size halibut while other surf fishermen catch traditional winter fish such as barred surf perch.

There are two hook models that I use when “nose hooking” smaller baitfish imitations such as Zoom Tiny Fluke and Bass Pro Shop Quiver Minnow: Gamakatsu Splitshot/Drop Shot and Owner Mosquito. Sizes vary from #4 - #1/0 (depending on the size of the plastic and the fish I am pursuing).

When fishing with larger 5″ soft jerkbait style plastics such as Zoom Super Fluke and Berkley Saltwater Jerk Shad, I prefer fishing with a #1/0 -#2/0 long shank worm hook (designed for freshwater bass fishing).

When vegetation is a problem, wide gap offset hooks such as #1/0 - #4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hooks are fantastic.

Line: I almost always fish with fluorocarbon line. The lack of stretch, finer diameter, abrasion resistance, and “invisibility” are key characteristics that helps with proper hook setting and getting a fish to bite.

When fishing with smaller profiled baits, I use 6# test. With larger plastics, I prefer 8# test. When I am fishing plastics such as Super Flukes with a weedless manner, I will often scale up to 10# test as stronger line is needed to properly hook fish and because fish may tangles themselves in vegetation.

Weights: Traditional freshwater bass dropshot sinkers in the 1/4- 3/8 oz. range is what I use most. When conditions get a rough, I may use 1/2 - 2oz. torpedo sinkers.

If you fishing in areas where the sinker is constantly getting hung up, simply crimp a large split shot or two. When you get hung up, you will be able to free your rig from the snag by gradually pulling on your rod.

Dropshot Rig:

The Palomar Knot- Click Here

Tie a Palomar knot leaving a 6"-18" tag end.

To keep the hook point upright, thread the tag end throw the eye of the hook (top to bottom).

The finished rig. Note: the tag end by the sinker. Tie a simple underhand knot to prevent slippage and loss of the sinker.

Presentation: This rig is so easy to use and effective that a person with no prior experience can expect to catch fish in little or no time at all. Simply cast out to the desired area, tighten any slack line, keep the rod tip in the 10 o’clock position and begin to twitch the rod tip just enough to have your plastic offering twitch and shake its tail. That is it! You can add appeal to your plastic by adding a scent of your choice. I personally favor Smelly Jelly (especially “Bass Feast”).

"Weedless" rigging.

To make the rig even MORE weedless, slightly insert the point of the hook just under the "skin" of the plastic.

5" soft jerkbait rigged with a #2/0 long shank hook.

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.

Garrett with a nice slab!

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.

Carolina Rig (when fishing with grubs, I prefer a bullet sinker as it "slides" easily above the sand.

Barred Surfperch are one of the easiest surf fish to catch and offers a lot of fun on light tackle.

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.

Fig. 1A - Even spillways such as the one shown here can create abnormalities in the sand.

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.

Side-by-Side sand bars and trough created by the spillway from Fig. 1A.

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.

The length of this trough is immense and during high tides, it will hold such as fish as corbina, halibut and barred surfperch!

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.

The Lucky Craft CIF model Flash Minnows are stocked with (3) #6 Owner ST-31 treble hooks. Although these hook are “sticky” sharp, the size and inability to resharpen the hooks (due to cutting point design) is enough to convince an experienced user of hardbaits to replace stocked hooks with hooks that are larger and easy to resharpen.

I’ve personally tested out just about every treble hook on the market and in my journey to find the “perfect” treble hook, I came across the Owner ST-46. These are the same hooks are that equipped on other Japanese made hardbaits. They are extremely corrosion resistant and resharpening these hooks is a breeze. However, there is one let down. Owner ST-46 hooks are made ONLY for the Japanese market!

The top lure is equipped with standard #6 Owner ST-31 treble hooks. When targeting larger fish such as halibut and saltwater bass, replace stocked hooks with a size #4 Gamakatsu EWG (bronze) Treble or an Owner ST-46 (JDM only).

If you can’t order the Owner ST-46 hooks online, I would suggest using a Gamakatsu EWG Treble in the BRONZE finish. Yes I said BRONZE! Believe it or not, black nickel or black chrome finishes RUST easily in saltwater. Gamakatsu bronze hooks are very resistant to rust (simply rinse it with freshwater after use and you are good to go).

The Gamakatsu EWG trebles are designed very similarly to Owner ST-46 trebles. The point of the hooks are angled inward towards the eye resulting in a design that is less prone to “straightening out.” Another great feature of the EWG treble hook is the ability to quickly and easily resharpen the hooks. Run a hook file a few times and your hooks are good as new.

* When fishing from the surf, hooks are constantly dragged along the sand and rocks and become noticeably dull. Repeatedly check your hook points throughout the day (especially if you bang it against a rock).

In this article, I will explain the benefits of utilizing an ideal “surf cranking” rod when presenting lures such as Lucky Craft hardbaits and spoons.

Arguably, one of the best ways to present lures in the surf is with a steady/ slow to medium retrieve. Because many of the lures on the market today are equipped with treble hooks, it is important to use a rod that will enable a fish to gradually “eat” or hook themselves without detecting a significant amount of resistance. Many predatory fish with “turn” their heads immediately after grabbing hold of its prey. If a rod does not allow enough “forgiveness” or “give,” fish will often times either “spit” the lure or get hooked in awkward areas such as the top of the head, out side of the mouth and the tail- this will often result in loss of a fish.

The slow action of a Lamiglas fiberglass rod will promote better hook up ratios and prevent head shaking fish from "spitting" the hook.

Rod

Prior to the assembly of a fishing rod, fishing “blanks” are constructed. Most rods on the market today are constructed with fiberglass and graphite. Some rod manufacturers have gone to the length of designing “hybrid” rods with a graphite body interwoven with fiberglass to offer anglers the benefits of both materials.

Fiberglass, graphite or a mixture of both is woven into sheets. The closer the material(s) is woven, the faster the action. This fine weave is commonly referred to and measured as modulus. To give you a better idea, most fiberglass rods have a modulus count between 6-13 million while graphite rods are between 30-60 million. To further illustrate this, an IM6 graphite rod has a modulus count of 33 million where as a IM7 rod has 42 million. Rods with higher modulus counts are lighter, stiffer and more sensitive.

Now that we have a better understanding of rod characteristics, lets discuss why the use of a lower modulus crank bait rod is ideal for surf fishing.

No matter how great of a lure an angler may possess, if he or she is not able to cast this lure within range of the fish, a fantastic lure becomes useless. When I first started using hard baits in the surf, I used an 8′ graphite rod that was designed for deep diving crankbaits. Although I’ve caught a lot of fish with this rod, I’ve also lost majority of my larger fish using this rod. This rod has a medium/ fast action and when I searched for a rod with a slower action yet constructed with enough “back bone” to pull on large fish, my search ended with a rod constructed with fiberglass (E-Glass).

The fiberglass rod model XCF 705R and XCF 705 (both made by Lamiglas) is 7′ in length, line rating of 8-20# and capable of casting lures 3/8 - 1 1/2oz. A single graphite rod is incapable of having such a wide range of line rating and lure casting weight as a fiberglas rod. With this said, fiberglass rods are much more versatile. Because of its shorter length, I can use this same rod for tradtional fresh water jerkbait methods, topwater, spinnerbaits, spoons and lighter salwater swimbaits. Don’t let the shorter 7′ length discourage you; the casting distance is quite remarkable.

Halibut are often "foul hooked" on the soft skin of its head.

So why a crankbait rod when we are primarily using this rod with freshwater jerkbaits in the surf? Because the most common method in which jerkbaits are used in the surf is with a slow and steady retrieve and not a twitch and pause type method. In situations where a twich and pause method is needed to trigger bites, the shorter Lamiglas design allows for precise movement of your lure and precision casting.

The response time or sensitivity of a fiberglass rod is slower than a graphite rod. This delay in sensitivity will prevent an angler from prematurely setting the hook. Although I highly recommend setting the hook by turning the reel handle as quickly as possible and sweeping the rod in a side-way motion once the weight of the fish is felt; there are often times we as anglers will set the hook in a traditional snapping method due to the sudden surprise of a fish striking the lure. When we instinctively snap the rod back, often times we will “pull” the lure away from the fish’s mouth. With a fiberglass rod, this “pulling” of the lure is less of a problem.

Fiberglass rods are much more forgiving and when fish such as a calico bass and halibut violently shakes its head, the slower action of a fiberglass rod will prevent fish from “spitting” the hook. The choice is yours: you can use a graphite rod (often less expensive) or spend a few extra dollars on a Lamiglas fiberglass rod and have the reassurance that you are using a rod that will prevent large head shaking fish from “spitting” your hook.

The video clip above illustrates the thickness of a halibut’s outer mouth and the soft skin around the “belly” and “neck” area. When fish such as halibut are hooked, the hook itself rarely penetrates completely through the mouth giving a secure lock on the fish. Moreover, there fish are often foul-hooked and utilizing the proper rod will prevent fish from “spitting” the hook.

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.

Jacky Leung with a nice "slab."

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

Barred Surf Perch will readily strike a slowly presented hard bait such as this Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110.

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.

Halibut are often caught while targeting perch with the drop shot rig!

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.

]]> http://www.surffishinginsider.com/1303/feed http://www.surffishinginsider.com/1301 http://www.surffishinginsider.com/1301#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:06:23 +0000 Sinjin Kim http://www.surffishinginsider.com/?p=1301 Many hard jerkbaits on the market today are constructed with some sort of internal weight transfer system. After the initial cast, the weights will be positioned at the tail end of the bait. The weight at the tail will hinder the natural action of the lure as the tail end becomes heavier than the rest of the body.

To shift the weights towards the head of the bait follow these procedures:

• After the initial cast, retrieve any slack line.
• Lower the rod tip below the waist level and
• Quickly jerk/snap your rod ONCE.
• Begin a slow and steady retrieve.

The sudden jerk and pause of the lure will shift the weight from the tail to the head and will help in the movement of the rest of the body.