Cutthroat Chris

Has anybody here fished in the surf with a fly rod or conventional gear? I'm interested in getting into this method of fishing the salt and would like to know your tips and tricks. I'd like to know what flies/bait/lure set ups you use as well as some good spots to go around Newport/Lincoln City. I don't expect anyone to tell me their secret spot or anything, I just don't want to find myself fishing in front of a hotel watching kites fly over my head.

Thanks in advance.

chris61182

The bait of choice I hear everyone say is sand shrimp, which is supposed to catch everything. But I've caught the rockfish on swimbaits, grubs, and worms, or in other words anything you might catch a fresh water bass on. Same thing for lingcod only they prefer bigger baits.

As far as locations go, I've actually never had any luck "surf" fishing. I've tried it, and would love to find success and figure the whole thing out but for now I've found my best luck with the jetties in Newport, or Fisher's Rock south of Lincoln city. The beach at Fogarty creek park (just south of Fisher's Rock) looks inviting and has kelp beds real close to shore the whole length of the beach, and while I have yet to catch anything I can only imagine it's great perch and greenling habitat.

There's also Boiler Bay and the rocks near Depoe Bay which you can fish off of, and have heard of people having good success.

cchinook

I have been surf fishing for a long time - it's what I do between salmon runs-
I fish for red tail surf perch and it can be a lot of fun - here's how and where:
I use 2 rigs : a 8' - 6" salmon rod or a 10' Ugli Stick - spinning or casting reel will work , if you use a level wind be carefull not to get sand in the rewind screw or it will wreck it good ! bait - I use 2 #2 hooks spaced 12" apart- and this is the important part , ABOVE THE LEAD , NOT BELOW - regular old worms
or clam necks work great and they stay on the hooks - they are schooling fish - find one and there are a lot more in the same spot - if you see seals running in the surf , perch are there -it is amazing how close to the sand they get , I have hooked them in 6" of water - it is not a casting contest -
walk a beach at low tide and look for cutouts and depessions in the sand, fish those spots at high tide - I were chest waders and run out between breakers to cast - it is a risky game ; sneakers and logs can end your fishing days- favorite beaches - Cape Lookout State Park , the north jetty at Tillamook ( ocean side , not bay side ) south jetty next to the parking lot at Fort Stevens State Park ( Astoria ) - they are tasty - I throw 3-5 oz. depeding on how heavy the surf is - check your regs. on limits - I once caught 10 in 10min. - they are a strange fish and they look tropical - they average 1-3 lbs. --

Cutthroat Chris

Great! Thanks a lot guys. I'll be trying this out on Sunday.

chris61182

Is the main reason for that having the weight below the hooks mostly for casting reasons or is there another reason why not to use a sliding rig where the line is free to move through the weight. I've always felt the sliding rig had a more natural presentation as the bait isn't held so rigidly in the water, and the fish can pick up the bait with out feeling the weight or the line nearly so much, but I haven't really caught much of anything on either setup yet.

Hanapaa

In Hawaii, we use the same setup with the weight at the bottom for surf fishing (aka dunking). The theory to why we would put the weight at the bottom is to allow the bait to be off the bottom. Also, so that if the weight were to settle and snag something, we would just lose the weight and not everything else. Another benefit is that a bottom weight allowed for extremely long distance casting (around 200-300 ft). Once again, that's Hawaii stuff, but I would assume it would pertain to surf fishing here.

__________________
~Geoff~
The seemingly eternal student

cchinook

the main reason is for presentation - lead on the bottom keeps your bait up
out of the sand - remember you are dealing with strong breakers - fish finder rigs are great , but not in the surf -