Study the water — The fish will use any trough, or dips in the sand just offshore, to cross between pockets. Species that co-occur with redtail surfperch on ocean beaches include the silver surfperch, Pacific staghorn sculpin, sandlance, Dungeness crab, shiner perch, mole crab, Pacific razor clam, sandhoppers and other crustaceans. Natural History: The major portion of the barred surfperch diet is sand crabs, with other crustaceans, bean clams and small crabs comprising the remainder. Yet, by understanding the differences you can increase your chances of getting a big haul. Sandlance and crustaceans are eaten by the redtail surfperch. Adapted to life in the rough neighborhood of the surf zone, barred perch are incredibly strong fighters – & they eat the fly very well. Pacific Surfperch vs. Perch . There are several different varieties of this fish many of which look quite like one another. You want to head for the shore about 2 hours before high tide. They have been taken from water as deep as 240 feet. Also, if you’re fishing at high tide, there is no need to cast way out. Read on to find out more about this elusive fish and the types you can encounter while you are fishing. Oh yeah, and if you're surf fishing in rocky areas (as opposed to sandy beaches,) you can add cabezon to the top of your EATING list. Most of the fish are feeding in close, on crabs and such, that wash off the beach. Barred surfperch are found in the surf zone along sandy beaches where they seem to congregate in depressions on the bottom. They are the best eating fish you can catch from the beach in my opinion, but remember the legal size minimum is 15 inches, and the bag limit is 1. Barred surfperch here average 1 to two pounds, with a better grade in the mix during the Winter months, with occasional fish to 4 pounds. Fish with the outgoing tide until the biting stops. Have fun. To successfully catch surf perch, you need the right tackle equipment— different kinds of bait and lures to present. Good luck. Sand crabs are the #1 bait to use, if you can find them. Although it is commonly thought that the main difference between surfperch and perch are the habitats in which they live in the wild, from shallow (surfperch) or deep waters (perch), the truth is that perch is a freshwater fish from the Percidae family, and surfperch is … This is good information, however, there is no size limit on barred surf perch. The 10.5″ limit only applies to redtail perch.