Surf fishing for stripers

[mattman32]

Hi guys, this is my first time on here. Seems like a great forum. A lot of information here.
Ok so here is the deal. I recently moved to Florence and have been hitting the surf pretty hard for perch. I have been having a blast with that. However I keep hearing that once in a blue moon a perch fisher hooks a striped once in a while. I know they are few and far between although I feel they are out there to be caught. I know you can catch them in the rivers but I would love to catch one in the surf.
I have researched the topic quite a bit. It seems that if there are stripers in the surf that no one is talking about it. I would love to hear from any of you who would know a little more about this. And if there are a few out there is there an area you could point me too. Thanks a million guys

 

[eugene1]

There is no surf fishery for striped bass in Oregon.

There is no surf fishery for striped bass in Oregon.

According to this article, Kind of old, but an interesting read.

"Oregon

Oregon regulations have limited anglers to
three striped bass per day longer than 16 inches
(40.6 cm) since 1978. Initial restrictions on the
fishery occurred in 1947when a I5-bass per day
bag limit was established. At that time there was
no minimum length restriction. The daily bag
limit was reduced to five fish in 1950, but the
minimum legal length of 16 inches (40.6 cm)
was not set until 1960.

From the 1940s to the 19608the fishery was
primarily in the Coos Bay area; however, in the
1970s major emphasis shifted to the Umpqua
River. The fishery is primarily in tidewater,
although a drift boat fishery existed above
tidewater in the Umpqua in the mid-1970s.
There is no surf fishery for striped bass in
Oregon.

Basic fishing techniques are similar to those in
California. Bait fishing with cut fish, live
sculpins, and shrimp occurs from shore and
anchored boats. Plugs, jigs, and rigged fish are
used by trollers. Anglers also have developed
effective fly and plugging techniques for use in
the Umpqua Estuary in the summer (D.
Anderson, Oregon Dept. Fish and Wildlife,
personal communication).

There are no consistent striped bass sport
catch records for Oregon; however, commercial
catch sampling and observations of the sport
fishery indicate that the fishery depends to a
large extent on dominant year classes which
have occurred infrequently. Such year classes
occurred in Coos Bay in 1940 and 1958. The
lack of more recent dominant year classes there
has caused fishing to deteriorate in Coos Bay.
However, the 1966 year class was large in the
Umpqua. It created good fishing and caused
angler effort to shift away from Coos Bay in the
1970s (A. McGie, Oregon Dept. Fish and
Wildlife, personal communication)."

 

[mattman32]

Thanks for the article, that was pretty interesting. I was kind of hoping they were there. Are there any other fish to target in the surf? I'm an avid sportsman and haven't had the chance to fish the ocean much and am limited to the bank. I just kind of want to give steelhead a break for a while and try someething new. I hear you can catch sturgeon from the bank in the umpqua? Is there places to do the same for stripers? A point in the right direction would be super helpful. Thank you

 

[eugene1]

Well, I'd say they are in the surf, but as you mention they are gonna be few and far between. I was just kind of f'ing with you but you got to play by mother nature's rules for fish that are seasonal and rare.

Smith river in Oregon has a decent fishery for them (supposedly), but as the article states it is dependent on successful spawning years. Most years the water is too cold for them to reproduce as this is the Northern end of their habitable range. I drove down the smith river a few times to take a look during the prime season for them and didn't see a single sole out there. I was probably there the wrong day?, but that's what I'd suggest for you if you want to try it out. Nothing like on or near the water experience!!

I've never caught one of those bass at all, but there are people who have but they don't like to share info since the fish are getting more rare, I think.

Anyway mattman, nothing wrong with targeting steelies, salmon, and native salt fish here in OR!

Good luck with your catching,

 

[C_Run]

There was some surf fishing for them decades ago when we had more of them. I read an old magazine article from the 50's which was from locations in Curry County. If you fish for surf perch a lot, maybe you will get lucky. Once in awhile someone gets on off the beach but not too often. The local tackle shops would be a good place to ask questions.I have yet to give it a try but have gotten some intel on the subject.

 

[Hawk]

Several lustrum ago i caught & mostly released many stripers down in CA. Most of them at San Luis O'Neill Forebay.

In 1989 i saw a man from Soquel catch a striper that was 66lbs + oz, in a bassboat...