Flies for perch?

[ngt 0]

new to fly fishing and new to fly tying, but want to fly fish for perch in the bay. I think my salt water 9wt might be a bit overkill for perch, but my 3 and 5wt are fresh water cheapo setups (not sure if they can used for both, like I said, I'm new to this)

 

So what flies would be good for perch fishing. I usually fish live grass shrimp and I saw some great looking grass shimp made by people on this board, but I don't think I'm good enough at tying to take those on quite yet. Any suggestions or flies that i should give a try for this? Or clarification on the fresh/salt thing for my smaller cheaper rods would be appreciated. The 3wt is a cheapo LL Bean and the 5wt is a cheapo reddington pursuit. My 9wt is also a reddington pursuit, but the "salt water" model, whatever that means. (yeah, I'm new.)

 

thanks in advance,

 

Eric

[natedubay 0]

Uh... define perch a bit more. To me that is a yellow perch (lake perch) and not something you really chase with a fly rod.

 

I'm getting the idea you mean some sort of saltwater fish...

[m_grieb 0]

Perch to me also means yellow perch. I think you should clarify.

 

Matt

[phg 0]

Sounds like white perch, and anadromous species closely related to the striped bass and white bass. ( http://web1.cnre.vt.edu/efish/families/whiteperch.html) They are common here in eastern NC in both fresh and salt water. They are fairly small, so a 5wt or 6wt would be adequate. When fishing in saltwater, just make sure you clean your rod and reel thoroughly after fishing.

 

I caught a bunch of them during the spawning run on the Haw River, a couple of years ago, using a hare's ear nymph. Small minnow patterns or glass shrimp patters should also work. Bait fishermen here use cut bait and blood worms.

[ngt 0]

Sorry for not being clear. I'm on the west coast. I'm thinking San Francisco Bay and San Pablo bay. Lots of different perch around the piers and rock walls. Rubber lips, etc...

 

When fishing live bait it's mostly grass shrimp. Sometimes cut chunks of raw shrimp. Off of the beach it would be gulp camo sandworms and motor oil grubs. Live off of the beach would be sand crabs. These were all on live grass shrimp in San Pablo Bay last year.

 

[ngt 0]

Something like these would be perfect. I wouldn't even really know where to start with it though. Never tried anything epoxy.

 

[natedubay 0]

Fishing wise I have no clue... sorry.

 

Epoxy wise... might want to give a UV cured epoxy a try, might be easier for a beginner to use as you can get the right shape and almost instantly set it instead of having to use a rotating dryer for the traditional epoxy. Those patterns above I don't think you'll really find that hard actually even if you're just starting.

[ikerajala 0]

I would suggest white clouser minnows? Or even a white or pink wooley bugger would be great for a beginner.

[ngt 0]

Cool! Thanks for the advice! I'll see if I have the stuff to make a white wooley bugger and a small clouser. I've been using rooster neck for hackle for wooley buggers, but I only have red and black.

 

As for the UV epoxy, I'm going to have to order some. The pro shop had it at $30 per bottle by Loon, but they didn't have the UV light, so I'll just search online for a kit.

 

 

thanks again! Time to get tying

[bad fish rising 0]

reddington rods might not be expensive but they are good rods.

I have caught plenty of bass, pike, trout, steelhead & salmon on my 9wt red.

its not the arrow its the indian.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I fish for both White & Yellow Perch, not the same as those surf perch on the west coast, but expect they would take similar flies. Small Clousers as suggested work well, as do the various patterns used for Bonefish & other flats species.

 

Here's a few I use. Most are variations of Crazy Charlie or Gotcha patterns. There's some epoxy bodied patterns in there as well. I'm primarily fishing in tannic stained brackish waters, so I like them a bit flashy, more so that might be used for Bonefish.

 

The buggers certainly will work, but the Clouser Minnows with bead chain eyes work well too. The ones in the first pic are tied with fox or coyote tail hair & Polar Flash.

 

Hook sizes range from 6 to 2, but I may sometimes tie smaller, like a size 8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sthpaw 0]

As far as the UV light goes, you can google UV flashlights on the web. Lots of them. I got one for about ten bucks with more LED's than the ones in the kits. works great.

[switch10 0]

As far as the UV light goes, you can google UV flashlights on the web. Lots of them. I got one for about ten bucks with more LED's than the ones in the kits. works great.

 

That, and UV knot sense made by Loon for 6 bucks a bottle. Should set you back a total of about $15, and it works great.

[ngt 0]

Thanks for all of the info and pics! Got the cheap ebay uv light and some epoxy. Think it totaled at about $20 shipped. Waiting on the epoxy. A lot of flies to choose from. Sounds like we're fishing in a similar type of water. Crazy Charlie looks easy enough. Guess I better get started. THANKS AGAIN!!

 

-Eric