HMB Perching - NonYak - Skunk - advice?

I decided to try perch fishing. HMB seems to be the closest spot from SLZ.

Didn't want to spend money on a new pole so I used my trout pole, which is 6' medium/light action pole. 8lb test line with same line as leader in a carolina rig with a 1/2 oz egg sinker. #4 hook with Kalin's 2" motor oil/red grub. Fished within the two hours after low tide, 1:30-4:00 yesterday, 2:30-4:00 today. Tossed the grub as far as I can into the edges of surges/waves. Walked about half a mile of the beach south of Miramar Ave. (the brown 4-plex (?) house off the beach. No luck. Not even a bite (or maybe I didn't feel the bites).

I caught a perch from poke-poling the HMB jetties a couple months ago and loved the taste of it. Would sure like to catch them as a targetted fish.

Aside from the obvious mistake of not investing in a surf pole, what are my other mistakes? Any advice is appreciated.

---Joe

Sounds like you're doing pretty much everything right. Personally I have better luck perching with bait rather than grubs; you can use the same rig or you can use a hi-lo. Digging up some sandcrabs for bait is the best but shrimp or squid work well.

Also you want to try and look for sandy structure; "holes" that contain the deeper water are where the perch will congregate. You can spot these because the waves don't break over them consistently. It's a bit of an art to spot them, just takes practise. Follow the natural undulations of the beach and cast into the deeper spots. Scouting at a really low tide and fishing towards the top of the tide is the best way to do it.

The only other advice would be to try some other spots. That beach isn't particularly perchy. Pescadero/Pomponio/San Gregorio are probably better bets, or the beaches in SF.

More advice can be found here; this guy knows his onions.

http://www.songslinger.net/articles.html

http://www.getbentsportfishing.com/helpful/tips-and-tricks/hammer%11hooking:-new-ideas-for-surfperch-fishing/

I've benn fishing the surf pretty consistantly down in San Diego for the last 6 months when I can't get someone out on the water with me.  Your rig is just about the way I go.  I use a 7 footer most days and sometimes the 8'6" rod comes out but I've had plenty of success with both.

The bait down here I've used to real success when the sandcrabs aren't around is Gulp Alive sandworms 2" camo.  Down here they call them "crack".

You can fish them like bait (toss and leave 'em 'til you feel the bite) or I catch most of my perch with a slow retrieve.

Good Luck

Shirkus

Thank you all for your insight. Will try again sometime next week if weather permits.

Sounds like you're using the right gear. Although, I use a longer rod (8ft) because it is easier to keep the slack line above the breaking waves/whitewash...which helps maintain constant contact w/the lure.
Keep changing grubs until you find a color that works, as you work down the shoreline Fan cast the area then move down 30-40ft. Swith between the Kalins 2" and 1.5" grubs too. That's how you effectively fish a beach.
As the wave recedes and pressure builds on your line, pause momentarily instead of fighting against the current. This is when I get a majority of hits, and it's much easier to set the hook this way.

Truth be told, I've had better luck w/those dang Gulp sandworms than grubs. The 2" green/brown with gold flake (maybe called camo?) are killer. I just thread it on there like a grub (although it s/b noted that lots of guys just nose-hook grubs) and work it the same way.

i'm with Sin Coast...you've got the right gear, and that pause is crucial!  You might try upping the egg to 3/4 if there is decent wave action- you shuld have near constant contact with the bottom

Look for the holes, where the waves are NOT breaking...nice green water that comes nearly right to the beach...

I know folks that i've taken out that don't perch often also usually retrieve too fast...i'm partial to really really slow retrieve, except when a wave carries the weight.
Gulp is killer!

You can always go to zenflyfishing.com and learn from the master perch fisherman. You do have the proper equipment but I too am with Pat (Sincoast) and a longer rod would be better. I use a 9 foot Steelhead rod with a fast taper. Has the sensitivity to feel those lite bites as well as the backbone just in case your perch turns out to be a striper.

Also sometimes a longer leader will work too. If those little buggers refuse to hit I go to a 6 foot leader. Also learn to "read" the surf. Perch like to sit in "holes" where the surf doesn't break to hard. Another trick too is locate them with bait then use a grub. Good luck to ya!

Anybody try the Berkley Gulp sand flea yet? I just picked some up, & wondering if it's worth the effort to try, or if I should just stick with the real thing. Not to seem like a lazy fisherman, but if I can avoid the digging it'd be worth the cost. My experience is that the real sand fleas out fish the grubs, but can be hard to get to depending on the tide. Also iI would highly recommend trying ocean beach, or baker. I've got a few hoes that hit pretty regularly. Ask the surfers on OB where the holes are. That's how i found my spots plus they hate surfing there, so you don't have to worry about "catching" one of them.

I've tried the sand fleas...the only problem i had with them is that they spin like crazy in teh surf...no matter what i did they ended up twisting the line. I dumped 'em for that reason. MInd you i'm casting and retreiving- they'd probably be great for replacing bait

Good advice from the others.

I fished this stretch two weeks ago. 

Went there because it is pretty protected against the offshore wind and I've fished there before. 

I had some bloodworms left over from the previous week (kept them in the frig). 

Used half a bloodworm on a slider rig ( 1-oz egg, glass bead, #12 swivel, and size 8 Gamatsu hook with 24", 8# line).

Cast about 150 ft and pulled in real slow. I worked the shore along until I found a couple of spots with fish. 

Ended up with six fish (all C&R): three barred, two walleye and a starry flounder. 

Bloodworms work real well.

I usually use grubs with swimtails (I like "Sliders").

-DanMan

Yakaroo, you said you fished the two hours after low tide, try two hours before high tide and the two hours after high tide. Thats a four hour time slot. I think the higher tide digs up more sand crabs telling the perch its chow time. This is when I have had the most success.

Hey Joe, you may already know but they are not always there. There are times they hang out up to 200 feet deep. Also, IMO, tide matters most.

I do agree with our brothers in this post. However, though these species are plate sized fish, I prefer to use a sturdier rod. IMO, it is not the fish but the rigors of their environment. For conventional method I use 8.5' M steelhead rod or 7.0' MH bass rod. But I enjoy 7wt or 8wt fly rod more. One time I was perching using my bass rod with 10# test line with the same grub you used and hooked this 25# hog at HMB. It took me about 30min to land it. This is another  reason why I use a sturdier gear.

When the weather gets better I'll take you out to my hole in HMB. Please see my response to your PM.

\LL

so the miramar are is not generally the best for surf perch to start with. while the beach is really protected, that means there isn't much of a trough which perch like. go either north to montara state beach or south off kehoe ave. or kelly street. all those beaches have a much larger grain of sand and higher wave action, which means a larger and closer trough. it looks like that striper came from the poplar area, was it caught while targeting perch? always a nice surprise. as far as technique, the slow retrieve is definitely key.

so the miramar are is not generally the best for surf perch to start with. while the beach is really protected, that means there isn't much of a trough which perch like. go either north to montara state beach or south off kehoe ave. or kelly street. all those beaches have a much larger grain of sand and higher wave action, which means a larger and closer trough. it looks like that striper came from the poplar area, was it caught while targeting perch? always a nice surprise. as far as technique, the slow retrieve is definitely key.

I agree with you, FL. Miramar (or most of the HMB beaches for that matter) is not really that great for perching but really nice for beaching  . I have not seen that much sandcrabs compared to the far north and far south of it's beaches. I like HMB coz it's only ~40min drive away and I score too. Santa Cruz and Bodega/Manchester beaches are, I believe, the better spots with monster perches but the long drive always gives me the 2nd thought.

Sound like you know the area very well. Yes, I nailed that striper at Poplar while perching. It was unexpected and a really big surprise because it was late fall when I caught it. The hop-retrieve works for me and usually don't stop until the sinker is off the surf.

\LL