Pacific coast
Surfperch
Amphistichus and Hyperprosopon spp.
The Pacific beach fish, available all year to anyone with a light rod and sand crabs.
What they like
- 0.5–4 musual depth (they tolerate 0.2–12 m)
- 9–20 °Cwater temperature they feed in
- clear or coloured waterwater clarity
- sloping edges, the shoreline, channelsbottom they hunt, in order
- the incoming (rising) tidetide
- daylightlight
The beach trough and the edges of sandbars on an incoming tide; winter and spring for barred surfperch.
Season by region
Peak months, shaded. Outside them the species may still be around, just less reliably.
Bait and technique
Methods: bait, spinning / casting.
Bait and lures: Sand crabs, Gulp sandworms, small grubs on a Carolina rig.
Technique: Find the deeper trough or rip channel on the beach and fish the edge of it, moving along until you find the school.
Rules
Pacific states: California: 20 per day combined (no more than 10 redtail), closed in SF Bay in spring. Verify with CDFW.
Seasons, sizes and bag limits change every year and differ by zone. Check the current regulations before you keep anything.
Preferences are expert estimates from the fisheries literature and angling practice, not measurements at your spot. The likelihoods on the maps are a planning aid, not a catch prediction.