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Summer finds many casual fishermen hanging
up their gear until Memorial Day. Such seems a shame. Trout bite
best in the mountains in September and October. Salmon and
steelhead run into coastal rivers to provide sport anytime water
is reasonably clear and not out of the banks. But the best, the
closest and the least crowded action all year lurks as close as
the coast all over America.
In Northern California, for example,
striped Bass bite from the shore along San Francisco, Half Moon,
Tomalas and Coos Bay. Salmon and steelhead stack up at river
mouths. Perch, jack smelt and other  saltwater panfish hit small baits suited to light
tackle off seawalls, piers and bay beaches. Best of all cooler
inland temperatures moderate the winds of summer to provide near
perfect conditions before, and between, winter storms. As a bonus
you can, on low tide days, spade up clams, mussels and oysters or
net delicious crabs.
Since most Americans live within 50 miles
of the coast it seems a shame that more don't enjoy such fishing.
Especially since most is with a few miles of home. Those who need
to drive further can easily find all sorts of public and private
campgrounds, motels and other inexpensive lodgings too.
Granted I'm prejudiced. I grew up in
Berkeley and spent happy summers and falls fishing off the
Berkeley Pier, seawalls behind the race track and, best of all,
wading the sand bars that lace the mudflats around today's
Watergate. On weekends, if we were lucky, we fished the Richmond
seawall or Yellow Buffs on the Sausalito side of the bay. My
family traveled often so I have memories of the battered pier in
Port San Luis and the circus of ill-equipped fishermen who
gossiped away the days on the Santa Monica Pier. When we visited
San Diego we fished Mission Bay. To the north we clammed and
fished Tomalas Bay, Bodega Bay, Coos Bay. Then, after the freedom
of a driving license, I enjoyed jetty fishing off river mouths
all the way to the fine shore fishing on the banks of Puget
Sound. All this fishing is still there. In fact, it's not much
worse, or better, than it was 30 years ago.
Saltwater shore fishing does present one or
two special challenges. If you fish from rocks or seawalls stay
well above the water to avoid sneak waves. Waves are much less
problems in protected bays. If you wade or scramble out to prime
spots at low tide do return before you need swim back. In fall
and early winter weather changes fast so wise fishermen try to
plan trips between storms or early in the morning when winds
calm. Do wear warm clothing and bring wet weather gear. However,
my wife may have a better system. She says, "The best wet
weather gear is a set of car keys so you can drive home if it
starts to rain." Fish don't, however, care much about rain
so, over her objections, we sometimes fish, crab or clam in the
wet.
Last July we managed a lovely fishing trip
to Archie Field's Rio Colorado Lodge in Costa Rica where I got to
surf cast for big snook and fish the mouth of the river for tarpon. Tropical coastal fishing is certainly special. Our West
coast action and, of course, the Texas Coast  offer solid action too!
We’ve done well on the New England Coast although when the
most popular beaches crowd out that’s a nocturnal mission.
It matters not where you fish. Tackle need
not be complex. If you fish from piers you can even use hand lines or cane poles. Note: in California and some other states municipal
piers don't require a license! Black bass or other medium-weight
tackle works nicely off seawalls and rocks. Six or eight pound
test works on saltwater panfish such as perch or jack smelt.
Fifteen to twenty pound test handles most anything else except
very heavy fish and/or extremely rocky conditions with strong
tides.
For fish under five pounds small baits such
as pile or mud worms, live shrimp or saltwater minnows work well
on size six hooks. Add a small sinker to take bait to the bottom
for fish such as flounders or halibut or a bobber to keep it near
the surface for jack smelt or topsmelt. Larger fish hit whole
anchovy, mussels, bullheads and cutbait on larger hooks and, in
faster currents, heavier sinkers.
Saltwater fish don't seem picky about lures
either. Striped bass and salmon bang plugs, big silver spoons and
plastic lures. Bottomfish available off cliffs and river mouth
jetty rocks gobble just about any kind of plastic worm or jig. If
you do fish near rocks, use price as a guide to lures and go with
plastics. You will doubtless lose lots of lures!
Another way to reduce the number of lures
and terminal tackle rigs you lose is a shock tippet or leader two
feet longer than the distance from your reel to terminal tackle
when you are ready to cast. When added to a Bimini twist or other
knot that lets the heavy line slide through your rod guides, this
"mostly" prevents cast off lures and such. This kind of
rig also keeps fish, such as sharks, with abrasive skin, fins or
mouth parts from rubbing through and breaking your line. So why
not use heavier line to start? First, heavier line reduces
casting distance or requires huge sinkers and plugs that are more
tiring to cast and more expensive to buy. Second, heavier line
cuts the amount of line your reel holds so you have less room
with which to work. The secret to playing big fish in fast does
not really depend on your sweat, rather it depends on your
knowing how to tease or force the fish into working as hard as
possible. Light line does this well enough for coastal fishing.
There is, however, one situation where you
will need specialized gear. That's beach fishing where you have a
big, heavy surf and onshore winds. Here you need an 11 to 15 foot
rod, big spinning reel and 15 to 25 pound test line to fling big
lures or bait out over the shore break. If you fish north of
Morro Bay you might want to add chest-high waders as ocean waters
get very cold after September!
In Baja inside the Sea or Cortez and other
sheltered beaches on warm water it's possible to fish in shorts
and sneakers. ALWAYS wear sneakers. Barefoot wading results in
cuts from bottles and in some areas if you don't shuffle your
feet, a neat shot from a stingray tail.
In sheltered, shallow bays like Matagorda
Bay in Texas and other areas with shallow flats you can often
wade with sneakers and cast to moving fish in ultra-clear water
often not deeper than two feet. Many feel such fishing best tests fishermen. You need an
accurate cast, light lure and light line so you don't scare fish.
Then it's "Hang on, Sam!" as fish such as sea trout,
reds snook or bonefish streak away over the flats. In many cases
fishermen and guides make high-speed runs through shallow water
to the area they plan to fish, then wade until they cast to
cruising fish. Sometimes you cast to tails, other times you can't
see fish but can see their shadows or the puffs of sand or mud
they make when feeding. On these kinds of flats the incoming or
high and early outgoing tides work best.
It's also possible to wade in flats such as
those near Watergate and the Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay. You
need a low tide and the ability to stay on sandbars instead of
straying off onto stick mud flats. Fish generally follow deeper
channels on flats and lurk near stronger currents in deeper
water.
Bank fishermen do well on the corners of
seawall or in spots just a cast inshore from clam beds or other
likely habitat. Breakwaters and jetties at the mouth of rivers
offer particularly good fishing. For example, there's super perch
fishing each fall all along the West Coast and a chance to hit
steelhead or salmon as they enter freshwater. However, the most
consistent results come to jetty fishermen who concentrate on
cod, ling, flounder and other bottom fish available year round.
The mouth of any bay also produces if you
can find deep water within casting range. Piers on both sides of
the Golden Gate Bridge access such fishing. So do piers in Port
Angeles and other coastal cities from Mexico to Canada.
Piers on open ocean beaches seem a bit
tougher for beginners who should stay in bay. Ocean piers are high
above the water so require special landing techniques and,
usually, heavier tackle.
The do, as is the case with Monterey Piers
or Pacifica Pier just South of San Francisco, let you reach prime
salmon or striped bass. Southern California ocean piers offer
mackerel, Bonita, all sorts of perch and, from time to time,
barracuda or yellowtail.
Rocky, and in tropical waters, coral reefs
offer special excitement. In Northern California, fishermen tie a
foot of line to the end of a long cane pole, bait a hook with
mussels from the rocks and probe deep into cracks in the reefs at
low tide. In tropical waters locals use the same kind of poles
with longer lines to fish tide pools. In many cases you can enjoy
clamming, musseling or crabbing in the same waters and take home
a sack of delicious seafood.
Enjoyment really keys coast days. You can
watch oil tankers play dodger cars with sailboats in the mouth of
the Golden Gate or check the aquatic traffic jams off any
Southern California marina. You can listen to the foghorns off
Oregon river mouth jetties and imagine them the cries of
mysterious sea beasts. You can simply park near the water, toss
out a bait, stick your rod in a holder and listen to your
favorite sport on the radio as the day passes. Best of all, you
escape phones, traffic jams and the cares of the city in fresh
ocean breezes. So the fish you catch become a bonus that punctuates an enjoyable day with a period or even exclamation
point, rather than the quarry you seek with grim determination.
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