City Dad
11-24-2008, 11:30 AM
“If something seems too good to be true, it is.” I don’t know who said those words, but I’ll bet they fish.
This Saturday I happened to notice that all of the indicators I like to ponder seemed to line up for good fly fishing in the surf on Sunday morning; 6:30 high tide, small swells, slight off-shore breeze, a sliver of a moon the night before.
Slipped down to my regular spot early to find conditions just as I’d fantasized.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3236.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3237.jpg
This is the kind of water I dream of when I dream of fly fishing the beach – except that in my dreams the water tends to be teaming with heavy perch.
I have no way of knowing if the water was or was not teeming with heavy fish Sunday, what I do know is that whatever fish life was present was not interested in the marabou and tinsel creations I was tossing. Though they were 7/32 oz and I was fishing a sinking line, I couldn’t detect the bottom very often and I assume my pretty flies were probably streaking over the heads of any fish present.
In other threads, I’ve compared surf perch to pumpkinseed sunfish, but actually, I think they are much more similar to smallmouth. Both species thrive in big, moving water and they position themselves accordingly. Additionally, it has been my experience that in order to catch many bass or barred perch you’ve got to be in pretty close contact with the bottom most of the time.
When I was a kid we used to catch fish hand-over-fist on the Snake and the Columbia by dragging a twister-tailed jig just fast enough over bars to bump the rocks. We lost a lot of jigs that way, but it worked. So, after a fishless first pass at my “go to” hole on the beach, I did a little math.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3234.jpg
Shameless but potent.
This little “fly” sinks to the bottom like none of the traditional dressings I have. The key is to cast into enough water the allow sink time and then to strip like a maniac. I mean strip fast… as fast as you possible can… and just when you think you’re stripping way to fast, try to strip faster. The little tail has got to be flipping and if the line and fly have had time to settle to the bottom, it should streak just across the sand and into the mouth of a reflex driven perch.
I miss a lot, and I mean a lot of takes when I fish this way. Just haven’t developed a good enough sense of feel yet.
Anyhow, had a steady pick of guys this size for the rest of the morning.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3230.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3232.jpg
As I said, a quickly moving grub seemed to be the key. I’ve realized that fly fishing the surf for perch is an ideal sport for the hyper-active. Lots of moving with the swells, lots of casting and lots of frantic stripping (did I mention that you wanna strip fast?)
Don’t know if there were larger models out there… yet. But I will definitely be back to check on that situation until the winter blows in.
This Saturday I happened to notice that all of the indicators I like to ponder seemed to line up for good fly fishing in the surf on Sunday morning; 6:30 high tide, small swells, slight off-shore breeze, a sliver of a moon the night before.
Slipped down to my regular spot early to find conditions just as I’d fantasized.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3236.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3237.jpg
This is the kind of water I dream of when I dream of fly fishing the beach – except that in my dreams the water tends to be teaming with heavy perch.
I have no way of knowing if the water was or was not teeming with heavy fish Sunday, what I do know is that whatever fish life was present was not interested in the marabou and tinsel creations I was tossing. Though they were 7/32 oz and I was fishing a sinking line, I couldn’t detect the bottom very often and I assume my pretty flies were probably streaking over the heads of any fish present.
In other threads, I’ve compared surf perch to pumpkinseed sunfish, but actually, I think they are much more similar to smallmouth. Both species thrive in big, moving water and they position themselves accordingly. Additionally, it has been my experience that in order to catch many bass or barred perch you’ve got to be in pretty close contact with the bottom most of the time.
When I was a kid we used to catch fish hand-over-fist on the Snake and the Columbia by dragging a twister-tailed jig just fast enough over bars to bump the rocks. We lost a lot of jigs that way, but it worked. So, after a fishless first pass at my “go to” hole on the beach, I did a little math.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3234.jpg
Shameless but potent.
This little “fly” sinks to the bottom like none of the traditional dressings I have. The key is to cast into enough water the allow sink time and then to strip like a maniac. I mean strip fast… as fast as you possible can… and just when you think you’re stripping way to fast, try to strip faster. The little tail has got to be flipping and if the line and fly have had time to settle to the bottom, it should streak just across the sand and into the mouth of a reflex driven perch.
I miss a lot, and I mean a lot of takes when I fish this way. Just haven’t developed a good enough sense of feel yet.
Anyhow, had a steady pick of guys this size for the rest of the morning.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3230.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb225/timmeinhart/CIMG3232.jpg
As I said, a quickly moving grub seemed to be the key. I’ve realized that fly fishing the surf for perch is an ideal sport for the hyper-active. Lots of moving with the swells, lots of casting and lots of frantic stripping (did I mention that you wanna strip fast?)
Don’t know if there were larger models out there… yet. But I will definitely be back to check on that situation until the winter blows in.