MLK weekend surf wrap-up...

Being that this is the time of year when mature BSP's & other perch species appear in the suds to commence their annual mating ritual, January tends to be one of my favorite months to engage the larger fish with a fly rod.

This past Saturday, I fished the Monterey Bay waters around the Aptos area with a buddy during the afternoon tide change. The water had finally cleared up from all the loose seaweed, kelp & other debris that had been flushed out into the surf after the coastline took a beating from the high waves for many weeks. Excellent beach structure lay exposed along the rim of the bay from New Brighton south to Pajaro (& beyond) during low tide. We fished a variety of channels, troughs & other sandy pockets that flooded with the incoming tide. The fish were on the move & didn't seem to hold in any one particular location throughout the late afternoon tide swing. But there were several decent sized BSP's that were willing to play with us...



I wound up C&R'ing 9 BSP's on Saturday, with the largest being around 13-14 in. or so. Most of the fish were caught on the Dingleberry patterns while fishing with the 00-wt TXL.

On Sunday afternoon, I took a trip up to the Marin coast. Similar to many other coastal areas around this time of the year, the beaches featured lean, sandy terrain sculpted by the big waves that pummeled the shoreline over the past several weeks. Again, clear & clean surf prevailed at both beach destinations. There were many rip channels & troughs to investigate at low tide. Despite the excellent shoreline structure, the bite was very slow at Stinson during the one hour or so I spent fishing there. I later headed up to Pt. Reyes to fish Kehoe for the remainder of the day. Things picked up late in the evening - I wound up C&R'ing 3 small silver perch & 3 redtails, with the largest redtail landed sometime well after sundown on a Slinky Seducer:



On MLK day, I returned to Pt. Reyes, but this time I fished Drake's Beach during the afternoon tide change into the evening incoming. To be succinct, I experienced an absolutely stellar day of fishing when I found a large school of big walleye surfperch holding in a narrow rip channel. The action was absolutely incredible as one big walleye after another tore into the Dingleberries! Following each cast, I'd let the flies sink & swing out with the current while trying to keep the tippet from snagging on the rocks. I could feel the line slowly load up as the walleyes immediately attacked the flies. The ensuing battle was so fast & furious that when one fish spit out a fly, another would take its place as I struggled to bring the fish to hand. For every walleye that was landed successfully, I probably lost an equal number. Over a 3 hour period, nearly every cast resulted in a grab that made the wimpy 00-wt go bendo at times...



In addition to landing 2 silver perch & 3 BSP's, I estimate that I C&R'd a total of around 70-80 walleyes, often catching two & three fish at a time on a triple-fly tippet of Dingleberries:



I had such a phenomenal time experiencing the near non-stop walleye action on Monday - it was a terrific way to end the 3-day holiday weekend. Hopefully, the winter surfperch will continue to invade the beaches up & down the coast over the next several weeks.

TL's,

Mark

Here's what happened during yesterday's perch-a-palooza-thon at Drake's Beach, mostly a walleye surfperch bonanza!

- Mark

[Loren E]

great report Mark, looks like a dam good weekend. any interest in making it out to kehoe on sunday to hunt toad redtails, with drake's as a backup if it is too rough at kehoe? by the way, i'm really thinking about switching to a lighter rod from my 6 for the surf. i have the rods and reels, all i would have to do would be get setup with running line and a shooting head. my only concern is that i would reduce my numbers of fish because i would cover less water, casting shorter distances with the smaller rod. Do you think that fishing the light rods shortens the cast?

[David Lee]

Good stuff there , Mark !

I'd like to make a trip or two this summer to 10-mile and try for 'Butts . Have you ever chased them in the surf there ?? Or perhaps Lings and Rockfish at Duxbury or the lighthouse ....

David

Hey Loren,

The marine forecast currently looks pretty windy for the exposed coast this weekend - it'll probably be better to fish more sheltered waters, like Drake's:

PZZ550-570-171745-
/O.EXT.KMTR.SI.Y.0004.000000T0000Z-070118T0600Z/
POINT ARENA TO PIGEON POINT TO 20 NM-
POINT ARENA TO PIGEON POINT 20 TO 60 NM OFFSHORE-
249 AM PST WED JAN 17 2007

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS NOW IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS
EVENING...

.TODAY...N WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. NW SWELL 6 TO
8 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
.TONIGHT...NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT. NW SWELL
7 TO 9 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
.THU...N WINDS 10 TO 20 KT...UP TO 25 KT IN THE OUTER WATERS. WIND
WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. NW SWELL 6 TO 8 FT AT 12 SECONDS.
.THU NIGHT...N WINDS 10 TO 20 KT...UP TO 25 KT IN THE OUTER WATERS. WIND
WAVES 2 TO 5 FT. NW SWELL 5 TO 7 FT.
.FRI...NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 6 FT. NW SWELL 5 TO
7 FT.
.SAT...N WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 6 FT. NW SWELL 6 TO 8
FT.
.SUN...N WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 7 FT. NW SWELL 6 TO 8
FT.


.....SAN FRANCISCO BAR/FOURFATHOM BANK FORECAST.....

IN THE DEEP WATER CHANNEL...NORTHWEST SWELL 4 TO 6 FEET AT 13 SECONDS.

ACROSS THE BAR...NORTHWEST SWELL 5 TO 8 FEET AT 13 SECONDS WITH
SEAS OCCASIONALLY TO 10 FEET DURING MAXIMUM EBB CURRENT OF 2.4
KNOTS AT 1:47 PM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.


All things being equal, I think you'll still connect with a good number of fish using lighter fly tackle. If you can size a shooting head setup with a fast-action, light-weight rod, it should be able to cast a fly out to at least 50-60-ft under fairly ideal conditions - my 0- & 00-wts do this quite regularly with a triple-fly tippet. Although the lighter rods may not be able to make the +90-ft cast or handle fast-sink lines for working deep structure, I believe you'll be able to adjust your fishing tactics to make up for the differences. It's a completely different approach to the game, but it'll refine the way you interpret & fish the suds altogether. There are some subtle, but important, characteristics of the surf habitat (structure, hydraulics, current, aeration to name a few) that become more apparent when fishing with lighter fly gear. Without question, the flies, line & rod will behave differently in the surf compared to the 6-wt or heavier setup. However, with the increased sensitivity offered by the lighter rod set-up, you'll feel more grabs & strikes that would otherwise be missed when fishing with stouter fly tackle.

- Mark

Hey Dave,

I've never chased 'butts along 10-mile, but have seen quite a few big Starry flounders while wading in skinny water across the sandy flats. I've caught small lings from the beach in the rocky areas up around the north end of Pt. Reyes. Stripers are also a good possibility during their spring-fall migration along the coast.

- Mark

[titelinez]

Holy cow!!! You're just killin 'em Mark. Those are some pigs. You got quantity AND quality. Good catching.

[David Lee]

Thanks for the info Mark !!

I could live with a few big Starry Flounder and small Lings .....

Have you hiked down to the mouth of Drakes yet ? It's a beautiful spot (take care NOT to try it at high tide .... those cliffs are higher than I can climb) . I really need to fish that boca more often

David

Hey Dave,

I've fished the sandy shores of Drake's between Sculptured Beach (near Limantour) & the lifeboat station, including the outlet to the mouth of the estero during a minus tide. I haven't ventured beyond the beach periphery (past Sculptured Beach or near Chimney Rock). Some areas may be more accessible from a kayak when the tide & marine conditions are appropriate - just be sure to keep an eye out for the guy with the big white teeth & the gray suit (the "Warden")

Mark

[Anne Vitale]

Wow ....I am really bummed about how well you did compared to the measly two BSPs I caught that same afternoon on ALMOST the same beach. I got to Drakes about 2 in the afternoon on Monday and saw you just heading up the beach to the east. I wasn't sure at the time if it was you or not but apparently it was.

For some reason I decided to go the other way I fished all the way down to the second set of rocks and back. I left at sunset as the tide was starting to come back in.

Glad to know there are all those fish out there. I guess I am really getting into this. I ordered a pair of bootfoot waders yesterday. In only a month, I have carried home enough sand in my stocking foot waders and wading boots to build a sand castle in my living room. The @#$%@ stuff is everywhere now. Hopefully the new boots will come before the weekend when I will be back out there. Watch for me on the east end.