Striper heaven, flats 12″-48″ deep with lots of bait
I’ll put even money that you clicked here before clicking on any other page – I probably would have myself. The fact is that the fish are always somewhere. The New England coast line is well over 700 miles in length and I am sure that fish have been in range of virtually every spot. Finding the fish when and where you want to catch them requires trying and learning. Try everything, every location, every lure, every tide. Over time you will develop some general knowledge about the fish and some specific knowledge about the area you are in and an instinct for finding fish.
Recall the approach I describe on the first page, lighten-up and get moving. I walk at least 2 miles over the course of about 3 to 3.5 hours when I fish. I’m always looking in the water, in shallow and out deep. Sometimes I cast while I am walking – this is a great way to survey the shoreline. I typcially use a lure that I know will produce given the season. I have caught fish virtually everywhere along my walks, but some places are far better than others. I build models in my mind to explain why some places are better than others at any given point in time.
For example, one of my favorite spots is created by a sand bar that sits on an angle to the shore. On an outbound tide, the bar acts as a funnel crouding the fish closer to shore. At the narrowest point of the funnel, the fish are closest to shore, this includes some good size fish that cruise the bar.
Another example is where two currents meet, one current is the outbound tide and the other is created by the curve of the beach. The crease where they meet is often quite dirty filled with weeds and other crap that circles around in eddies. I often find fish on one side or the other of this crease.
Finally seaweed – I love it in moderation. Too many fishermen give up at the first sight. That’s when I get going. Little fish love the seaweed and big fish love the little fish. Seaweed is often crowded up against the shore or in weedlines. In the case of a crowded shoreline, I will use a surface lure, often a popper. I’ll walk out as far as I can, often past the weed into clear or at least semi-clear water and cast parallel to the shore or on an angle. I find that fish often cruise the edge of the weed. The same is true for weedlines – cast along their length, not across them.
When you hit a spot where the action is great, build a model in your mind and figure-out why its good (a) in the location (b) at the time (c) at the tide (d) with the lure.
You don’t need much of a model to understand why some spots are naturally better than others. Here are a few examples, they contain:
- Higher concentrations of bait
- Structure which creates pockets of slow water where predators can hover
- Structure which creates disorienting currents that confuse the bait
Locations where fish feed
Striper chasing bait in flats
Locations that are conducive to feeding typically contain high concentrations of bait in the water. Bait is found where bait hatches, in flats, estuaries, other shallows that contain grasses and mud. Depending on the tide, time of day and season, the bait will be in the shallows or in the open water. Where you find the bait, you will find the predators. I have witnessed large bass feeding in less than 18″ of water, particularly in the morning, regardless of tide.
Locations that concentrate fish
Locations such as channels and entrances to rivers are often frequented by preditory fish coming and going with the tide.
Locations of big fish
I have found that the big fish are typically deeper than the little fish. Big fish are smart and lazy. They got big by staying away from the surface where birds could have snatched them. And they got big by staying below the frenzy. It takes too much energy to compete with other fish over small bait on the surface. Rather, big fish cruise under the mayhem and feed on the scraps that float down. Think about that. Our instinct is to cast into the mayhem and make our lure look active. Next time, try a lure like a Kastmaster and let it sink then twitch it around on the bottom like a chunk that has fallen through the cracks. You might apply this logic to situation in which the fish are not frenzied.
Structure
Locations containing structure such as sand bars, holes, rocky piers, wrecks, etc are popular with many preditory fish because they disrupt currents. Currents can be fast and rough in some places which can confuse the bait. Currents can be slow or still in other places where bass and other predators can sit and wait for bait to pass over, under, or through.
Clues and Tips
Look, look, look. The more you look, the more you will learn to see. Here are a few things that I look for.
- Feeding birds
- Feeding fish
- Fins in the Foam
Feeding birds are a dead give-away to bait and underlying predatory fish.
Feeding fish are more common, but often isolated and harder to observe than the birds.
Stripers, particularly schoolies, often feed under the foam
Fins in the foam is the hardest to observe, but your eyes will adjust and soon you will start seeing slight movements under the foam (and surf without foam).