Couple of surf reds

[Shellbelly]

Coaxed a couple of fish out from the rip currents.  31", 27".  Low water levels and tough currents were a challenge.  These were caught on peeled shrimp.  They passed on whole and cut mullet.  NO hard heads.

These were caught in different spots.  Both showed heavy shell on the banks, steep drops, and mud/clay bottoms.  Hard sand bottoms didn't produce any bites.

There were a few croaker and whiting in the guts...how they were able to fight the rip is beyond me.  Definitely not a wade fishing day.  The few fishermen I saw were staying dry.     

[Crow]

Nice drum!!

[JasonGotaProblem]

I'm just happy to hear that you're getting lines wet again.

How do you identify spots of interest in heavier surf? I was fishing in 6' waves (Atlantic side) on Saturday. Couldn't spot anything resembling an indication of structure. Got to a higher vantage point, no difference. Wind was blowing from the north and current was similar. So while I was walking toward rocks I remembered getting cut on swimming as a kid, I just cast out and walked down the beach at roughly the pace my bait was moving til I got a bite and stayed there for a bit.

Found myself wondering if the surf was too heavy for any submerged-sand-structure to last, but that feels like an excuse for my failure to analyze.

[jurelometer]

Nice! 

Redfish are pretty neat fish.

Learned from scuba diving that current is much weaker if you stay tight to the bottom.  The water slows as it flows up and over contours.  When diving near the surf, there are often  ripple like undulations  in the sand.  Predators/prey can take advantage, and some spots probably have better protection and access than others.

No idea on how to spot it by looking at the surf, but if the fish are hanging in one spot without some obvious bottom feature, and the water is moving hard, I would expect that there is some of this going on.   Maybe this is why the edges of cuts often hold fish.  There is a often a nice lip there that would make for a lower effort holding spot.

 
-J

[Shellbelly]

How do you identify spots of interest in heavier surf?

On this day, there was a stiff NE breeze and 2ft surf running at about 5 seconds from the East.  Not really rough, but agitated.  Tide was very low and falling until 11:00.  That breeze was 10-15/gusting so I had to read the foam.  You might be thinking that foam would be pushed by the breeze, but it holds with the current when it's not all bunched up and fluffy and blows off. 

The prevailing current was running 7+.  I couldn't keep up in a fast walk along shore.  Where the foam bunched up, that's where the current collisions occurred and ran out through the break and also kept the breakers down for a stretch.  Those were the only spots where I could park a bait without a boat anchor.

there are often  ripple like undulations  in the sand.

. Now that is something I never considered.  I know exactly the formation you're explaining.  I suppose a fish could hang close to the bottom and the hydrodynamics from the rippled bottom would hold it in place with little "station-keeping" effort.  If it rises, it gets swept.  I'm gonna figure out how to play with that action. I always worked artificials higher in the column in swift currents....swimming my bait OVER the bait! Thinking like a human instead of a fish.  Thanks, J!

Thinking out loud, I need an artificial flounder, brown on both sides, 3-4".  1oz ought to work.  Rig that a foot or so behind a fixed weight and learn how to work it. 

[jurelometer]

I suppose a fish could hang close to the bottom and the hydrodynamics from the rippled bottom would hold it in place with little "station-keeping" effort.  If it rises, it gets swept.  I'm gonna figure out how to play with that action. I always worked artificials higher in the column in swift currents....swimming my bait OVER the bait!

There some scientific reason that I forgot, but a big fish can swim more easily on the same current as a small fish, so it is possible that a non-selective predator is looking up for baitfish being swept around, but maybe also looking sideways for crustaceans rolling by.  But either way, it is more work to chase and harder to see if the bait is too far off the bottom.  That is, if this theory is correct.

If you figure something out, let us know.  I can't seem to test this from my armchair

-J

[JasonGotaProblem]

At the risk of saying something basic to smart people, it is friction between the water particles and the bottom, and friction between water particles and the particles next to them that cause the current to move less the closer to the bottom. It's the reason why big pipes see so much greater flow velocity than small pipes.

Now the below is a guess. The mass of the big fish means its less affected by the current. Small branches flutter like crazy in wind that doesn't move the larger tree limbs. Also bigger fins mean far more water is displaced with each swish of the tail.

[foakes]

Nice catch!

Best,Fred