Northwest Fishing Reports

Tomorrow I'm going razor clamming with a couple of friends & I believe we're doing surf fishing also, I know there is surf perch around but what else might I expect to catch out there? Any recommended baits? I was thinking berkley power bait saltwater worms as I don't like rebaiting all the time

razor clam meat. You may even have to tie it on using thread. Do be careful in the surf. It can be very dangerous.

go to your local market and buy the cheapest grocery shrimp you can find, or squid. use about thumbnail size pieces on your hook

Do a search in the forum for surf fishing, there were a few threads with some good info this year. Here's a bit I posted this Summer on the subject.

Fish the ocean beaches for surf perch. Dig/clam gun/pump your own sand shrimp from the bay and you've got the best bait going. You can fish from right next to the jetty all the way down the beach. The closer you get to the jetty the more likely you are to hook into something other than perch such as flounder. Just keep moving until you find a school and it can be non-stop can't get the bait back in the water fast enough kind of fishing. I rig up with a 3 oz pyramid sinker and double rig two bait hooks about a foot and a foot and a half above the sinker, yes double headers do happen when fishing this way. If you have waders bring them just in case the temps don't agree with you.

This time of year waders are a must! Also, you may think about wearing a life vest as well. Slip it on under your rain gear and no one will know the difference, it keeps you warm to boot. Sand shrimp are by far the best bait going. Next up would be mole crabs and then store bought prawn/shrimp meat. Use an egg loop to help keep your bait on the hook and learn how to thread a shrimp onto your line. As for gear, I use a mooching rod and a level wind with 15lb line for casting the whole mess out there. You need a rod that can handle casting 3 ounces of weight and a line heavy enough to take that type of abuse as well. One last thing...If you catch a spawning female surf perch you can use the little ones as bait. Yes, they squirt them out live and ready for action. Just give their tummy a little squeeze to help them pop out. I throw the ones I don't use into a bucket of water and set them free.

Here is a link to an article written a few years back on the subject.

[url]http://[/url]http://www.sschapterpsa.com/ramblings/Surf_fishing.htm

Dig some sand shrimp, they are a good bait for surf fishing. there are lots of shrimp beds all along the beach.

I never dug for sand shrimp before, I suppose I could just use a shovel? or a clam pump? I'm on a pretty tight budget, so I'll be buying shrimp along with getting some gulp products and these 2-3inch imitation squid to go for other fish for game.

Thanks for the replies, I'm pretty anxious.

Here is a surf perch article from the boys down in California. The same setup should work up here too.

http://www.swimbait.com/techniques/perch.htm

A clam gun works great on sand shrimp. At ocean shores hit the bay right next to the marina for shrimp, best time is when the tide is out.