Is there anyone out there who knows some good techniques for perch fishing. I know a few, but I'm also open to new ideas and techniques. Happy fishing.......

use line 4-10lb test if you are fishing on the pier or on the beach. mostly perch fishermans use nothing but rubber grubs about a 2-3 inch motoroil grub will do fine. sand crabs or mussels also will work well with a sliding rig or a high low.

hope the info works,
aaron d.

This is pretty basic info. If you know a few techniques, you probably know all I know, but...

Winter is a great time to fish for perch. You'll usually get the bigger ones (2-3 lb barred) this time of year. Sunset Beach is a good place to start in the Monterey Bay. But from what I've heard, the ocean has been too rough recently for good perching.

My tackle setup for surfperch is a med action baitcast rod (I use 7' but want to get a 8-9 footer for this) and a baitcast reel loaded with 8 lb test. The small line diameter lets you cast easier. I use a carolina rig with a 1/2 - 1 1/2 oz egg sinker. A lot of people use those sliding plastic collars and a bank sinker, but I like the plain old egg sinker. For bait/lure my favorite is a 3 inch Charlie Brewer Slider grub in pumpkinseed. The one with the little knob tail. I thread it on a #6-8 Gamakatsu baitholder hook. I like to have about 4 feet between the sinker and grub.

Besides grubs, shrimp seems to be real popular. And, of course, sand crabs.

From my experience, best times to fish is early in the morning and around high tide. The fish seem to bunch together. I don't know if the roam in packs or what, but I've seen times where you fish an area without a hit for a while, then come back a half hour later and you can't keep them off your hook.

Have fun,

Nicolo

For fast action try chumming. I buy a 3# box of squid at Safeway
dice it, then refreeze it in empty yogurt containers with a loop of twine sticking out. Tie this to 30ft of heavy line and an empty plastic bottle when you get out there. Then dip it in the water to free the yogurt container. Throw the container in the TRASH (PLEASE don't litter). Tie the other end to your sand stake, and throw it in the water(the chum block and bottle, not the stake). One block will last about 30min to an hour. By then you should have plenty of perch in the area.

As for rigging up, try one of the pre-packed bait rigs(aka fishskins) with size 4 or 6 hooks tipped with either sand crabs or tiny pieces of squid and 1/2oz. sinker.

As for location, look for irregularities in the waters edge. A small but pronounced point or "bay" can be a magnet for perch.
Jettys like the one at Moss landing can be good. Me and a buddy fished the sand side of the south jetty for a great afternoon and evening including many perch, 1 undersized cabezone, a 42" Leopard shark, and a BIG Bat Ray.