Surf Fishing?

[bigastrout]

I am planning a trip to Westport and I want to try surf fishing any advise on this?

[A9]

Sorry can't help you there...

[bigastrout]

Sorry can't help you there...

Thanks anyway....

[littleriver]

Never done it but have watched others along the shore.....


rigging is fairly simple.....


long spinning rod with weight tied to end of line.... up a foot or so you put a dropper line (8" to a foot) with about a #4 or # 6 bait hook......... use one of those bait threader things to thread sand shrimp or pile worm or clam neck or other kind of bait on the hook (wouldn't surprise me if nighcrawlers might work, but sand shrimp would be my first choice in bait) ...... then just sort of cast out as far as you can....

[gpc]

Where are you staying in Westport? I go there quite often. What are you trying to fish for? Plan on crabbing? The 7th annual surf perch derby is This weekend I doubt your going this soon but it probally would be worth calling to "register" and ask the contest directors what to use and tell them youll "call them back" LOL. The number is (360) 642-8322. Let me know the answers to the above Qs and Ill help you out the best I can

[The Quadfather]

Oh my gosh! Surf fishing at the coast. I went and did that one time a few years ago and had a blast. I just threw out some clam necks or something off about 20" of leader, below a sinker.

The funny thing about this story is that I caught a nice fat perch 4-5 lbs, 20" ?? When this thing came in it seemed really dull with no fight. Of course it was alive, I mean it bit my hook! But it only flopped like twice.
So I took it home.... that night I dressed it out, through it in the oven with some herbs, onion slices, etc.
I had the candles going... (there is a wife involved in this story):-" candles, those cloth napkins, yadah. yadah
So after awhile in the oven I open up the pan and start poking through it with a fork to see if it's flaky and done.
Of course I am a guy, so I eat a little out of the pan as I go. As I dig through the fish I notice that deeper in it is still red not cooked. Then suddenly something catches my eye I look closer and see that the entire... and I mean entire furkin' fish is full of worms. They were still alive because they had burrowed there to the uncooked part of the fish. I immediatly leaned over the sink gagging, nearly puked! My wife was laughing her ass off.
I think we picked up take out after that.
But seeing your post on surf fishing gives me a hankerin' to back over there once more.

[gpc]

Man if all ypu did was gag thats somethin else I would Have been throwen up for sure LOL

[bustin]

Quad,

That was one of the sickest fish stories I have ever heard. I would have surely lost it.

[bustin]

I have gone fishing with my dad at Westport when I was a kid. That is actually where I grew up there in Grays Harbor. We would fish from the Jetty. I can not remmeber how we did as I was very young, but I remember Jetty only. We never really fished from the sand.

[gpc]

Word to the wise:


Surf fishing is fun, but the rocks get VERY slick during low tide, its pretty painfull to loose your footing on those slippery rocks, and on the rocks are barnacles, and you brace yourself and cut the heck out of your hands and shins. a couple months ago we stayed at Harbor Resort in Westport, great hotel and your right on the jetty, during high tide you can fish right from your deck, its pretty cool, but anyway there was 6 of us and during low tide we would walk down to the water, by the end of the 3 day trip we were all beat to crap

[Wilkstr]

I will be on the Oregon coast this October, I have never surf fished but cant imagine going on vacation without getting a line wet. (Luckily I will be on the Duchutes for some steelhead on part of that trip) I would love any advice anyone has as well on surf fishing.
1) What kind of rod reel & line set up
2) Lures or bait
3) Time of day
Yada yada yada.

[Jacob]

[quote="quadradomus"]=]
I've noticed that a lot of saltwater white meat fish have worms in the meat(not as bad as what you described though) i always hold my fillets up to a light to check before i cook them

[bigastrout]

I used that light trick on some seabass from a recent trip for bottom fishing trip. It works good I found 4 parasites in about 22 fish. I cut them out before freezing with out letting my other half know they were there. Your fine as long as the fish is cooked properly and you keep the secret to yourself.

[bpm2000]

I will be on the Oregon coast this October, I have never surf fished but cant imagine going on vacation without getting a line wet. (Luckily I will be on the Duchutes for some steelhead on part of that trip) I would love any advice anyone has as well on surf fishing.
1) What kind of rod reel & line set up
2) Lures or bait
3) Time of day
Yada yada yada.

Cant help you too much, but from what i remember, fishing incoming tides were good - scoping out spots at low tide where you see "channels" in the surf that could congregate fish. You didn't have to cast 3 miles out as long as the spot was good. Rig for me was always mainline to 3-way, leader on one and enough weight to keep you on the bottom on the other. I'm sure you could just use a dropper rig with more than 1 hook coming off, just within the regs. Rig hook with sand shrimp, mole crabs, pileworms, clam necks, sand crabs, etc. Some people seem to use curlytail grubs with success, I'd like to try that sometime.
This is all for surf perch btw.

GL!

oh rod/reel I just used a cheap surf rod/reel combo so i cant really help you there

[Wilkstr]

Thanks for the info...

[CraigVM62]

I will be on the Oregon coast this October, I have never surf fished but cant imagine going on vacation without getting a line wet. (Luckily I will be on the Duchutes for some steelhead on part of that trip) I would love any advice anyone has as well on surf fishing.
1) What kind of rod reel & line set up
2) Lures or bait
3) Time of day
Yada yada yada.

It has been years since I surf fished from the Oregon costal area but did do some recent research on the net regarding the subject.
For the long sandy beach areas, 99% of the fish you will be catching are the surf perch / rosetail perch that have been mentioned. The baits to use have been already aswell. They are about the only fish that can make the rough waters between swells their normal habitat. Because of these rough waters, there is very little time from the point where they see potential food, to where it is washed away and out of sight. For this reason they tend to be very agressive feeders.

The farther out you can cast, the better. Rods are typicaly in the 10 to 13 foot length range. Large spinning reels are the easiest cast. so the most common. Many experienced casters go with conventional casting reels which can produce farther casting results. Conventional reels can also produce a backlash "birdsnest" that can require cutting the line off and respooling.

Calmer surf is always best and requires less weight to be cast. You will want to stay away from round sinkers as they will just roll around in the surf. You will find many stores selling "coin shapped" sinkers designed just for sandy bottom areas. The also make Sputnik sinkers designed to cast very far, yet not tumble around in the surf.

Since the weights can be between 4 to 8 oz or more, you may wish to cast with a shock leader set up. This means that even though your main line might be 20 lbs, you shock line might be double that. When you doing an agressive cast, the centrifical force can create a huge amount of stressl on the line from several wraps around the reel spool out to the weight. The shock line will keep the line from breaking during the casting motion so the weight won't break off the line going 150 yards out, while the bait lainds only 20 yards out. Once your weight and bait is airborn, you will then be pulling out the lighter main line which allows for a farther cast. I don't know if I explained that well, but a gooogle search on "long distance casting" will give tons of info on shock leaders setups.
This link will give some info: http://www.stripersonline.com/Pages/Art ... ders.shtml

If your hoping to target other species, you will need to find some areas where the water level drops quickly off the beach, typicaly rocky areas. Problem is you will likely be casting out into kelp beds which means snagging up quicly. You may also want to find jettys to fish from to cast out into the deeper waters.

[Anonymous]

You got it Bigas!
Always candle your white fish. Even lings and cod. They all have worms, every single one of them. If ya see 'em, pull'em out, no harm no foul. They can't live in our systems. Most people just cook them up and never know. They still give me the shivers.

PS great story Quad