Location, location, location. We’ve heard real estate brokers touting that to us for years. Property values vary according to the area of location. Well, the same might be said for fishing. As avid anglers, of course we want to be where the fish are. And, fish swim. They’re not always in the same place. Nowhere is this concept more vital than for us surfcasters. The nearshore environment is relatively fluid, moving all the time and in a constant state of remaking itself according to waves, swells, currents, and wind. Recognizing underwater structure in the surf zone is a key element for success at catching fish from the beach. Keeping track of these changes is fundamental to surfcasting. 

Equally important as the “where” we’re going to fish is the “when.” Surfperch and stripers seem to prefer lower light conditions, so dawn and dusk are naturally preferred times of day to hit the beach for a couple hundred casts or so. Even more important in our timing is the height of the tide. A familiar adage suggests “two hours before and two hours after high tide.” As a rule of thumb, this is useful advice to follow because the water is deepest through high tide. But depending on the particular beach and current structure, anglers sometimes find more success on a lower tide, which may serve to allow closer access to the deep holes and troughs just out of casting range when the tide is all the way up the beach.

An example: I fished one of my nearby in town” beaches last Saturday. The dog needed a run anyway so off we went. I worked the entire beach hard, casting to every little pocket and rip current I could find in between some pretty big set waves. Didn’t get one bite. On Sunday, our buddy Craig Pappas went to that exact same beach, with pretty much the exact same swell running. The difference was, I was there late in the afternoon on a super low tide, and he hit it perfectly on an outgoing high tide. It made all the difference in the world. 

Pappas recounted, “I had my personal best fishing session this afternoon. Caught 12 of which nine were in the 14-inch/2-pound range. Lessons were learned today. I fished a fast outgoing tide. All fish were caught in two to four feet of water. In the white water just in front of breaking waves and just behind the breaking waves. Sometimes very close in. All were on camo sandworms. Two and six inch GULP! sandworms, just sitting in the white water. Not retrieving. I kept moving down the beach as the tide changed. I kept three 14 inchers. They are going to an old friend of mine that loves perch but can’t fish the beach anymore. It was an awesome day!”