How to: Reading the water

[surfstix1963]

A quickie on tides,naturally we have 2 high and 2 low.

Spring or Moon Tide:These happen twice a month they cause very high and very low tides.

They also occur around the full and new moon when the gravitational pull is the strongest.

Fish feed when the water is moving:So it makes sense to fish around the new and full moon phases because the water will be moving quicker. Personally I like to fish 2 days before and 2 days after a full moon.(Actually I like to fish whenever I can)

The other thing with a full moon is sometimes it casts too much light on the water if this is the case I will bring a couple of lighter colored lures because they could make it happen if darker is failing you.I will either fish the shadow lines or seek a darker area.

Neap Tides:Which occur the other 2 weeks of the month naturally around the 1st & 3rd quarter moon phase.These are generally weaker tides because of less gravitational pull. This is a good time to fish bait in the inlets
for you bait guys.The fish are still around during these tides you just need to fish the moving water.

This same pattern repeats itself every 2 weeks,another thing is the tide changes about one hour later everyday.So if you had good action at a certain spot one day, if that pattern is going to repeat itself the next day it will most likely happen one hour later keep a log and it will start giving you some insight on where and when you caught and you can actually calculate where the fishing may be good & also pretty accurately.But nothing is written in stone.

These are just the basics of tides there are books on this,Tides are caused by many factors moon,sun,wind and gravitational forces caused by different aligments of the sun,moon and earth.I feel the basics have served me well.

[surfstix1963]

Bridges:Are very productive due to the lighting above which casts shadows on the water which in turn attracts bait.Fish these shadow lines (I think this was discussed in another thread) Don't cast into them bring the offering to them using the water flow (rubber shads and bucktails are best) this way it looks natural to the bass and they don't get spooked.

The concrete foundations and any other rising structure off the bottom that the bass can use will be where the bass are hiding waiting for a meal to get washed by w/ the tide and or current.(remember tide and current are two different things.)

The bass use these structures because the water flows around them resulting in less current for them to hold and feed and also pass more oxygen over the gills. Bass love structure they don't like to leave it. On the turn of the tide they may just move to the other side of the structure they were in.They use this because it is the easiest way to feed and utilize the meal to the max by using the least amount of energy to feed.So they do not have to eat so much.Unlike bluefish that are usually eating non stop because they are always on the move and using most if not all of the energy they are getting from their food.

Keep an eye out for rips and eddies by bridges this is good structure also at certain times.One thing I like to do if I have the room is stand at an angle to the bridge and cast out in front of the concrete foundations w/rubber shads and let them sink(you will need different wts. according to current) as they drift to the bridge stantcion or even slightly under I start a slow retrieve to try and coax the bass out of hiding.I fish every one I can reach.As the tide dies and the current is still running I like to fish parallel to the bridge and see what happens then I will switch sides and cast at an angle to the stantions on that side.

If I'm fishing a bridge I will fish it hard with any method that jumps in my head if it doesn't happen I'll start fishing the shoreline with a large swimmer and try and pull something out of an eddy,rip or deep hole off the shore.This is a time when you stumble over new structure, take notes or if your young keep it in your head thats one less spot you need to find.I don't like to move much unless I'm on a beach, I feel the more time I spend in one area thats new to me
the more I learn about it no matter what the results were.You can also move away from the bridge a little and toss some bait in the water if you like.

If you frequent one spot and see familiar faces take mental notes on what they are doing and when they are doing it.Sometimes you get lucky and they will chat with you take mental notes.My cousin who started me w/offshore fishing when I was 8 always says till this day "Keep your mouth shut and your ears wide open you'll be surprised at what you learn"


Structure is part one of the bass puzzle whether it be on the beach,inlet or in a river.Learning the different structures is #1 on the list then you can start to put the rest of the puzzle together.

[surfstix1963]

By the way Seamonkey great post very informative.

[surfstix1963]

Flats:
Bass can be found in very low water you would be surprised.This is strictly night fishing when the boats are home.Did you ever see a bass with its chin all red and scraped up this from them digging w/ their snouts in search of food.This is a situation where the back of an inlet and a shallow flat meet, deep water on one side and practically none on the other. Incoming tide bait is getting pushed by and then they try to get to the flats for what they think is safety.Baitfish use the safety in numbers theory and bass use bait in numbers for a bigger meal.

Walking the shoreline requires stealth mode no lights and no grinding of the boots in the gravel no walking in the water or the fish will get spooked. you need to place your cast as far out as possible and work it very slow back to the flats.Small lures are the go to (small bucktails,thin profile rubber lures(if the tide is up smaller swimming plugs shallow running w/ a teaser) you don't want big splashes. I would think the new rubber crabs would be good but I haven't given that a go yet)This is the perfect spot for a fly fisherman since the flies do not make much of a disturbance.

This is very hard fishing because of all the mistakes that can be made such as making noises,digging through your bag( I don't bring one just carry what I want in a small organizer),your bail flipping over on a cast.

The fish won't be stacked up on the flats but spread out along them searching for food sometimes they are just sitting in one spot resting and waiting for a crab to slide by.

Mussel Beds and Sod Banks:
Another good night spot again quiet is needed which is not easy to do walking through grass w/ mussels crushing under you.The bass love to cruise this area for grass shrimp and spearing.If it is very quiet and you really listen you can hear the bass slurping up the food.
This is generally a spring thing for the bass they are coming to spawn up river.

You need to try and figure where they are and cast ahead of them close to the bank and you may get some takers.These are often not large bass but they can be there.

I have a spot in the spring comprised of mussel beds and I fish this spot as often as I can since starting in April we stay in our fifth wheel our rolling condo.This spot lights up when massive schools of bunker come in and the bluefish are just totally insane on a daily basis.One part of the river is a very tide related spot and just the opposite of what you would think this is an outgoing spot where the bunker move in and the blues follow you can almost time the fishing within 15 minutes all you need to see is the bunker and it will happen.These are 10lb. plus choppers. right at your feet just cast and the plug hits it gets smashed I like to take the kids because it no challenge for me.



OK let me get back on track here This is a spot I have found through trial and error and watching the regulars.Kind of spying I guess, what trucks they drove where they fished,what plugs they used, what they caught when they fished and the occasional Good Morning. I lost a couple of weeks fishing but learned the place upside down & backwards.Out of that I knew where they fished,at what tides, if the wind switched where they moved and when they packed it up, this was a crew of 4 guys.I then applied that knowledge to fishing there and found my own spot when they saw me catching the bass while they caught blues they started talking now I'm the fifth guy although I do start earlier then them in the morning because thats when I catch the bass.But then they started asking how the hell do you get the bass everyday all I said was white sinking poppers and get it to the edge of the channel work it w/ short hard pops when they come for it stop the plug let it sink for a second and thats it and now they realized why I waded out as far as I could to reach the channel the blues were behind me and the bass were in front of me.Sorry that 2nd part sounds more like a story but read between the lines theres info in there.

[cowherder]

I was looking at the different posts in this thread and realized it is a lot to digest. I'm taking notes from the different types of water and will read those the next time I go to the beach pre-season. Thanks guys for explaining this so well.

[stripermania]

I was looking at the different posts in this thread and realized it is a lot to digest. I'm taking notes from the different types of water and will read those the next time I go to the beach pre-season. Thanks guys for explaining this so well.

Cowherder, some of these guys are pretty intense about their posts and give exceptional details. Their knowledge is amazing. There is something in them for everyone even those with experience.

[storminsteve]

There is something in them for everyone even those with experience.

Absolutely, i just went back and re-read this thread, great stuff!

[hookset]

A quickie on tides,naturally we have 2 high and 2 low.

Spring or Moon Tide:These happen twice a month they cause very high and very low tides.

They also occur around the full and new moon when the gravitational pull is the strongest.

Fish feed when the water is moving:So it makes sense to fish around the new and full moon phases because the water will be moving quicker. Personally I like to fish 2 days before and 2 days after a full moon.(Actually I like to fish whenever I can)

The other thing with a full moon is sometimes it casts too much light on the water if this is the case I will bring a couple of lighter colored lures because they could make it happen if darker is failing you.I will either fish the shadow lines or seek a darker area.

I agree hate fishing when the moon is bright at night unless you're tossing bait. Best for me is when it's a full moon and cloudy.
btw the full moon tide is a good chance for the newbies to get out there on the beach and learn the structure at low tide. A lot of it has changed this year with the effects of dredging and sandy. with the dredging its ever so important to go out and do this as many places are lame and flat now. You need to look for the areas that are configured differently like it says in this thread and low tide is the best time to do that. Now that all the tourists are off the beach. Then when you read the water at high tide it will have a lot more meaning. Great points surfstix thanks for sharing.

[fishinmission78]

Won't have much water to read after the beach replenishment. The cuts and bars will be gone and it will be one long flat stretch of beach. Will take at least a year for things to come back. I don't wish anyone any harm but we really could use some severe spring noreasters to give us some of our soft structure back.

[Monty]

Won't have much water to read after the beach replenishment. The cuts and bars will be gone and it will be one long flat stretch of beach. Will take at least a year for things to come back. I don't wish anyone any harm but we really could use some severe spring noreasters to give us some of our soft structure back.

Used to be 5 or 6 rock piles visible in this pic.....
Frustrating.

[plugcrazy]

Used to be 5 or 6 rock piles visible in this pic.....
Frustrating.

I agree, reading the water is so different now because a lot of Jersey has a big sandbar or just flat beaches. There are some good inlets jetties but not many. A few drop offs in places where the structure is coming back but it really sucks overall.

[Monty]

I agree, reading the water is so different now because a lot of Jersey has a big sandbar or just flat beaches. There are some good inlets jetties but not many. A few drop offs in places where the structure is coming back but it really sucks overall.

Its disgusting, fished Jersey 1x this year if I remember correctly. LI has so much more to offer and a lot of it is about the same distance from my house in Jersey.

[finchaser]

Reading the water now is easy 1 large sand bar