Surf fishing for bass an exciting way to catch bass when the waves are smashing onto the beach it really does take some beating. Water clarity on most surf beaches is often influenced by the sand.Bass love to patrol the surf beaches with a good onshore wind. It’s possible to catch bass and often some very large ones quite close in only 20 to 40 yards out. When fishing in the surf I like to keep it plain and simple with the good old running ledger. Larger bass are fussy about the baits they take something natural looking such as ragworm, sand-eel or peeler crab will do the job. Hold your rod up high to try and avoid the breakers coming in, on this particular day the weed made it almost unfishable, but once the tide started to ebb things started to improve and the bites started no sooner as I cast out into the surf the bass were on it. Overall a great day with 6 bass with only one taken for the table.
Surf fishing is much more than just about catching fish. with a good fresh wind blowing into your face, Surf fishing can be rough and wet but it can also be a truly breathtaking experience and should not to be missed.
The tides I normally like are Springs for beaches which do not have a strong lateral flow, for those that do, then a middling tide will do just as well ,tackling the flow of big springs however if you are prepared to work hard the rewards are high. Look for streams which flow across the beach are traditionally rated as hotspots and always worth investigating The most productive times for me have been an hour before low water to 2 hours up and an hour before high water to an hour back, If these periods coincide with dawn or dusk your on a winner and so much the better.
Conditions you are looking for are a good layered surf with sand bars defined water tables between waves. I always prefer fishing into the wind, and don’t mind whether the surf is wind driven or as a result of a low pressure system also don,t dismiss cool or even cold conditions, as many of my better fish have been in the colder months.
