Surf fishing on central OR Coast - looking to begin

[coyo7e]

My family's got a rental property in Yachats and I live in Eugene, and I've always wanted to have an excuse to go hang out on the beach. So, I'm looking to get into surf fishing. I'm not particularly interested in jetty fishing at the moment (I prefer the beach since it's easier and safer for myself and my little bulldog to traverse compared to jetty rocks) - I just want to get a chance to utilize some of the miles and miles of beaches nearby for something other than nature walks and pictures of the sunrise/sunsets..

I'm leery of going in to Cabela's in Spfd for a rod and rig, their service tends to be **** (I literally will usually get ignored if I don't show up in Carhartts usually, LOL, most of their employees spend all their time chatting up rich old men and professionals from what I can tell, rather than "easy sells" so I guess they don't get commissions at least) and I have my suspicions about their people knowing what they're talking about, especially in regards to saltwater fishing. Would anyone have a recommendation of a good+honest shop on the coast that I could walk into and confess to be a newbie with a credit card, who'd set me up proper? I wouldn't be against driving up to Lincoln City or down farther south from Florence if there's a shop with folks who know their stuff, and I'd frankly rather give my money to a local business, hell even Bi-Mart!

Also if anyone goes surf fishing around on the coast regularly I'd be stoked to buy them lunch and pick their brains sometime, I get out to the coast pretty much at-will since it's a short drive to Florence (and free lodgings during non-packed days and weekends) and I'd be pleased as pie to meet an OFFer.

 

[C_Run]

I think we have a couple of Cabellas employees on the forum that might take exception to some of that.

As far as where else you might try, there is a shop on the west side of 101 in Florence near the bridge that's good. Don't remember the name. Invest in a shrimp gun and go get your own sand shrimp up at Waldport at low tide. The places I used to fish for perch south of Yachats are now within the new marine reserve and are now off limits. There should be other similar places nearby but I couldn't tell you where. Past threads on this forum detail rigging and methods.

 

[coyo7e]

Thanks for the info, I'll check them out for sure! Which areas are you referring to which are now off-limits? I've mostly been eyeballing the ODFW surf-perch PDF for which areas to try.

As for Cabela's employees being miffed - I went to the store for 90 minutes early Friday morning and wandered around in the fishing sections while the sole employee who seemed to be attending the area, talked at length with an elderly man (aka listened politely while the old fella regaled him with fishing stories) who the employee knew on a first-name basis, and I eventually left with a few hundred bucks cash in my pocket, frustrated. A couple other employees gave me a "hello" nod and quickly moved off to other departments. That, added to the bait-and-switch (no pun intended) tactics employed in their advertisements (I couldn't find the brand of fly rods which were listed in the flyers as on sale, in the store, which was the other thing I was shopping for) made for a useless and frustrating experience for me.

Can't say it's been any different from the other half-dozen times I went in to the store, except that this weekend I had a bunch of cash and wanted to spend it that morning, and ended up just driving to some local ponds and bass fishing instead, and decided that I would rather not go to Cabela's if I can help it.

 

[GraphiteZen]

If you want to head down to Medford and go into Sportsman's Warehouse one of our mods, Colby Pearson, works there. If he can't help you, he'll find someone who can. Good luck!

 

[C_Run]

Thanks for the info, I'll check them out for sure! Which areas are you referring to which are now off-limits? I've mostly been eyeballing the ODFW surf-perch PDF for which areas to try.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/docs/marinereserves/Cape_Perpetua_handout.pdf

My favorite spot was between Neptune and Gwynn Creek. Last time I went by, they had not even erected any signs saying "no fishing". Not sure if they have yet.

 

[ichthyo-fiend]

I would try visiting Englund marine (couple coastal shops): www.englundmarine.com/
I haven't been in so I don't know for sure if they carry surf gear…but if not, check out: http://www.tackledirect.com. They have a good selection of salt water gear online.

I've been wanting to get into surf perching (seriously) since I moved here to OR. Would love to meet up for a trip sometime--but with two boys now under 2 (one just born) you can understand my free time is limited. Still would be interested if timing works!

Also, seems like ODFW gives some rigging tips-and if you search online, many folks down in CA who fish the surf use light gear and Carolina rigs with tungsten bullet weights to get deep fast. Berkely gulp sand worms seem to be the artificial of choice-but you can't beat live bait (sand shrimp) fresh from the sand.

 

[coyo7e]

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/docs/marinereserves/Cape_Perpetua_handout.pdf

My favorite spot was between Neptune and Gwynn Creek. Last time I went by, they had not even erected any signs saying "no fishing". Not sure if they have yet.

Ahhh. I'd never considered fishing at Cape Perpetua since it is all ntl park. There is a little day-use area pullout a tad south from there which I've stopped at, that seems like it'd be a good spot. It's just a little parking lot down a 150 foot stretch off of 101. North of Strawberry Hill etc. I thought it still had a fishing sign on the activities summary and there's a nice little stretch of beach there that looks promising.

Smelt Sands is within walking distance north of Yachats though, and there's a yellow fire hydrant a mile or two north of Yachats (100 yds past an old hotel called the silver surf or something, there's a big curly iron gate there) that has a nice wide turn-out and a little path down to the beach, and it puts you north of all the rocks and big multi-story hotels which surround the Smelt Sands day use parking. I've been told that it's possible to walk the length from Yachats to Waldport on the beach pretty much. Be sure to mark where you came down to the beach though, it's easy to miss the spot to get back!