In The Wash
Angler
When fishing an area with heavy current it is important to know how to fish a lineup. This is the one thing I see out there fishing inlets being done incorrectly. And it's just a matter of education.
What I see often is people casting to where others are hooking fish. The people hooking fish are doing so more times then not, because of their presentation and doing it the right way, not solely their location. If you are casting down current trying to reach the fish you perceive are in front of someone else, your lure in never getting to the zone where these fish are sitting. Cast up the tide from you and let it swing into position.
So what to do as a new surf angler when you come upon a crowded jetty with the tide moving. Don't just jump in and start casting. First try and take a good look to see what everyone is using (most times it will be a bucktail or jig or some kind). Guage the weight everyone else is using. And try and fish using a similar weight. Some people mind if you ask them, I never mind, because its gonna cause me way less aggravation than people constantly wrapping me up because their jig is flying over mine. Next pay attention to the casting order, The person furthest down current should be casting FIRST. Then the next , then the next, ect. Everyone should be casting up current allowing their offering (plug, bucktail, jig, whatever) to slide down the current. Everyone's offering should be moving in sequence and you'll have virtually no tangles. And if someone does hook up, don't just cast over them and their fish. Give people some room and time to land there fish. Thats just being a good sportsman. Its hard not to yell at people sometimes, but I find if you just a take a few minutes to explain this and why people pick up pretty quick and are thankful for it. Everyone starts somewhere, and lets face it some jetties are easy to access. You'll have a lot of inexperienced anglers, and it just seems that the surf fishing scene here has exploded in popularity over the past 3 or 4 years. The same holds true not just for inlets, but also anywhere else you have a side to side fast moving current and can even apply to fishing sand beaches during a sweep.
Less tangles = more fishing time= more fish.
What I see often is people casting to where others are hooking fish. The people hooking fish are doing so more times then not, because of their presentation and doing it the right way, not solely their location. If you are casting down current trying to reach the fish you perceive are in front of someone else, your lure in never getting to the zone where these fish are sitting. Cast up the tide from you and let it swing into position.
So what to do as a new surf angler when you come upon a crowded jetty with the tide moving. Don't just jump in and start casting. First try and take a good look to see what everyone is using (most times it will be a bucktail or jig or some kind). Guage the weight everyone else is using. And try and fish using a similar weight. Some people mind if you ask them, I never mind, because its gonna cause me way less aggravation than people constantly wrapping me up because their jig is flying over mine. Next pay attention to the casting order, The person furthest down current should be casting FIRST. Then the next , then the next, ect. Everyone should be casting up current allowing their offering (plug, bucktail, jig, whatever) to slide down the current. Everyone's offering should be moving in sequence and you'll have virtually no tangles. And if someone does hook up, don't just cast over them and their fish. Give people some room and time to land there fish. Thats just being a good sportsman. Its hard not to yell at people sometimes, but I find if you just a take a few minutes to explain this and why people pick up pretty quick and are thankful for it. Everyone starts somewhere, and lets face it some jetties are easy to access. You'll have a lot of inexperienced anglers, and it just seems that the surf fishing scene here has exploded in popularity over the past 3 or 4 years. The same holds true not just for inlets, but also anywhere else you have a side to side fast moving current and can even apply to fishing sand beaches during a sweep.
Less tangles = more fishing time= more fish.
