Fall run strategies: Six tips for success in the surf

Dawn and dusk

Even though dawn and dusk are probably the most heavily fished periods by surfcasters in our area, one period can be legitimately characterized as “prime time” while the other is more of the result of “free time” by anglers. Getting some exercise along with a few casts is a popular endeavor at dusk while getting up at 3 AM to catch that first glimpse of the rising sun takes some sacrifice. Forgoing sleep however is a much better choice than just stretching your legs after dinner as gamefish are much more active at dawn then they are at dusk. In fact, I find dusk to be extremely overrated when it comes to “the” time to hit the beach. Boat traffic, sun worshipers and swimmers all play a factor here; all things we don’t have to contend with at dawn. Water temperatures are also usually cooler than at dusk since the sun has been beating on the water all day.  Cooler morning temperatures make fish more active and aggressive. On many beaches you will find that action will carry over from dark, to false dawn and then even maybe an hour into daylight until fishing completely shuts off and the fish retreat into deeper water. So if you are debating as to which time to go, dawn or dusk, remember, the early bird gets the worm.

Night hold the key

The primarily reason for the fall months being highly anticipated by surfcasters is the bait migration that takes place during this time. Once the baitfish start exiting our bays, it’s only a matter of “where” and not “when” the gamefish will do their best to fill their bellies. Although it seems that most of the migration takes place during daylight hours, this doesn’t lend itself to the conclusion that night tides should be ignored. Quite the contrary, fishing in the dark is still your best bet for consistency. This is especially true if you are looking to tangle with a large specimen. The fact that bluefish often seem to disappear once the sun sets, is another benefit to fishing the night tides. These aggressive predators can make it almost impossible to cull out a bass when they are in a feeding frenzy. You will often find massive quantities of baitfish staged in the inlets or in the backbay areas.  This is where I like to concentrate my efforts. Abundance of bait and strong currents that are often featured in these locations create many ambush opportunities for hungry stripers. Deep water drop offs, jetties and other structure feature rips as they create an impediment to the water flow. Forgo top water offerings in favor of lures that will get down deep like bucktails and sub-surface metal lips. Pack a few darters and needlefish to probe the mid-water column and you should be all set. Sand beaches that border the inlets on the west side can also be dynamite places to wet a line at night especially during ebbing current. If baitfish can be found in the inlet they will generally be present on these westward beaches too .I like needlefish and top water metal lips if there is nice rolling white water present and darters if the water is calmer. The beaches that are too far from the inlets to benefit from the strong current flow usually lack the structure to hold large amount of bait and are best fished with fresh chunks of bunker instead of lures.

Watch the weather

There are two things that will influence migration patterns more than any other: weather and tides. Although rising and falling water tides can be predicted with certainty far into the future, weather cannot. However it can be anticipated based on forecasts by local weathermen. That’s why those who are intently in tune with weather systems hundreds of miles away in the Ohio valley can anticipate a bite before it ever happens. As with anything in life, there are no guaranties of events that will take place in the future but we do have the benefit of historical occurrences in order to guide us into the future. Passing cold fronts have an effect on water temperature inside the bay, making them drop overnight and signaling baitfish that their departure time has arrived. In the beginning of the fall season, this might only result in a trickle of bait leaving the inlet. However be assured that each subsequent cold front will push more and more bait westward along our beaches. The first day after the cold front has engulfed our area is usually the prime time to park yourself at a local beach, preferably at dawn, on outgoing water, with lots of bait coming out and 50 pound bass rolling around your ankles. Ok, ok, so I am dreaming a little but if you wait for temperatures to “rebound” in few days as they usually do you might find that baitfish and gamefish have adjusted to the new water temperatures and you missed one of the most productive days of the fall.

Tides

If I had to pick one tide period when I am most confident that I will find feeding fish in the fall it would be the last half of the outgoing tide. Many surfcasters are literally “scared” of fishing low water as they feel the beaches are “too shallow” during this tide period for fish to come inshore and feed. Quite the contrary! First of all, most of the baitfish exit our bays during periods of ebb current using the natural flow of water passing out of the inlet. At the higher stage of the outgoing there are many places baitfish can take cover but as the water levels drop they must congregate in less and less water. Half way through the tide, instead of being dispersed throughout the water column, they start to be concentrated in smaller areas. This occurrence consequently is just peachy with our striped friends as they tend to hoard the bait and slash through them instead of chasing them up and down the beach. Some stripers will often position themselves ahead of the school preventing them from escaping while the rest of the school will take turns slashing through the schools of bait. Obviously for this to happen the bait has to be concentrated, something that rarely happens on high water. So this fall give the bottom of the tide a shot.

Go under the surface with metal lips

I find enticing stripers, especially larger ones, to rise from the bottom and attack top water wobbling metal lip swimmers to be the most exciting display of predatory behavior in the surf. Seeing a striper’s broad shoulders rise behind the plug, its dorsal fin slashing through the water like a razor blade while its broad tail propels it through the water is stunning in every sense. The surface thrashing these magnificent sea creatures often put on as they try to head for the bottom with your metal lip in their mouth is just icing on the cake. As exciting as this might be, I find that top water metal lip swimmers are most productive when used in the white water that is left as the result of a cresting wave. Unfortunately in the fall we will get our share of north winds which generally flatten the surf. Under these conditions on the open beaches I find top water swimmers to be poor producers and I’ll often leave them behind and pack my bag with sub-surface metal lip swimmers. After making my first cast, I take the plug out of the water and modify it to swim at the desired depth. This is accomplished by bending the eye (not the lip) of the plug “up” if you want your plug to dive or bending it “down” if you want your plug closer to the surface. These lures tend to wobble tantalizingly slow under the surface on a slow retrieve, a motion I find very productive when gamefish are dispersed and they are not feeding aggressively. When fishing jetties or other structures within an inlet where fast currents are abundant and the water depth is usually greater than on the open beaches, I’ll bend the eyes all the way up in order for a plug to reach its maximum depth. Rips that form around jetty tips or other structures that create an impediment to the current flow are usually the most productive places to use these lures. Although heavy bucktails are “standard” in these places, I find that large metal lips will often cull the biggest fish of the night in these locales. In fact, because of their large profile and their slow retrieval rate through the rip. They will often be pounced on by big fish which might ignore a smaller, faster moving lure like a bucktail. Just don’t expect these cows to rise from deep inlet rips and crash your top water metal lip. If you want big cows you have to go “down” and get them. Standouts in this category include the late Danny Pinchey’s Conrad, Beachmaster’s Cowboys and junior swimmers, Tattoo’s deep diving swimmer and Gibbs’ Danny Deep Diver. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these fine lures.

Don’t procrastinate…anticipate!

The Internet might be a technological marvel but for many surfcasters this seemingly invaluable tool has become a hindrance to their success. “How can that be, you ask, when up to date reports are available with a few clicks of the mouse?” Well, the instant gratification that comes from knowing what is going on at any time has made many surfcasters (including yours truly on occasion) “report chasers” instead of “report makers.” Knowing where the fish are active today should be a starting point when making plans for tomorrow’s trip. Many people spin their wheels trying to cash in on “yesterdays” bite. I should know! I have fallen for it many times. One example I can share with you of my own incompetence is reacting to those pesky Montauk reports which these days are easily found on the net. When I read them, I become almost incapacitated with excitement even though I know I can’t bolt immediately and head out east. So I cry, growl and plead with my better half for a weekend trip. But Montauk blitzes have a funny way of playing with your heart. The first day is good, the second day is “lights out” and the third day is ok but much more confined to a specific location. The fourth day? That is the day when I show up and by then the action has died down and I have to suffer listening to the stories of how great it was yesterday. To add insult to injury, the fishing after the few days of blitzes is usually worse that it was before the blitzes began. So I not only annoyed my wife, passed on the overtime at work and burned through a whole tank of gas but now I have to listen to others brag about how many fish they caught while they show me their bass thumbs as proof. Not fun! At least Montauk’s structure holds blitzing fish for a few days while the south shore bite usually is much shorter in duration, often confined to a tide or two before the fish move on to the west. I would suggest that you don’t bother fishing yesterday’s “hot spots” but instead slide westward in hopes of intercepting these same fish at another location. Why westward? Because the fall migration takes a route towards the west, starting at Montauk Point and ending up at Breezy Point before they take a turn towards Sandy Hook . You will rarely find a blitz condition east of yesterday’s spot unless another body of fish moves in from the ocean rips onto the beach. Another piece of advice when it comes to assessing the current situation you might find yourself in is not to wait for fish to “show.” In the past I spent too many tides waiting, hoping that fish would show up. I would extend my trip because “maybe something will happen on the tide change, or a wind shift, etc.” Trust me, it rarely ever does. These days I am confident that in about half an hour I can determine if a particular beach is worth sticking around on. If not, I will move to another location. I look for clues like birds that are nervously circling, baitfish breaking the water, shapes of fish in a rising wave or dorsal fins cruising through the foam. If I don’t see any of these signs, I still might stick around but only if I observe large baitfish present in the surf, even if they are unmolested by predators. Find the food and you will find at least a few fish on it. They might not feed aggressively at first but generally they get bolder and more active as they are joined by their siblings. Regardless whether you like to search for signs of life by hitting multiple beaches or you are just content to sit on a school of baitfish until they are discovered by predators, either approach is better than chasing yesterday’s reports. Remember, you can’t catch fish that have already been caught.