South San Luis Obispo: A Dozen Bites and Two Waves Too Deep

Last night, I hit the surf in South San Luis Obispo County around 4 PM, just as the tide was heading out. I set up with a Carolina rig and the Battlestar soft candy, which has been my go-to lately. The water was surprisingly clean, only a few bits of kelp fouled up my bait. The waves were decent, though a little bigger than I’d prefer. They nearly swallowed me a couple of times when they stacked up, but I was wading a bit too deep anyway—lesson learned for next time.

I got about a dozen bites throughout the evening, but most seemed like small fish. I managed to land one dink and one decent-sized slab. The slab was a female, no babies in sight, which is always reassuring to see. Small perch have been scarce in the area lately, so it was nice to spot a few on the beach. I’m hoping the stripers aren’t bullying them too much, but time will tell. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any smaller perch in good numbers around here.

The surf was alive with action—tons of birds flying overhead and landing right in the shallow water. Pelicans were diving in just inches of surf, and I found myself wondering if they were going after sand crabs or a school of baitfish that got pushed in close. Seagulls and snowy plovers were all over the place, too. Not to mention the whales breaching out front and some dolphins making an appearance. It was one of those nights where the ocean was absolutely teeming with life. My buddy was tossing a BS115 all evening. He caught one perch and missed a couple of hooksets, but it was still a solid session.

I also heard reports that anglers caught limits of perch and striped bass earlier in the day on the incoming tide, all using sand crabs. Whether that’s true or not, I couldn’t say, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all!