About those surf perch.

[plumbertom]

I was thinking about the drive (65 miles one way) to fish the beach at Florence South Jetty today.
After working up the ambition I got online and checked the Surf report.
17-21 ft. Whoops.:yikes:
It occurs to me that I have little to no idea about what the ideal surf height might be.
Fishing along most of the SoCal beaches unless there is an unusual high surf, you can find a beach somewhere that's suitable As most beaches are fairly steep with a short strong break.
What's your opinion as to a good surf height for fishing beaches like Florence or Newport?

 

[PK Yi]

around 5 foot-ish would feel safe to me. of course, that is rare along the oregon coast. I would still go out if it's 7, but anything above 9 gets a little hairy, imo.

looking at various weather sites and surf monitoring sites, there seem to be no end to this high wind.

 

[C_Run]

I don't know about wave height but rather by if a 4 oz. pyramid holds the bottom or tumbles around. That's about all the weight I care to use in the surf. I think that's a good rule of thumb for me.

 

[plumbertom]

Thanks, Sammy. That gives me a place to start.
I've been checking the surf forecasts and surf higher than 9 Ft seem to be all in the foreseeable future.
Not really a bait and wait kind of guy, C_Run. I fish a pretty free moving carolina rig in the surf.
I tend to fish it directly in the breakers or the troughs and holes that show up along the break.
In SoCal I seldom fished heavier than a 3/4 Oz.
The idea being to just have enough weight so as to be able to keep feel of it as it moves in the break.
In this heavier surf here I may have to bump the sliders up a bit but I don't want it to be anchored to the bottom.
I've found that a freer moving bait catches more fish.

 

[C_Run]

Thanks, Sammy. That gives me a place to start.
I've been checking the surf forecasts and surf higher than 9 Ft seem to be all in the foreseeable future.
Not really a bait and wait kind of guy, C_Run. I fish a pretty free moving carolina rig in the surf.
I tend to fish it directly in the breakers or the troughs and holes that show up along the break.
In SoCal I seldom fished heavier than a 3/4 Oz.
The idea being to just have enough weight so as to be able to keep feel of it as it moves in the break.
In this heavier surf here I may have to bump the sliders up a bit but I don't want it to be anchored to the bottom.
I've found that a freer moving bait catches more fish.

You know, the one time I had a lot of fun with surf perch was using a slinky, like for drift fishing, and a single hook and a light rod rather than the usual 9' med/heavy one I usually use. They fight so hard it's kind of a shame to use the heavy tackle that you usually need for the surf. If you can find mild conditions, lighter is more fun with those scrappy fish.

 

[plumbertom]

You know, the one time I had a lot of fun with surf perch was using a slinky, like for drift fishing, and a single hook and a light rod rather than the usual 9' med/heavy one I usually use. They fight so hard it's kind of a shame to use the heavy tackle that you usually need for the surf. If you can find mild conditions, lighter is more fun with those scrappy fish.

I use as light of tackle as I think I can get away with.
it's likely I'll be using to same rod/reel combo I use for drifing for steelhead (8'6'' light light/med action Uglystick) with a step down in line size at least at the leader. Mainly because I'm not prepared to invest in a dedicated surf rod at the moment.