Perch fishing help!

I have been trying to catch some surf perch but i just havent been having the best luck for awhile now. Any tips, tricks locations from around humboldt county would be much appreciated. Always down for a trip to if anyones interested in some fishing and a couple beers!

I'm not a hnl fisherman and I don't know anything about the Humboldt area, but as a diver I can say that perch like surge or moving water and I usually see them in less than 25 feet of water.

I hope this helps

Did you check out the article on the lower left of the forum?

Best point to man would be Alex aka Alien. I'm sure he would chime in.
 

every little bit helps and ive caught a few but i just cant seem to get into them to figure out how to fish them. Thanks for the info! and yes ive checked that out and numerous other articles. Im just looking for a little local wisdom.

jmox, I have several places I fish for Redtail perch around Humboldt are you looking to fish from the beach or kayak? A good place to fish for perch from the beach is the mouth of the Eel river (MOE). I usually use prawns/shrimp for bait and fish one hour before high tide to one hour after high tide. If there is more than a 4' surf and it takes more than 3oz pyramid weight to stick it, it is usually to rough. Look for deeper spots or holes where the wave pattern is different. I have actually caught perch on most of the beaches from MOE up to the Klamath and some are better than others. I really like catching perch from a kayak but you need to be half crazy sometimes to do it, shoot me a pm and we'll talk.-Jeremy

2" gulp camo sand worms, #6 hook, pyramid sinker. Look for the irregularities in the surf. You need to find holes and troughs where the fish hang out. Cast out into the surf not past in. I've got more in 5 FOW then out deep.  I usually go light on the line and play the waves to land fish. Good luck.

I used to do a lot of winter perch fishing when I lived in Humboldt from 2004-2010.  Since the water's often murky up there in the winter, I usually used bait instead of plastic grubs--though this year, maybe the water's still clear due to lack of runoff.  A basic dropper loop rig with a 1-2 oz sinker on the bottom and a size 6 or 4 baitholder hook on the dropper loop was pretty standard.  I found raw market shrimp to work well (and it's readily available at any supermarket), but if you can get ahold of sand crabs or pileworms, stick with those because they're both amazing baits!  As you know, there are tons of beaches to try.  I've had good luck at Samoa Beach, Freshwater Lagoon (the beach across the highway), the ocean sides of both Humboldt jetties, and the King Salmon breakwater.  When the swells are big on the ocean, Stinky Beach in Humboldt Bay can be really good as well.  The PG&E plant outfall at King Salmon used to be THE spot for perch fishing, but that all ended when they quit the warm-water releases there.

You normally don't want the swells to be bigger than 5-6 feet, otherwise it's just a big washing machine out there.  There are articles on the Internet about what to look for in terms of perch holding/feeding areas in the surf.  I won't get too into it as it can be a long-winded topic.  Just remain mobile and watch the tides.  I've typically done best on an incoming tide on the sandy beaches.

Now if you're going for striped perch, a really good spot this time of year is on the inner wall of the Humboldt Bay north jetty.  Like around the single-digit markers.  On a low tide, you can turn over rocks down near marker -1 and collect pileworms and little shore crabs.  Use those as bait, casting right up next to the breakwater.  This will get you both striped perch and a lot of greenling.  The rocks at Indian Beach in Trinidad can also be great for big striped perch, especially on a high tide.

Of all the saltwater fish I've targeted, it always seemed that perch were the most fickle about the tides.  I used to fish a ton at the old King Salmon PG&E plant outfall, and by far the best time to fish there was about 2 hours into the outgoing tide.  Any other time and it would be okay, but not great.  The fish were always there--they'd just get tight-lipped until that outgoing tide really started kicking.

Hope this helps!

Thats funny you bring up the power plant cause i happen to work there decommissioning it lol. Thanks for all the great info im starting to put together a little journal that i can use for a quick reference reminder and log. As far as remaining mobile the tacoma loves the beach and i enjoy harvesting all the washed up treasures! I was at the south jetty yesterday and caught 2 on the ocean side in the big surf and it was awesome! it was one of those days that i didnt expect to catch anything and ended up having a blast and i was glad i finally got to try perch tacos!

Thats funny you bring up the power plant cause i happen to work there decommissioning it lol. Thanks for all the great info im starting to put together a little journal that i can use for a quick reference reminder and log. As far as remaining mobile the tacoma loves the beach and i enjoy harvesting all the washed up treasures! I was at the south jetty yesterday and caught 2 on the ocean side in the big surf and it was awesome! it was one of those days that i didnt expect to catch anything and ended up having a blast and i was glad i finally got to try perch tacos!

No kidding?  Man, if that thing was still running you'd never have to go anywhere else for perch.  It was sooo effing good in that spot.  The variety was amazing: I caught redtails, striped, silver, walleye, pile, and white perch there.  And they'd get huge!  Talking striped perch over 15 inches and pileperch up to 18 inches  .  You made me look through some of my photos from that place, and I've attached them below.  Ah, memories  .

wow those are some good ones! i see people out there all the time fishing and shortly after i get grumpy and jealous    since im stuck working and should be fishing!

fish in the waves and where two sets come together-where one set of waves intersects another. That is usually the trough or channel where they hang. Fish Carolina rig as well for a change up letting the bait flutter in the current. The fish usually like to eat the little horseshoe crabs that live in the sand, so if you can find some of them for bait it will work good.

I agree with Clayman's post 100%.  Pile worms are the #1 bait for perch IMO.  I like to use my sonar to find the "trough" (the flat spot where the jetty meets the actual bottom).  The Surf Perch will cruise that trough.  Drop down a #6 or #8 (I like to size down for surf perch since their mouth can be very small) with a chunk, like no more than 1/4" - 1/2", of pile worm on the hook and slow jig it off the bottom.  If the waters moving you should hook up easily.

My family likes Surf Perch as its #1 source of fish tacos.  #2 striped bass.  #3 rock fish.

Good luck!

This is magic perch bait.

This is magic perch bait.

+1

That is all I used to use as well until I learned about gulp worms.