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Reading the Beach and structure

29K views 52 replies 22 participants last post by  anagosensei 
#1 ·
Edit:: Thread copy from surfcaster forum

Most resort beaches have tons of sand pumped into them. These beaches become very broad and gently slope out to sea. There is not much structure here and fish may be scattered. However a beach not visited for bathing has some key differences. Visit the beach at low tide and look for sand bars and sloughs. When the tide comes in the waves may crash further out sometimes building swells. This is where the wave strikes the bar. After that, they suddenly slump down and get shorter as they move over the slough, a deeper portion of the beach's structure. You want to be able to cast into the other side of the slough or cut out behind the sand bar. look for cut outs and fishing the downcurrent side of any cusp will put you on the fish. Big fish are lazy (smart) and will wait at the openings for the bait fish to be flushed through. Always visit at low tide. Learn to read the beach and you'll start catching more fish from the surf.

 
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#2 ·
There hasn't been a spot or formation on my beach, that i havent grabbed the snorkel and fins, and took a look at. You can say that i have become one with my honeyhole. I've even dove down 20 feet and gathered a few lost sinkers and rigs. Definetly take the time to know your area.....it can only help you produce more stripers.

angry5.gif craig aka briggs: angry5.gif

aka surfcastermaster

:) MASTER OF HIS OWN DOMAIN :)
 
#3 ·
Fish feed regularly at certain fixed substructures, and at other times you have to find the baitfish. Beachfront structure is a huge factor in determining where you might set up shop to deadstick or plug. But most important is the presence of baitfish or lack therof. An old axiom of surfishing is 'wind in your face, means fish on the beach'.
Subsurface structures often cause a narrowing in the flow of the tide. This will create a venturi effect, accelerating the flow of water into the deeper recesses of the structure. Look for the predatory fish on the downstream side of the structure. At this point, eddies are often formed. The predators often wait in ambush for the bait to be swept over the edge of these holes.
Most often these substructure "rips" are associated with a sand bar, a shoal, an inlet or a point.
 
#5 ·
Sandy Hook Suds

The info on reading the beach and reading the water have been great. I have been fishing the Sandy Hook beach (bay side and ocean) for the past 20 or so years and I still can't read the water. There are more things I dont know than I do. 1) If I see Birds, I am catching fish. If I see birds this time of year diving there will be blues on top and Bass usually underneath or on the fringes. 2) If I see blues breaking the surface in schools or huge pockets of bait fish in the surf I am catching fish. 3) If the wind is at my back - go watch football.

I have learned to look for the eddys, drop offs, sand bars, bait stuck on jetties, etc but 80% of the time when I get to Sandy Hook parking lot F at 5:00 am I see very little activity. I generally break out a clam and cast into the suds (at any structure if there is any). What works is if I cast no more than 10-15 out. The fish are in the breaking waves. Then I cast a plug and a teaser. Most times I get fish on the clams. Some days I can get 15 bass - other days one or two over many hours.

It would be great to walk the beach and really be able to read the water, the sand, the wind - I just have not been able to do it on the hook. If I am on my boat in the bay I can name my fish - on the hook - the hook wins many, many days. It would be great to have a group of people walk to the hook and share experiences one day.
 
#6 ·
i cannot tell you how important reading the surf is, in some places it is a non factor cause of identical structure but at the hook for instance, i was hurt recently and went to the fishing beach for some r&r and watched the fishing from a objectors point of view and walked up and down the beach and (as if my wife cared) pointed out the best spots to fish. i parked our chairs right between two fisherman and told my wife the guy on the left will be into fish within the hour as the tide was coming in. he was catching fluke consistently as well as sea robins and the other guy got maybe one. at this point my wife asked me how i knew he was going to get into fish. the tide was up already and the low tide telltale signs of good breaks and a hole were not as obvious but she got the drift. fishing lbi/the hook/ ibsp are all location and luck, one day at your regular haunt read a bar and just put a sinker on and cast to it and see the depth. then cast all around the area and see if it is a little deeper to the left or right , in or out a few yards. in some of your favorite places to frequent you can get the best locations mapped as some spots get better or deteriorate over the course of the season. from what you said you can read the beach already but nothing beats someone actually showing you what to look for.



 
#7 ·
Wash outs

More on this topic from Gunny-snipers post.

While walking/driving a beach look for signs of structure. Wash outs are actually the thing to look for. They will and do change with the tides and weather. Large Bass will position themselves on the sides of these currents. Bass eat many things that are not as obvious as a school of pogies. Crabs, sand eels, squid, lobster, etc. etc................
What do these washouts look like, and what do you look for? Watch the waves, as they climb the sand the outgoing wash will channel, and form a current. These current cut the bottom into natural stream-beds. Watch the direction of the channel, does it hook? Does it Eddy? Does it run parallel to the beach? bass are most times opportunistic feeders, they will lay up and wait for the food to get to them. I have on more than 1 occasion caught large Bass down current from schoolies and blues by chunking the rip currents down from these schools. Cows are fat lazy slobs! They hate to work for their chow. They lay down and wait for the scraps to float to them. Ever notice how a pogie head is the best bait for a striper? That's because blues chop the to pieces, eat the bodies and the head sinks to the bottom. I have eye witnessed this on a scuba dive. A large school of blues hammered a school of menhaden the day before. I went down looking for lobster. What I saw verified the above statement. Large bass were hanging on the bottom inhaling the heads that literally carpeted the bay floor.
The effect of strong currents will channel bait fish and other striper foods to the waiting bass on the bottom in the sand bars that are present on any beach. Watch the waves climb and break as they come in. You will notice areas where the waves curl, roll, curl. The area they roll is the deep hole in between bars, Cast there. Use a locally known bait or imitator.
Buck-tails are always a good choice as they imitate several known striper foods, such as sand eels, and squid. Baits you almost NEVER see surfacing.
 
#9 ·
Has any one tried google earth?You can really zoom in and see where the rips are in some of the areas,really nice around the cape,plus if you live inland like me and can't always get to the surf to study, it's also a great tool to find new spots to tryout.
 
#10 ·
#18 ·
Fishin' Maine

Bobga,

Come mid-May, if you are a surf fisher, grab a tall rod, a reel with about 15lb test line on it, and go to Old Orchard Beach. Pick up some clams, and walk out near the pier. Throw your line in. You'll do well.

Along those same lines, the Saco river, which is right next to OOB, has some excellent fishing that you can park your car along route 1 and throw your line in and fish there as well. That tends to get crowded early, as it is usually excellent striper fishing.

Then, the Saco jetty is fantastic towards the end of May, beginning of June.

My biggest problem is finding good bait spots. I used to be able to pick up fresh mackeral or polluck anywhere without a boat. Today, they are just too far and few between. Anyone know of good places to jig for live bait without a boat in Southern Maine, please give a yell.

-Scott
 
#50 ·
Re: Fishin' Maine

Bobga,

Come mid-May, if you are a surf fisher, grab a tall rod, a reel with about 15lb test line on it, and go to Old Orchard Beach. Pick up some clams, and walk out near the pier. Throw your line in. You'll do well.

Along those same lines, the Saco river, which is right next to OOB, has some excellent fishing that you can park your car along route 1 and throw your line in and fish there as well. That tends to get crowded early, as it is usually excellent striper fishing.

Then, the Saco jetty is fantastic towards the end of May, beginning of June.

My biggest problem is finding good bait spots. I used to be able to pick up fresh mackeral or polluck anywhere without a boat. Today, they are just too far and few between. Anyone know of good places to jig for live bait without a boat in Southern Maine, please give a yell.

-Scott
I don't know of any good places to get your own bait, but Scott at Webhannet has treated me well. I was up there last year looking for eels at the end of the year but he was out. He hooked me up with some sand worms that were bigger than some of the eels if fished in the past. LOL
 
#20 ·
i forgot the name of the looong jetty in wells (by the amusement park and the camp ground). there is a small bait shack in the parking lot and a guy was bringing him fresh mak's every day and i bought a dozen off him and had a blast on the pier catching schoolie sized fish. i couldn;t get the misses to go more than halfway out on the jetty or i may have gotten bigger fish.



 
#21 ·
Re: Reading the Beach

NJ DEP website has an aerial view map called iMAP. I've launched into the site and printed photos of the sedge islands and barnegat inlet. After printing them out I sectioned them and taped them together as a map. I guess that's what you guys are doing with Google. ( Studying Aerial photos ) It gave me a good look at some of those sloughs and sandbars. The only trouble is the photos are not really recent, and beaches are constantly reconfiguring. "Moontide" lows with offshore winds are great for reconaissance. Are there any good aerials of South Shore Staten Island?
 
#22 ·
Re: Reading the Beach

Kinda answered my own question. Think. then speak. Think, then speak. Anyway, Google earth for the aerial... and Maptech for the noaa style nav. chart of the same area. Compare them and get a whole new look at things. Jeez, it's like going to school again.
 
#25 ·
Re: Reading the Beach

Wow...this is going to be the best thing I ever did, joining this forum. Could you explain "downstream of the structure" forgive me, does this mean that whichever way the tide is flowing, go to the opposing side?

Awesome information, I came from freshwater in Soth Carolina with Blue worms but since fished on RT 107 in between saugus and lynn and caught 36 inchers, now i am looking at the beach from my front window!!!!

Fish feed regularly at certain fixed substructures, and at other times you have to find the baitfish. Beachfront structure is a huge factor in determining where you might set up shop to deadstick or plug. But most important is the presence of baitfish or lack therof. An old axiom of surfishing is 'wind in your face, means fish on the beach'.
Subsurface structures often cause a narrowing in the flow of the tide. This will create a venturi effect, accelerating the flow of water into the deeper recesses of the structure. Look for the predatory fish on the downstream side of the structure. At this point, eddies are often formed. The predators often wait in ambush for the bait to be swept over the edge of these holes.
Most often these substructure "rips" are associated with a sand bar, a shoal, an inlet or a point.
 
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