The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of where to find
game fish in the relative vastness of the ocean and its
surrounding waters and to explain the importance of tides to any
saltwater fishing. The ocean is a huge area with much of the
water void of fish. Where are the fish and why? Read on.
Tides:
What is tide and current? Tide is the vertical movement of water.
Current is the horizontal movement of water. In a 24-hour period
there are 2 high and 2 low tides. When the tide is rising, it's
known as flooding. When the tide is falling, it's known as ebbing.
When there is no horizontal or vertical movement of water, the
tide is slack.
What creates or causes them? It's the gravitational pull between
the sun and moon on the earth's atmosphere. This creates tides
and currents. Because the moon is closer than the sun, it has
more of an effect on our tides. Therefore, we have to pay special
attention to the different phases of the moon.
Full/ New moons create spring tides that mean higher high tides,
lower low tides and faster currents. Opposite moon phase's mean lower
high tides, higher low tides and slower currents. These exaggerated full and new moons
normally create better fishing conditions.
Why are tides and currents so important to understand? Bottom
line- Fish are easier to catch when they are feeding and it's the
tide and currents that dictate this. This means the tide and
current will concentrate the bait and movement of water will
initiate, stimulate feeding activity. As water begins to move,
smaller baits are at the mercy of the current and get confused in
the turbulent water. Larger game fish have an advantage
because they are equipped to feed in this turbulent water. As
such, moving water is often best for fishing.
I highly recommend a tide log book for anyone interested in
understanding tides and currents more thoroughly for your area.
This book is my bible. It's what I use to plan each and every day
by.
Let's take tides and currents a step further. The fastest part of
either tide is normally 2 hours before the high and 2 hours before
the low. Normally, most areas fish the best during this time
period, but not all. The fastest of either is the dropping; normally
this is the better of the 2. As water begins to push in or out, it
starts out moving slowly, then gradually increases in speed until
reaching a crescendo. During this crescendo the fish normally eat
voraciously. Taking very little time to inspect their next meal for
scent and realism. This is similar to trout feeding in the fast
water. These tides can almost be too easy.
I'm not embarrassed to say that after fly guiding in Vermont for
trout for 12 years I was intimidated by the saltwater environment
at first. Where are the fish and why? How? After reading Ken Abrames'
Striper Moon and Inshore Saltwater Fly-Fishing
by Lou Tabory, I realized the similarities between the too and found my
skepticism less warranted. With fly-fishing the main ingredients
are basically the same.
Presentation:
Casting: Same as fresh, but throw in the double haul for good
measure and easier casting! Mostly we are stripping streamers
through the water.
Instead of entomology it's baitology:
Much easier to understand than 1000 types of caddis, stones,
mayflies, etcà in my opinion. Matching the hatch? Try 3 profiles
in thin, medium and wide. A few specialty flies (surface flies,
squid, crabs and shrimp). Bright colors in the spring and more
natural colors in the later part of the summer. Simple.
Habitat:
Several basic types- Beaches, Flats, Marsh, Estuaries, Rock
Structures, Jetties, Bays and Rips. Once you've learned the basic
ingredients, its as simple as saying "Fish On."
Let's discuss tides, currents and its relationship to structure, so
we can all catch more fish. When water is moving and coming in
contact with rocks, points of land, holes, islands, jetties, rises in
the bottom, channels. There is a natural tendency for the water
to speed up. It has to compress or concentrate its flow (speed
up) to get over, around or into a piece of structure. Similar to a
trout stream. This increased water flow or speed draws the
attention of predators. We all know if a predator has to expel
more energy to get food than what it takes in, it will surely die.
These predators normally use this structure to hide behind (like
trout) and allow the currents to bring their food to them. Bait fish
are at a disadvantage as they are unable to swim away or
navigate easily with these faster currents, sometimes being
tumbled. These areas are one of the easiest places to catch'em.
BIG bass are easiest to catch when they are feeding actively.
What initiates this? Most of the time its speed of current moving
the bait over, around or into structure. The faster the current
the more aggressively they will feed and the easier they are to
catch! During the course of a day most flats will have fish on
them, but I try to only fish the ones that have moving water.
This equation works ninety percent of the time:
Moving water + structure = a compressed water flow.
Compressed (concentrated) water flow + bait = fish.
Take some time and study current movement. Seek out moving
water and you will be rewarded.
The only time this equation will not work is if there has been a
strong wind for several days that will blow the bait out. Water
temps. are too cold or warm. (55-65 deg. best - like trout) or too
much noise created by anglers or boats.
The following areas are all ideal locations to find your quarry.
The best way (for the most part) to learn and understand these
area's is to look at them at low tide.
Rips:
One of the easiest pieces of structure to catch'em. Rips are
formed by bars of sand or rock that rise up to below the surface,
combined with current. Points of land also create them. Severe
changes in depth with tide and current create turbulent water.
The increase in water flow as it moves over or around this
structure is a main stay in consistent hook-ups. Bait is swept
over structure as the water flow is concentrated. This leaves bait
confused, unable to swim against this faster current. It leaves
them easy prey. Rips occur when tide is coming in or out and can
be found in any type of habitat. Fish really key in on these and
make them a regular stop in search for a meal. Normally casting
across the rip line and retrieving your fly as it cross's into deeper
water will work. This imitates the natural bait being swept over
the rip. Sometimes letting your fly swing and go deeper into the
water will also produce great results. The speed and depth of
water would determine the type of fly line you would use.
Marshes and estuaries:
A marsh system is a relatively flat, low-lying portion of the
coastline. Hidden behind beaches and harbors. These marsh
systems tend to have a lot of water movement and tidal flow.
Mud bottoms warm up the quickest and are the very first place
we find them in the spring. Starting on the South side of Cape
Cod moving east. We talk about marsh systems in regards to
fishing because they are very rich in food and nutrients. These
areas are a nursery ground for many saltwater species including
plankton, shellfish, chubs, grass shrimp, crabs, sand lances, silver
sides, herring, cinder worms etc. As such, game fish love these
areas and are an ideal habitat for Bass and Blues looking for an
easy meal.
Normally as the water heats up as the summer progress's they
will move out and into area's that have a cold water influence.
Fish can be found in a marsh almost all the time, depending on its
size. Many times fishing high up in the system at high tide and
working your way down on the drop will keep you in the general
area that the fish are traveling. Fish near the mouth at low tide
and work up with the incoming. If your marsh system is smaller in
nature than most fish will leave on the drop and hold in an area
with deep water accessible. Most likely at the mouth or just
outside it. Normally you will have current flowing out of the marsh
at this time and the fish will be feeding on the bait that is swept
out. This would be a prime area to fish. If your marsh is large
then look for them to hold and feed within this area. They will
have plenty of deep water and feel safe to remain in the system
to feed the entire tide.
When the water is moving the fish are feeding. Marsh systems
can be very long and meander endlessly, like a freshwater
stream. So, how do we locate fish? What do we look for? Well,
the key words are structure. Structure can be anything that
helps shelter fish or bait. It could be rocks, deep holes, rips,
ledges, channels, undercut banks, logs, depressions, sand bars or
the channel itself. Fish it like a river. Looking at your favorite
marsh at low tide and it will open up all of its secrets.
Normal fly lines to be used would be determined by speed and
depth of water.
Rock Structures and Jetties:
Jetties are normally located at the entrance to harbors, marsh
systems or along the coast to try and protect it. Jetties and
other rock structures (rocky coastline) are home too many bait
fish. They feel safe and comfortable being able to blend in with
the surrounding structure. Our quarry understands this and keys
in on this type of habitat for that and other reasons.
At low tide, does your beach have many rocks exposed? If so,
then this could be a prime area to fish at the high. It will have
bait fish and predators mixed within all of the rocks that are now
covered. Throw in waves crashing over the rocks, tumbling the
bait and this makes them an easy target for predators.
When on a jetty, try fanning your casts. Work close to the jetty
then further out. If your at the tip of the jetty (12 o'clock) look
for water being swept (concentrated) around the tip of it. The
fish will always be at the 1 o'clock position if the current is
sweeping the bait in the current from left to right. This would be
another form of a rip. The jetty forms a point and the current
from the shoreline to the tip of the jetty is being compressed
around the tip. The bait gets swept along for the ride and the
predators will be waiting for an easy meal.
Flats:
A large expanse of shallows, consisting of mud, eelgrass or sand.
It's high noon, blue-bird sky, light colored sand, incoming tide,
cool breeze blow-in', standing in 2-3 feet of crystal clear water in
June, July and August. Girls in grass skirts surround you (just
kidding). Sound like the Caribbean?
Here on the Cape, we have miles and miles of light colored sand
flats and crystal clear water that makes sight casting to 5-25
pound stripers the order of the day. This is probably the most
exciting type of fly-fishing you will ever do. They're cruising the
flats eating crabs, shrimp, silversides and sand lances, and just
waiting for your perfectly cast fly. Sometimes you need to burn
up the water with a fast retrieve and at other times using a dead
drift with the current is all that is needed. All methods will require
distance, speed and accuracy in your casting skills.
You have some of the finest destination flats fishing in the world
right here on Cape Cod. Seeing 100s or more fish in a tide is the
norm. Test your skills to help you along the path to hooking up in
paradise.
Stripers and blues come to this area in search of food. As the
sand flat becomes covered with water the bait fish move up onto
the flat through troughs, sluice ways and channels to escape the
predators. Approximately 2 hours before the high the predators
come up onto the flat following these same troughs (like roads) in
search of food. This would be a good place to stand and sight
cast to them.
Sun and no wind make for optimal sight fishing conditions as they
cruise the flat. At high tide many times you will find them in 6
inch's of water tight to the shore, again, this is were there next
meal is hiding. So this would be an additional area to prospect
during that stage of the tide.
As the water starts to recede, the larger fish will leave that area
and depart off the flat using similar channels and sluiceways that
they came up on. This is another prime spot to fish. Normally
they will hold, waiting in ambush in the deeper water for the bait
fish to get flushed off the flat. My next move would be to stand
close to the edge of the flat and cast my fly into the creek that
is flowing off the flat. I'd allow my fly to swing and sink, imitating
a bait fish being washed off the flat.
This is one of many basic feeding patterns that never changes
and consistently repeats itself, tide after tide.
Beaches:
Beaches are one of the most difficult areas's to understand and
read. Mother Nature's signature clues can sometimes be very
subtle and a keen eye and knowledge of what to look for is
imperative to being a proficient reader of where the fish are at
and why.
What to look for? Converging currents, slope of beach, tidal
flow, wash, waves, sand bars, ocean holes, dips, slots, troughs, spill zones, wind
direction, points, channels from bays, rip's, rocks and coves.
These are areas that all hold fish. The best way to learn a beach
is to first look at it at low tide.
Slope of beach: A gradual sloping beach is probably a better beach to take the
kids to then to fish. Normally if the slope of the beach is steep
then it continues at that angle subsurface. These are preferred
areas to fish due to its depth and fish holding capabilities.
Wash: The wash is the area where the wave crash's onto the beach and
where the water receding off the beach meets. This white water
turbulence is often at your feet and often over looked as a fish
holding habitat. Fish can and do feed in this turbulent area where
the bait is being tumbled and confused, making it an easy target
for a predator.
Sand Bars:
These come in many shapes and sizes and normally how the
current, wave action relate to the bar is the key ingredient to
understand where the fish will be holding.
If you see a point off a beach it will normally continue out under
the surface. Combine a current on the dropping or incoming tide
moving across it and you could very will have a rip. Look for most
fish to be feeding on the down tide side.
If a sand bar were 50 feet off the shore running parallel to it with
waves crashing over it then I would look for the fish to be holding
between the beach and the bar. They will feed on the bait as it's
picked up by the wave and tossed over the bar. Casting into the
wave as it's ready to break and allowing the wave to crash on
your fly, then imparting a darty action will often result in a strike.
There will be times where you will be able to stand on these bars
and cast your fly perpendicular to the wave/current direction and
allow your fly to flow over the bar and into the deeper water.
Imparting action to your fly or simply letting it dead drift will often
result in a strike.
Channels from a Bay or Estuary:
These areas are a magnet for fish. All Bays, estuaries hold bait
fish. At sometime these bait fish will leave these areas or be
sucked out by the tidal current. These channels are prime feeding
lies for cruising, migrating, resident Bass and Blues. On a dropping
tide the current through these channels is often extremely fast,
providing a predator an easy meal. They may set up like a trout
on a seam, behind a bar (rip) or maybe in a multitude of different
sand hole's on the bottom created by this incredibly fast
concentrated current. Often sight fishing to these fish is almost
comical as you can pick out the fish you want to catch. It's just
like swinging a streamer for trout. With this increased flow of
water they do not have the time to study or inspect your fly for
realism and are often much more opportunistic feeders, which we
always like.
Ocean Holes:
These are good fish holding locations due to the depth of water
they hold, making the fish feel comfortable within this habitat.
One of the easiest ways to find an Ocean hole is to put on a pair
of polarized sunglasses and look down the beach. Look for the
darkest water along the beach and you've just found a spot to
fish.
Waves:
A wave is made when it comes in contact with shallows. Often by
simply reading the swells and where the wave is breaking will help
you to decide where to fish. If a wave breaks on the shoreline
then I know I have deep water in front of me and would be a
good fishing location. If the waves start to build 200 feet out,
crest and break far from shore then I probably have a point of
sand or shallow water bar. If I have waves breaking out to my
right and left, but breaking at my feet in front of me, then I
probably have an ocean hole. This is where I would fish. Even if
you can not visually see sub-surface structure, by reading the
swells and breaks it will help you understand what you can not
see.
Reading Sand:
Holes, bars, dips, pockets normally indicate fast moving water. A
prime location to fish when the current is at it's optimum. Soft
sand equals shifting sand and in this area expect Sand Lances to
be present. They normally seek out this type of sand to hide in.
Throwing a Sand Lance pattern would be my first choice. Or the
real thing!
Bays: Bays are comprised of everything. Flats, bars, channels, rips,
marsh, beach, and rocks. Look for birds, darker deeper water,
structure, current and all of the above.
The best way to study these different habitats is to first start
out at low tide. Go for a walk on your favorite beach. Notice the
points, bars, holes and rocks. These are the areas to concentrate
on and could be loaded with fish later in the tide. A careful eye
and an understanding of these areas are all that is needed to
become a proficient angler.
Let's try to put it all together. As an angler, your goal is to
search out and study all the above mentioned habitats and there
relationship with moving water. Fish them (As Lou Tabory says,
T.O.W.) Find out when each piece of structure fishes at its
optimum. (Remember my equation?) Some fish they're best at
high, mid, low, incoming, outgoing, half in or half out. Other's on a
half or full moon, while sometimes your spots will fish best on
opposite fazes. Compile an assortment of spots, so you can do
what I do each day before heading out. Fish each spot when it is
at its optimum. Thus guaranteeing you the best chances for
hooking up! You will find with time the more spots you acquire,
the odds of fishing 24-7 all summer long increase. Also, you will
then be able to take wind into consideration. Casting on your
back cast is easy as spreading soft butter on a warm muffin when
you're experienced. But for the new angler it's an acquired skill.
So being able to fish, casting on your forward cast can
sometimes be a more pleasurable experience.
When I go fishing, I take all this and more into consideration
when deciding where to go. In my opinion, fly-fishing is one of
the most challenging and rewarding types of fishing you will ever
experience. But to achieve proficiency you need to have a clear
understanding of tides, currents and habitat you fish. Then you'll
soon be realizing the best part of fly-fishing - FISH ON!
May all your door knobs smell of grossly oversized striped bass!!!
~ Randy Jones
About Randy:
Randy Jones is a full-time professional fly/spin fishing guide with over
18 years of experience. He has represented the Orvis Corporation as a
guide and chief instructor of their 2 1/2 day Saltwater Fly fishing
schools. During the summer, Randy can be found guiding the Monomoy Island area
where sight casting on the flats to trophy Striped Bass is his
specialty. During the Fall, Winter, and Spring Randy runs drift boat and
wade trips on the world class Salmon River for Steelhead, Coho, Browns,
Atlantics, and Kings.
E-mail randysjones@earthlink.net
or visit his Web Site: http://www.yankeeangler.com/
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