Finding The Right Spot To Fish The Surf
Finding the optimal spot to cast your reel can make the all the difference when surf fishing. But finding that spot is one of the hardest aspects of fishing to nail down. Water depth, tide, time of day and the list goes on are all possible factors to consider when picking the right spot to fish. But, there is a few tips you can use to make the search a little easier.
Experience
First off, experience trumps all when finding the best spots, so learn from your mistakes, record or make a mental note of the spots you seem to have the most success. As gain more experience and fish certain spots over and over, you will begin to see where the fish bite the most, at what times and tides, etc. And make sure your maximizing your efforts in other areas of surf fishing such as choosing the right baits, having the proper equipment, which can be found here:
http://www.dnr-pro.org/community/yaf_postst99_Top-Ten-Surf-fishing-Tips.aspx
Charts
Charts can be a handy little tool. Your local bait shop should have some for sale. These will help whether you inshore fishing or offshore.
Ask Questions
While you’re at the bait shop, ask questions from the owner. You can try asking the patrons but if they’re at the bait shop getting supplies to go out fishing they are probably not going to give up their best spots to you. Just tell the shop owner you are new to the area and would like to find some good fishing spots. They tend to give the best advice because if you are successful at your fishing endeavors, then you will be back!
Due Diligence
Now that you’ve got your chart (and hopefully the owner marked down the good spots on it) take the time to study it. Look for deep fishing holes, find where the water will empty into the channel when the tide is low, etc. Basically, eliminate all the spots that you don’t want to fish.
Tides
Before heading out to the waters, stop by the bait shop and ask what the tide is going to be for that day and what tides in the area are good to fish.
Soaking up as much info from locals as you can is the best way to find good spots to fish. You can learn a lot from their many years of experience in a short amount of time. Of course, if that doesn’t work, you could hire a guide. Spend the money for a one time fishing trip and you will learn all the best places to fish in a single day. Good luck and happy fishing!
