august fishing: surf fishing tips from the pros
I got this from the fisherman, hope it is ok to post it here.
Surf Fishing Tips from the Pros:
Bill Wetzel
How does a young kid who caught his first perch with a bobber tied onto his baseball bat in Ohio and who spent his formative years chasing catfish become one of the premier surfcasters on the East Coast? If you know Bill Wetzel, you also know it?€™s because of sheer perseverance. Fondly nicknamed "Bucktail Bill",he is one of the most popular and sought after speakers on the local seminar circuit. Considered one of the best anglers in our area, Bill has been a New York State Licensed Surf Fishing guide for the past 8 years and his infectious passion for striped bass often rubs onto his customers, making them striper addicts for life. He is also an owner of longislandsurfishing.com website, on which he frequently shares his knowledge and comments on current fishing conditions and the best techniques for success.
You have a love affair with August while most anglers despise it. . Why?
Simple fact, bait migration. Think about what happens in August. Spearing have grown to a few inches and come into the surf. What comes to fest on spearing? Snappers. Not only that but in Montauk in particular, I've seen white bait, juvenile weakfish, mullet, snappers, all kinds of different bait and sometimes all in the same area. Montauk boats in July take enormous amount of large bass from rips. These are resident fish gorging on resident bait, porgies and such and holding in deep rips. Right after a new or full moon in August, whichever comes first, it's like somebody flipped a light switch on. These large resident fish start to come into the surf line and feed on this abundant baitfish.
The key is finding what tides they are going to feed on and obviously, where. It's not like the fall when you say, "Ok two hours on the outgoing on the north side". It doesn't work like that. You need to do your homework. Since I am a guide and I pride myself on knowing the waters I take people to fish in I will go in July and walk around the whole south side of Montauk and see how the structure has set up. Where are the deep holes, how does water move around the points and try to pinpoint the areas I think might be promising. Then I will fish them in July to get a better feel for them and only then will I be ready for August. North side stays pretty much the same every year but the south side is always changing.
You have the bluffs constantly eroding and you just never know from year to year how much change the area has undergone.
I gather you like Montauk in August, huh?
Oh, yes. I have had some great success there in August in years past. I believe 1996 was one of the best years with snappers and bait up to the wazoo, all on the south side. I would go there specifically to fish last two hours of outgoing and the first two hours of incoming. I had four fish over 40lb with numerous 20's and 30's. Almost every night I was getting a few large fish, 20lb and up in 4 hours. Which is how August is, a slow pick but with quality fish.
You are getting way too excited about this; I might need to hose you down. What about those hi water temperatures and swimming crowds?
That's a lot of bull. August fishing is great on the east end. There is nobody out there, bait up to ying-yang, what's not to like? Even on the north shore, the snappers are everywhere chasing down spearing and let's not forget peanut bunker too. I have seen schools of bass push bait around at night and these are not your schoolie variety of fish either because they are pushing large bait around. It's a mix of sizes but some nice fish mixed in. I don't buy the myth that there are no large bass in August.
Is the action skewed towards daytime or nighttime?
Best fishing is in the dead of night. It's not dusk, it's not a dawn bite, it is strictly a night thing.
Once that sun peaks over the horizon, pack your bags because it's over.
You mention "North Shore"?
Tell us a little about that because I know once you get your head into Montauk I will lose you
I fish the open sound beaches. Some years I do go in the back and fish the drains even though consensus opinion is that the water is too warm. What they don't tell you is there is also a ton of bait in those areas. These are generally smaller fish, for larger ones you got to fish the sound beaches. Look for a deep whole with close proximity to the beach. The fascinating thing about August is that once the fish set up shop they are there every single night. Its total pattern fishing, you can almost set your clock to the time they will be present in a particular area.
What are you throwing there?
I like to use big Bombers, the one ounce, 7 inch version or large Redfins. I don't bother with teasers since there is a lot of large bait around. Since I grew up in Bayville I usually spend a lot of my time there since I am very familiar with the area, but I also frequent Sunken Meadow State Park and the area around the Nissequoge River .
All of these areas can be very productive in August but nowhere near the quality of the fish in Montauk
Here we go again with Montauk!!
Ok, since you insist, tell us about Montauk in August.
I like to fish the edges of the points on the south side, were points meet the cove, preferably that feature a good rip. I am looking for deeper water within the structure. If I am out there with a charter I will fan cast the needlefish to see if the fish are there? The bigger fish don't usually go for fast moving plugs so if I am hitting a small fish I know that the bait is there. Then I'll break out live eels. Sometimes if I find bait in the area I will stick around for a few hours even if I am not getting fish right away hoping the bait will attract the fish. In this case I will move around the points or cove looking for depressions or rips in which fish might be holding. It's not "easy" fishing because I am looking for one or two big fish, not a bunch of small ones.
The faster moving lures like pencil poppers and bucktails work better at dawn but again, once that sun peaks over the horizon, it's over. Some years you get a lot off rain that dirties the water on the south side. In addition to that, August is in the middle of hurricane season so you might get a heave that persists for days. Last year's storms were pretty bad towards the end of August and I had to cancel all my charters at the month's end. I had scheduled them in the hopes of putting my clients on some large fish. Between heave and rain the south side was filthy for days at the time. Another problem is that the heaves blows out bait. If the bait abandons the area, you are screwed.
Give us an example of how your mind works:
Let's say I want to fish one of many points on the south side. I'll fish the last two hours of the outgoing and two first hours of incoming. This is the time I can get out onto those lead rocks and work the deep edges on the sides. Other times, if I am fishing the cove that I think has a deep hole I might fish the top of the tide out. The key is establishing were the fish are at what stage of the tide and this kind of knowledge is not something you can overhear at a party, you have to go hunting yourself.
How does weather influence your planning?
I want stable weather. No hurricanes, the least amount of rain possible, basically typical august weather. The least amount of wind possible and no big water. Everything opposite of what I want in the fall. I am pretty confident that after the first august moon, be that full or new I will be able to find a pattern. This means finding the bait fish and most importantly, what stage of the tide are they feeding, as this changes from year to year. However, if you get a heave for a few days this pattern is usually blown as the bait is displaced and now you have to start all over. But that's the fun of it too.
One thing I noticed over the years. In September, either after the moon or a first big heave you'll get the white bait moving in and usually you will get massive quantities of 8 to 12 pound fish on them. Typical Montauk September blitz fishing. Even at night you are getting slightly bigger fish, maybe to 20 pounds.
What happened to those resident large fish there were in the surf and in the rips in August? I don't know how accurate my theory is but I believe those large cows start an early migration because of the competition for food from these teen size bass. That means you're only shot at these fish is in during August.
Tell us about the plugs you are using?
1. I like the same thing I use on the north shore, big Bombers, big Redfins, both in black over silver. You want to imitate the snappers.
2. Darters are not bad either, especially if there is juvenile weakfish in the surf in which case, yellow darters can be deadly.
3. The thing with darters is, you need the "right" water, faster the better and if the fish are feeding on the stage of the tide when water is not running hard I'll opt for the swimming plugs I mentioned before.
4. I like to keep my retrieve very slow because I think big fish are not fond of chasing baitfish around. The only time I will speed up my retrieve is on full moon nights, dawn and if I use bucktails. You got to keep them out of the rocks, hence a faster retrieve. But again, if I am throwing bucktails, it's usually because of big water and I don't want big water in August.
5. Then of course, there are live eels. I would say I use them even more then plugs during August in Montauk.
You rig them any particular way?
Not really. Standard way with about three-foot leader and a swivel on one end and a live bait hook on the other. I don't use Gamakatsu Octopus hooks, but Mustad tuna 8/0 hooks simply because the barb is bigger. The Octopus hooks are sharp but the barb is too small for eel fishing as you lose a lot of eels, simply because they manage to squirm off the hook.
Some guys have told me to hook them thru the lower jaw and out thru the top of the head. I tried it but the problem with that is you kill the eel much faster. I want lively eels not half dead after 10 minutes of casting.
Do you downscale your tackle in August?
Downscale? Heck, no, upscale if anything. Remember I am fishing for big fish in an extremely inhospitable territory with boulders, mussel beds and fast currents. On the North shore I might go with nine footer but out east I use only Lamiglas 1321M with a VS 300 spooled with 50lb test Power Pro.
When I fish only live eels I like to go to the "old school" approach sometimes and use mono. I feel when bass hits Power Pro and feel it; they have a tendency to drop an eel. Although I like the feel of mono when eeling it has one huge disadvantage, abrasion resistance. When you get a good fish, the first thing it will try is to head for a boulder. Power pro holds up fairly well under these conditions but a 20lb mono gets shredded pretty fast.
You made a believer out of me. Any closing thoughts?
August is a big fish month. It's been my best big fish month every single year and it?€™s been that way ever since I started fishing Montauk.
** Fish hard, fish insane hours and forget dusk. Actually, forget the dawn too. Once the sun is ready to peak over the horizon, it's like a light switch goes off.
** Even if you are picking on the fish the whole night I can guaranty you that it will cease at dawn. It's a hard month to fish but that's why I like it. Another plus is that there is no one fishing, figuring it's too hard to find fish.
That is true but if you find a pattern you can have the best fishing of the year, all to yourself. Last thing I would mention, in the fall we say, "Don't leave small fish to find bigger fish".
Well, in August I would say, "Don't leave the bait"?. If you find the bait work the area for the whole tide because fish will be there. It's frustrating as hell to cast at nothing for long periods of time but trust me, if there is a concentration of the bait in the area and you like the structure you are working, stick around.
I often can't do this because I am with a customer, I would like to put him onto the fish as soon as possible instead of seeing him get frustrated but if I am alone you can bet I will stay in the area until I have an idea at what stage of the tide the fish feeding.
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Originally Posted by rockhopper
