Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
No matter where, or for what type of fish they’ll be chasing, every angler must start their day by answering the question “where are the fish?” Of course the answer to that question will set the stage for the day and dictate where the angler will first point their boat, or elect to set up on a pier, beach, bridge, or bank. If they get it right, anglers have a shot at a good catch. If they get it wrong there’s a chance that the only life they’ll encounter that day will be seagulls and seaweed!
For offshore anglers, the answer to where the fish are will typically include a pretty big geographical area such as the Baltimore Canyon, the Hotdog, or the Jack Spot and then they run out and work those places until they either find the fish or don’t. But inshore fishermen will likely choose a much more “precise” place to spend their time, like the Rt 50 Bridge, the south jetty, the Thorofare, the Rt. 90 Bridge and so forth. During the season all of these places will have at least some fish in them at all times, but unlike an offshore guy who trolls around a general area where he hopes the fish will be, inshore fishermen must often figure out precisely where the fish are so that they can present their baits or lures within a few feet or sometimes a few inches of what they are trying to catch. Are the fish behind or in front of that piling? Are they on the west or east side of the bridge support? Are they at the tip of the jetty or on the north or south side? A little knowledge about what prompts certain species to hang-out in one place over another can help inshore anglers zero in on exactly where they need to put their bait or lure to catch a fish.
An important aspect of inshore fishing is knowing the layout of the bottom, where the drop-offs, ledges, obstructions, and shoals are located, as well as the composition of the bottom which might be sand, soft mud, grass, or clay. These environmental factors all play into what types of fish might be found in what areas, with some of the most sought after by anglers being the fish often known as “ambush predators.”
Ambush predators would be fish that hunt by situating themselves in areas where they can hold motionless in the water until their prey passes by, and then with a short, quick dash - lash out and capture their next meal. Here on Delmarva such fish would include our popular striped bass, flounder, sea trout, and sea bass, all of which are mostly content to hold stationary and wait for food to come to them rather than always prowling around looking for it as might a Spanish mackerel or bluefish.
Because ambush predators usually need to hang or lay motionless in the water they’ll often orient themselves on the down-current side of some sort of obstruction, such as a pier, rock, bridge, piling, hump, wreck, shoal, point of land, or anything else that might create a current-free eddy that allows them to stay stationary without expending much swimming effort.
A quiet-stealthy approach can be critical to avoid spooking fish away from their ambush site. Noise travels far and fast through the waters and anglers should do everything possible to minimize any sounds transmitted from their boat as they approach a site. Engines should be shut-off as far from the site as possible and then the boat drifted, paddled, poled, or electric-motored to within casting range of where the fish should be holding. Once within range the boat should be (quietly) anchored in position.
Anglers should usually anchor up-current of the fish they hope to catch so that their baits or lures work into the current as they retrieve. This not only gives the impression of a hapless bait fish struggling against current, it also allows anglers the option of using any retrieval speed deemed appropriate, from as fast as the reel can be cranked, to just barely moving ahead. In fact, with a good flow of current, an offering can be held still or even allowed to slowly drift backwards and still produce the necessary fish attracting action.
Another way to do it is to anchor parallel in the current to the fish, cast upstream and let the flow of water sweep the bait or lure down to, or past it. This would imitate bait that is being swept away by an overpowering flow of water. This presentation can be effective at times but it’s not as versatile as anchoring up-current. Unless anglers wish to imitate dead baits being flushed away by a current, anchoring below the fish is rarely a good option as baits and lures will always travel at least as fast as the flow which can be too fast for the predator’s liking. Besides that, even large fish are often spooked away when a noisy lure is cranked towards them head-on.
Once an ambush site is located and the boat is properly positioned, anglers can work through their tackle until they find the right lure (or bait) to match up with the proper retrieve that’ll both trigger a bite and finally answer their initial question of “where are the fish?”
