Article by Sam Kilgore
Have you ever watched a nearby surf angler reel in a nice fish? It can really get your blood pumping with excitement! Initially, you try to guess the size of the fish by comparing it to the size of the angler. Next you wonder what kind of bait the angler was using and hope you both got it from the same tackle shop. Before you realize what you have done, you have reeled in your line, put fresh bait on your hook (even though you had done this only minutes earlier) and heaved it back out as far as possible. You now have proof there are fish near you and they could be swimming in your direction!
After an hour or so, you watch the same angler catch his fifth fish, and you don’t even feel like getting out of your beach chair. Finally, you admit to yourself that nobody can be that lucky.
So, naturally you decide to take a stroll down the beach to congratulate the angler on his excellent abilities and maybe even sneak in a question or two about his bait. To your surprise, you notice he is using the same tackle, casting approximately the same distance and even bought his bait from the same tackle shop! Before walking back to your spot, you quickly scan around his fishing area for signs of anything he might be using that would give him such an advantage. However, his advantage was there before he even set foot on the sand.
As a rule, experienced surf anglers look for some kind of underwater structure. It can provide shelter for smaller baitfish and also great hiding places for predatory fish. Unlike offshore fishing, inshore structure does not consist of coral reefs or sunken wrecks. The structure found near the shoreline is made of naturally created variations of sand on the ocean floor. They can consist of deep holes, cuts in a sand bar, troughs created by strong currents or other areas carved by crashing waves.
Experienced anglers constantly look for signs of submerged formations using a technique referred to as “reading the beach”. Becoming a skilled “beach reader” can take years, however you may find learning this technique a little easier during certain conditions.
To many beach visitors, low tide just means more sand. However, to the angler who is trying to find that unique stretch of beach that has the potential to hold fish, low tide is the optimal time to search.
As the tide recedes, more compact sand becomes exposed and what is normally hidden under several feet of water becomes visible.
You may discover a sandy slope that drops into deep water only feet beyond the shore break. Then again, you may realize you had fished throughout the entire high tide, casting out as far as you could only to have your bait sitting in two feet of water. As you can imagine, this kind of knowledge can be extremely helpful.
One way to read the beach is to find a “cut in the bar”. When ocean swells make their way inshore they are often forced over narrow areas of shallow water called sandbars. When this occurs, a wave forms and abruptly rises up to a peak then quickly crashes down into turbulent, white water. As you scan the outer sets of breaking waves, you may find a narrow area of water where the waves do not crest. Watch that section for a few minutes and you will usually see a set of waves begin breaking. However, if after 7 to 10 sets of waves pass over without breaking, you have found a “cut in the bar” and a good form of underwater structure.
After moving above the sandbar, the wave may stay crested with white water until it reaches the shore and that would be a good indication the bottom is relatively level. If the white water dies down and the wave flattens out, it has moved back into deeper water called the “trough”.
The trough is a channel of deeper water that runs horizontally along the beach in between the sandbar and the shore. A cut in the sandbar allows larger fish to bypass the shallow area and find their way into the trough. Then they are able to swim along the shoreline through deeper, inshore water looking for unsuspecting prey.
If you are unable to scan the beach during low tide or if the wind is not cooperating, it can be difficult to read the beach. When all else fails, look for something “different”. For example, If you find an area in the surf that is calm and the surrounding water is choppy, that may be a great place to fish.
Remember to scan the horizon for diving birds. You will see the “splash” and watching several birds diving into the water is always a great sign of baitfish activity. If those birds are diving relatively close to shore, I would certainly try fishing there for a while.
On days when the water is clear, you can actually see bait in the water. When wading into the shallow water to cast I have often noticed hundreds of small fish all around me. Other times, I see larger bait, such as bunker, jumping completely out of the water in an attempt to avoid becoming a meal. If you ever see distant areas of water with a dark tint, they may be large schools of baitfish.
Understanding how the waves react when moving over the ocean floor can take time, patience and practice. Once you begin to distinguish the differences and notice the structure without actually seeing it, you will have gained a valuable ability that will help you catch more fish. Before long, you may look over to see someone walking down the beach prepared to congratulate you and maybe sneak in a question or two about your bait.
Sam Kilgore is an avid surf fisherman and administers AtlanticAnglers.com, a free, family friendly website devoted to helping anglers learn all aspects of fishing.
