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Surf fishing
Waves shake things up and attract everything along the food chain. Stirred up sand displaces everything from zooplankton to crabs, which attract small fish, which of course attract big fish. Surf fishing allows you to fish from the beach or shore, capitalizing on the feeding frenzy sometimes triggered by bait trapped by breaking waves.
Who’s home?
Striped bass are popular quarry, but anglers catch everything from bluefish to snook to red drum to even bluefin tuna while surfcasting. Small sharks are often spotted cavorting in the waves, much to the dismay of beach-goers! Understanding the seasonal movements of particular species of fish will help you understand when and where to cast from the surf. Some species make what is called a run, or migration, up and down the coastline, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles. Ask the locals or in bait shops for information about the local runs of various species. DNR websites should help with this, as well.
How to fish the water
Although some coastal fishing can be done with quality freshwater tackle, surfcasting requires a longer rod. A long spinning or baitcasting rod, say about 10 to 12 feet, allows you to cast heavy weights out beyond the breakers. You can use livebait or lures, depending on the species being targeted.
As with all fishing, the more you observe, the more you learn. Experience trumps anything I can say about surf fishing here. Many anglers wade and fish at night while surf fishing, but know your limits so that you can safely take after more experienced anglers.
Fishing piers
While pier fishing lacks the beauty and serenity of stalking bonefish on the flats, it makes up for any shortcomings with convenience. Piers provide a high, stable vantage point for shore-bound anglers (including those who are physically disabled), and offer a safe, inexpensive opportunity to pull fish from the ocean. Most anglers bottom-fish, but it’s possible to cast and retrieve from piers, and some enterprising anglers have developed special techniques to present baits far from the pilings.
Who’s home?
Although it’s hard to imagine a cleaner, easier way to fish, pier fishing isn’t just for lazy anglers catching baby fish. Major fish are caught from piers every year, including big striped bass in New Jersey, sharks in South Carolina, and salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Depending on the season and location of the pier, it’s possible to catch a major tarpon or a mess of great-tasting weakfish.
How to fish it
Many fish move in and out of the protection offered by the pilings of the pier itself, meaning that good fishing is literally underfoot. You may want to use bottom rigs to present livebait straight down (see Figure 3-2), although you can also cast away from the pier, or let the tide or current carry your offering out. In the Northeast U.S., blackfish (a.k.a. tautog) love pier pilings.
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 3-2: Anglers bottom-fishing from a pier.
Finding the Right Time to Fish
This one is simple: Fish whenever you can. I often fish at night because in the Midwest U.S., flathead catfish pursue baitfish then, and the waters are never crowded with other anglers. Flatheads almost stop eating when the water cools to 50 degrees in the fall, but other species of fish feed all winter long and can be caught from open water or through the ice. At any moment, year-round, some fish are biting somewhere. Go experiment until you catch them.
Of course, some times are better than others. Low-light periods of dawn and dusk encourage most fish to feed. Spring and fall, often marked by heavy rainfall and wild temperature swings, can make for unpredictable fishing. (Although it can be as good as it is bad!) The spawning season (time for breeding, eggs, and nesting) of each species of fish will definitely affect the angling for that species. While spawning, some fish are nearly impossible to catch, whereas others become emboldened. There are ethical issues to consider when fishing for spawning fish, as well. Do you really want to remove or even disrupt the biggest fish in the body of water while they are busy creating the future’s big fish?
All fish are affected by lunar cycles, too. Traditionally, the three days on either side of a new or full moon make for better fishing. (Although it will alter night fishing and daytime fishing differently. Some anglers swear by fishing a full moon — others feel like it’s impossible to catch fish at night then.) Lunar cycles also change the tides, as a full moon marks an especially high and low tide (a.k.a. a spring tide even though it can occur all year).
In rivers, a steady rise of the water level can excite fish. A sharp fall can shut them down. A big rain can raise a lake or pond level and activate fish.
There’s a lot of opinion out there about the right time to fish. The bottom line: Fish when you can. Let’s face it — your work and family schedule will dictate your fishing time, anyway. But if you begin to notice a pattern, like a new moon triggers a hot dawn bite on your favorite smallmouth stream, you may need to schedule some mental health days.
Watching the Weather
Everyone knows that the weather affects fishing. Beyond that, there are no agreements regarding the two subjects. Much of what you hear about fishing weather patterns will be discounted or contradicted elsewhere. Most anglers agree that a cold front makes fishing tough, as fish go deep and grow sluggish. (Although fishing before the cold front arrives can be super.) High pressure, bluebird-sky
