South shore chunking:

“How does wind affect your success”

This article originally appeared in the Fisherman magazine

As I was ready to lob a chunk in the building surf this particular September night I felt the first droplets of rain on my face .The wind out of southeast was steadily increasing in velocity thru the day and the surf looked very promising with white water everywhere. I was a fishing the western south shore beach on the west side of the inlet and current was about to turn to ebb as the tide had already receded a bit. I heaved the chunk into a deep hole and looked around in amazement onto a deserted beach. Not one surfcaster around. Within minutes my line went slack as my sinker was rushing towards me, indication of a fish charging ahead with my bait in its mouth. Once I managed to catch up with the fish I set the hook hard, then one more time for good measure, making sure the hook had penetrated the tough jaw of a large fish. The fish stood for a second in shock and then turned on the afterburners, peeling the line off the reel as I just stood there in complete awe of its strength. After few tense minutes fish in the thirty-pound class was quickly weighted and released.

The action continued steadily for hours, thru the low tide until current has waned off. Each chunk was greeted readily by bass who were stacked up at the edge of the hole, letting the wind and current bring the bait to their mouths while they laid at the bottom of a the depression, in relative calm waters compared to their surrounding environment. The raindrops have turned into sheets of rain and I couldn’t help but wonder of how many guys have stayed home on this night, fearing “unfavorable” conditions.

 Although plugging is my first love I am well aware that fishing with bait has its time and place, especially if you are searching to tangle with a large specimen. Sandy beaches stretching from Montauk to Brooklyn have always produced their share of quality fish and this year I expect that to remain true as we already have heard of fish over 50lb landed from the surf this season. Ask any plugger about bait fishing and although he will immediately educate you on his preference to tangle with a cow on a plug, he will also readily admit that the advantage lies with those who present a chunk to the fish under “optimal conditions”. What does this “optimal conditions” mean?  Did you think you could just find a stretch of sand, cast your chunk and you’re in? Not so fast! There is a lot more to this then just heaving a chunk in the wash.

Just because you have all the “right” gear, freshest bait and time to spend countless hours on the beach does not guarantee you will walk away with a smile on your face and a cow over your shoulder. At any given time many factors influence our success. The presence of baitfish along the surf, beach structure, the moon phase or water conditions must all be taken into account.  But none is more influential with regards to our success rate than wind velocity and direction. Not to say that if you have the “right” wind you are guaranteed some good action. Not at all. Lack of baitfish along the surf will keep most gamefish on the other side of the outer bar and out of casting range and no wind will bring them into the surf to feed .If there are no baitfish in the area, what are the bass going to feed on?

During the fall months, baitfish migrate southward along the south shore beaches. Although some years are leaner than others and predictions are notoriously difficult to make in this sport, we can usually count on steady stream of baitfish that will exit the bays and move along the beaches in the fall, barring any hurricanes that will disturb the migration of the bait. Add to the equation the ever-present supply of clams, crabs and sand fleas in the surf coupled with the stripers’ need to fatten up before they reach their wintering grounds, and you have a recipe for good fall action. The missing ingredient that brings it all together, surfcasters, gamefish and their forage is wind .You might say as former Yankee great Reggie Jackson once did (he was talking about himself, of course) that  " wind is the straw that stirs the drink”. Before we delve into the specific wind directions and how they affect the action on the beaches that you fish, I would like to make one thing clear. You can and will catch fish under any wind condition even when using hooks too small, leaders too long or three day old rotting, and stinky bunker. But to be consistently successful and especially if you are targeting large fish, you must seek optimal conditions to cast your bait.

Southerly winds “          The winds of plenty”

 To understand why wind plays such a big role in surfcasting it’s important to understand the feeding habits of the fish we target. Striped bass are notorious for being opportunistic feeders and are constantly searching for conditions that will enable them to feed without expending a great deal of energy or effort. Although at times you will encounter bass in a feeding frenzy, these blitzes generally consist of smaller specimens and large amounts of baitfish in the wash. Under these conditions it is best to put your chunking rod away and grab a handful of poppers, bucktails or metal lips and cast into the melee till your arms grow weary.  As the majority of our beaches lack strong current flow, they must seek structure along the open beach in which they can conduct their raids on the baitfish. Primarily this means offshore sandbars and the troughs that form between the bar and the beach. The water is forced by the wind from the depths onto a shallow sandbar, it creates turbulence.  As the wind-driven waves start to tumble toward the beach, helpless baitfish are taken along for a ride. Bass and blues cruise these same rough waters effortlessly, needing only a single swipe of their broad tails to spring into the attack mode. Winds out of a southerly direction when blowing at moderate velocity, create rolling white water and give bass a sense of “cover” over their heads as they boldly enter shallow waters to feed in broad daylight.

Baitfish generally travels in tightly packed schools in the trough between an offshore sand bar and a beach. Knowing well the fate that awaits them on the other side of the sandbar where bass roam freely, the baitfish try to protect themselves by staying in shallow waters, schooled together. With this in mind the optimal spot to place your chunk is in the area of a cut or a breach in the sandbar. No sandbar runs for miles parallel to the beach without some cuts or breaks in its structure. These cuts are used by gamefish as entrance and exit points when they enter the trough in search of food and therefore these locations become the most productive places to fish. Besides the white water that bass love, winds out of southerly direction also help “push” the baitfish into shore as water and wind direction are coming from same direction impede the movement of the baitfish and keeps them pinned up close to the shoreline and within easy casting range. Although southerly winds are preferred while baitfishing they are not all created equal.

Pure south winds are easiest of all to fish in, they generally feature clean white water coming straight at the angler. Winds out of the SW are known for inspiring a good bite on south shore beaches as they create good wave action but if prolonged in duration they create a sweep from right to left and weed up beaches located between Jones inlet and Breezy Point with green, leafy weed.  On the other hand, Southeast wind coinciding with an outgoing tide can also result in some spectacular action, especially in areas west of the inlets. However, prolonged periods of these SE winds render beaches between Fire Island and Jones inlet unfishable for days at a time with massive amounts of eel grass present in the surf. Having said that, southeasterly winds can light up the beaches before the weed moves in so make sure you are on the beach to greet them in the first day or two. One location that often can be counted on to produce on a southeast wind is the “Pocket” at the jetty at West End 2 at Jones Beach . Wind creates a sweep from east to west pushing the bait toward the jetty and trapping them in the pocket where the sandy beach meets the base of the jetty.

Northerly winds “Feast or Famine”

Northerly winds are associated with a passing cold front and have a tremendous affect on fish behavior. The first good cold front or a nor’easter can signal to the fish that its time to go south and put them in the feeding mode. Many times, after the cold front passes, fish will throw caution to the wind and attack anything in sight, but if wind blows out of a northerly direction for a prolonged period of time, it usually has a chilling effect on the south shore surf. Not just literally speaking but figuratively too.

 North winds, especially out of the NW push, the bait and gamefish off the beach and into the deep water, well beyond the reach of your cast. To add insult to injury you can often observe fish and birds going bonkers way off the beach. Northwest winds also have a calming effect on the ocean surface making it appear more like a lake than a raging force we are used to contend with. When waters are calm I noticed that gamefish feed differently during these periods, more measured in their approach. When there is white water, bass tend to engulf a chunk and run with it making solid hookups a snap, not so when the waters are calm. Bass become more calculating and wary of anything that looks unnatural often spitting a chunk out after a short run when they feel the resistance from your line. That’s why, under flat-water conditions, I don’t like to let them run too much but try to set the hook as soon as I feel solid weight on my line. Mind you, there are areas where surfcasters pray for a strong northwest wind. Like Montauk’s Shagwong Point, where on an outgoing tide, the wind and current are moving in same direction sweeping everything in its path into the rip that forms on the point resulting in outstanding action. But since this article is geared to the effects of the wind along the south shore, northwest wind becomes our adversary and not a friend.

There is one instance were North wind can be used to your advantage even with all before mention drawbacks taken into consideration. If bunker schools are present in the surf and because they always feed “into” the wind, the north winds brings them right at our feet. Small consolation compared to all the bad attributes of a north wind but something to consider especially if you have seen or heard about presence of bunker along the beaches. Northeast wind is altogether a different story. Featuring “big” water with a strong sweep from left to right, winds out of this direction are usually associated with storms that race up the coast creating erosion along its path. Once they get going, it becomes very difficult to hold bottom with rain coming down in sheets, huge waves and a sweep that threatens to take your feet out from under you. But the onset of a Nor’easter has for years been known to be one of the best times of the year to fish especially if you are looking for a big cow. I don’t know if it’s because the fish can feel the barometric pressure fall as a result of the impending storm or because they know that the storm’s churning surf will displace the bait and they won’t be able to find it for few days.  Whatever the reason, fish often start feeding very heavily at the onset of these storms. The best place to take advantage of this behavior is at the western end of any inlet, on outgoing tide. Places like Cedar Bar west of Fire Island Inlet and Point Lookout beach west of Jones Inlet have had their moments in the past especially when there was a defined sandbar to attract fish. Sadly, beaches immediately west of Jones inlet feature horrible sand structure last few years and you won’t find a good piece of real estate until you get too far away from the inlet at which point the inlet current becomes a non-factor.

Northeast winds when coupled with outgoing tide create fast moving water at the mouth of the inlets. Moving in the same direction, they sweep everything in their path depositing it at its first obstruction, usually at a sand bar, as is often the case in places like Cedar bar. This is big fish water so leave your six ounce sinkers at home and instead grab some 8’s & 10’s and a long, sturdy stick, preferably a conventional one. An outfit like a Lamiglas 1361MH rod and an Abu 7000 reel spooled with 40lb test line is a good all around choice. I would not use anything less than 40 lb test, especially when fishing the rough water conditions. Going back to Nor’easters, after the storm has passed the oceanfront surf might be too rough to fish for a few days but don’t despair, you are not missing much. One thing you might want to do is to stop by your favorite beach to check out how the storm affected the sandbar formation.  To boot, you can usually pick up enough clams washed up from the storm to last you through the end of the year.

East to west, which one is best?

I don’t know who came up with the saying: “Wind out of the east, fishing is the least. Wind out of the west, fishing is the best.” I think it’s safe to say that the guy was not a surfcaster, not on Long Island at least. Or maybe he hated fishing in the rain, which often is accompanied by east winds. Recently I had a conversation with “Crazy” Alberto regarding winds out of westerly direction .We were both trying to come up with a location that would be dynamite on a pure west wind. The best we could come up with were areas like the Jones Inlet jetty or Breezy Point as the incoming current gets a little faster in the inlets and it usually pushes the bait onto the inlet jetties that are located on the east side of the inlets. Not much considering 120 miles of sand from Brooklyn to Montauk, huh? By the way, when you mention west wind to the guys in Montauk, you will get the most disgusted looks on guys’ faces that you’ve seen in a long time. The west wind has a tendency to shut down the east end with dirty, brown water that can last for days if the winds persist. The same can be said for south shore beaches although not to that extent. The water gets brown and if the wind is blowing at a good clip you will feel you are getting sandblasted by tiny particles of sand coming at you parallel to the beach. No joke, this can be a very painful experience especially for the paint finish on your beach buggy. I tend to stay away from chunking during west winds preferring to plug inside the inlets if I can find clean water.

East winds are a totally different story. Although they tend to be associated with weed and rain, this wind can inspire a good bite until the weed shuts down the oceanfront. Concentrating on an outgoing tide is usually the key as wind and tide from the same direction create good water flow. Of course, prolonged strong wind out of the east (or any direction for that matter) will create a sweep after a few days. That’s why it is important to fish these winds at the onset of a storm, when bait is plentiful, concentrated and vulnerable to attack due to the storm surges. It bears mentioning that winds out of the east play havoc with tidal ranges especially when coinciding with periods of new or full moon. Abnormal high water levels and beach erosion should make you think twice about attempting to fish beaches that are prone to flooding like Democrat Point for example. Unless of course, you don’t mind turning your buggy into an amphibious vehicle.

Best bet

From personal experience I can tell you that my favorite time to fish with bait is the first day of a stiff south or southwest wind after a good cold front has passed thru. Dropping water temperatures stimulate baitfish to get moving out of the inlets and white water created by south winds provides the cover for bass to come in very close to the shore. You get best of both worlds, plentiful baitfish along the oceanfront and hungry fish not afraid to attack in shallow water. Although I only use chunks at night preferring to toss plugs during the day, good action can be had in daytime if you take the effects of the wind in consideration when making a decision as were to lob your bait. Although ocean water always moves “onshore” or at you, each wind direction alters the way the water is breaking over the sandbar or the way it’s washing over your favorite hole. That’s why its important to try to visualize in your head the bottom contour and the way fish would relate to the particular piece of structure you intend to fish. So next time the weatherman announce “breezy” forecast for tomorrow, featuring winds from the southerly or easterly direction, its probably time to leave leaf raking for another day, grab some bait and head to the beach. Optimal conditions might be awaiting…