How do you fly fish the surf?

[CoachBob]

I have fished saltwater from a variety of locations, but not the surf.
The surf most available to me is Florida east coast, generally clear waters on a gentle slope with small rollers.
Wading (swimming) or looking from the piers I rarely see predators attacking bait fish in the shallows.
Without wading to my armpits, casting beyond the rollers is not very feasible.
So...
What's the trick? Shooting heads? Spey rods? Should I just expect there to be fish under the rollers?
Honestly, I haven't tried it because it seems like wasted effort. I never see anyone else trying.
But...
There are plenty of stories about fishing the surf -- none of which explain how it's done. (Thanks a lot.) If I knew how I'd probably get addicted.
Howz it done?

[dudley]

I fish the surf a lot here in New England, both deep and shallow beaches.
In both cases you need to work with the waves and current rather than against them

On a deep beach, the game fish will search for bait in the trough between a sandbar and the beach,...basically right at your feet.
Water from breaking waves needs somewhere to go so there is often a "longshore" current that runs parallel to the shore, often for some distance before there is a break in the bar structure that allows the water to escape
Baitfish, confused by the breaking waves get trapped in the current and gamefish will ambush them at convenient structure or cruise and pick them off.
Being able to "read" the beach is jut as important a skill as being able to read a trout stream. Being able to keep in touch with your fly is also extremely important

In our area, shallow beaches are often best fished in low light and most often with a floating line.
Most of the time waves travel at somewhat of an angle to the shoreline.
Wading out to a point where you cast cast parallel to the wave direction will give the best presentation.
Make your retrieval at a speed that will keep your line in the trough between waves, so it does not ride up, causing slack
Look for structure such as "points" and "bowls" no matter how slight
These areas can hold bait.

You could write a whole book about this stuff, but the best way to learn is to just go out and do it.
Read the water, watch the bait.... the fish already know their part

[Thunderthumbs]

The easiest place to start, if you were to ask me, would be around any sort of underwater structure, rocks, jetties, pilings, anything really. Structure holds baitfish, which in turn brings in gamefish at certain times of the day. Structure will often hold gamefish as well, so if you're blind fishing, I'd start with fishing around any sort of structure there is.

Sight fishing is another way to go. You can walk the beach looking for "nervous" water, or water that has fish chasing baitfish into the shore. Look for the birds, if they are crashing baitfish near the shore, there is almost surely some type of gamefish schooling them up. I would highly suggest using a stripping basket when surf fishing, especially if the surf is up even just a little. It just makes life much easier.

When sight fishing you can cast directly to the fish that you are seeing along the beach. It's pretty amazing at all the life that's there. On my trip to FL a few months ago I saw snook, sheepshead, blue runners, and ladyfish all along the beach not 10 feet from the shore.

It really is a ton of fun, and if a landlubber like myself can find a way to get into them, well, you should have no problem getting addicted.

Good luck,
TT.

P.S. A blue over white, lightly weighted clouser with just a few strands of crystal flash was my most productive fly. Chartruese did very well too.

[spoonser]

my favorite topic!!

Its not always the most productive place to fish, but it can be the most exciting. I fly fish the surf on Florida's East Coast as well. I'll be honest, though I am fairly new at fly-rodding, but have been light tackle casting on our local beaches for some time. So I am perfecting my fly-rodding technique in this setting.

In my area, tide is really important. Low tide, the beginning of the flood, or the end of the ebb don't seem to be all that productive. High tide, the end of the flood or the beginning of the ebb seem to be better. It depends on the beach, but the important message here is that you need water on top of the trough. There is a little drop-off on most east coast beaches instead of the gradual slope you find a lot of other places. Baitfish and predators gather here.

Time of day is really really important. Don't even bother going after 9 or 10 in the morning (first light is best) or before 5 or 6 at night (dusk is best) unless you really just want to go to the beach and work on your casting. besides, its the beach and you just never know what will show up.

It's tough when the waves are big, even tougher when the wind is blowing Southeast (really common) and across your casting side (if you're right-handed). Luckily, summer brings calmer water and calmer winds- so check the weather and pick your days.

Ok- now here's what I've learned- the most strikes, far and away, occur very close to the water's edge. This is particularly true for snook- I have had snook strike flies and lures as I was lifting them out of the water right at my feet. So I tend to spread my casts out in a fan around me, but be sure to put your fly down close the beach as often as you cast directly out.

Waves will come in sets, so you want to have your line in the air and shooting after the last wave of a set, so you can make as many strips as possible before the next wave. You will also be rewarded for the ability to cast with minimal amount of false casting. You will find it handy to be able to pick up your line, make one false cast while a wave comes in and then be able to lay your line down at will after the wave.....wave after wave.

Birds are your best friend. If you see birds (particulary the little terns) start casting. If you see no birds, start walking.

As for flies- I am still experimenting but this time of year (summer) there are a lot of small baitfish in the area so small, translucent flies seem to be working well for spanish, jacks, and runners.

Good luck!!!

[peregrines]

CoachBob

You?ve gotten good advice so far. Anything can happen at anytime along a beach, but to up your chances, low light, moving water, and structure are the key elements. Polarized sunglasses are a must to spot fish. Look for structure at low tide like holes, cuts and points that might help to funnel baitfish and serve as routes of travel for larger fish. On a gently sloping beach, minor differences in depth can make a big difference , so plan on moving a bit when you work on your casting. Usually while ?blind casting? (no fish in sight), I?ll fan cast once to the right, out front, to the left, then move 20 feet to the side, repeat etc. to cover a big section of beach.

Google Earth satellite shots can also give some idea of structure or new spots to try by highlighting flats or holes off from the beach. As you become familiar with your gear you may want to give nighttime a try too, especially on new and full moons when tidal forces are strongest. Often fish will move in very close to the beach and cruise the shore under cover of darkness, and there are all kinds of things, from worms to crabs to baitfish, that spawn on the new or full moon that can bring on feeding binges.

Inlets have a lot of current and structure, and would be a great place to start. The down current beach from an inlet can often be especially good on a falling tide, as well as the inlet itself on both incoming and outgoing. And don?t overlook backside waterways too--- there?s always an excellent chance of picking up something. By knowing the area you are in, and tide differences between different areas, you should be able to come up with a lot of different options to fish, whenever you get the chance. Just put your time in, and plan on covering a lot of different spots. Keep a log, and jot down date, conditions, weather, time of day, current, moon phase, presence or absence of bait etc and after a while you?ll start to see patterns.

A stripping basket is very handy to control line and keep off the water, and off the sand and coral, and allows you to get a lot more distance. I just use a Rubbermaid dishpan and shock cords.

As far as flies, some 1/0 or 2/0 clousers, bendbacks, and deceivers and maybe a few size 1 crab patterns should get you off to a good start.

A regular weight forward floater would be the way to go for a shallow beach--- just watch your 6 o'clock for tourists and bikinis. Shooting heads have their place, but they are more difficult to learn to cast (timing is more critical) and they are more difficult to mend and pick up and recast--- as well as more apt to cut wet fingers. And I think you'll find a 9' rod-- (9 wt would be my choice) more versatile than a spey road, especially if there is any chance you'll be fishing from a boat.

Good luck!

Peregrines

[saltydancindave]

"The Legend" has an article in this weeks Waterline : Beach Snook On Fly, A few hours on the beach with a fly rod ( for the Gulf Coast of Florida ) http://www.boatingandfishing.com

[Rocketfish]

From the nearest dock...

Rocketfish

[rollcast]

I was just getting ready to search for this very topic when I saw this thread!! great tips guys!! Anybody try this in the Outer Banks of N.C.? Specifically, the Emerald Isle area?