Surfperch
Words: Gary Henley
• Images: Hailey Hoffman
FISHING
Tips on surfperch fishing along the Pacific
Enjoy walking the beach? Like to fish, but don’t have a boat?
Then you might want to give “surfperch fishing” a try.
No boat is needed, and a general Oregon Angling License is all that’s required to fish for surfperch.
And what, you might ask, is a surfperch?
They are thin, saucer-shaped fish available year-round on the Pacific Ocean’s coast. Surfperch (which
includes different species, such as redtail and silver) can be as large as four pounds but usually smaller.
Pacific surfperch can be found from Alaska to Baja, California, and can be easily caught from piers, jetties
and beaches.
Described as “tasty little fish,” surfperch are best prepared grilled whole, crisp-fried or steamed, Asian-
style. Fried surfperch are good in a sandwich on crispy bread, or in tacos with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes
in a hard or soft tortilla.
“It’s a year-round fishery,” said Mark Akerill of Englund Marine in Astoria. “They are the tastiest in
the winter, but they bite a lot better in the summer.”
Our Coast Outdoors 2020
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