Shore & Kayak Fishing

Kimball with a jack caught with a fly.

 

In between storms and heat waves this summer, it might be fun to take an early morning walk on the beach. This time of day it’s cooler and you might find sharks teeth or even catch a couple of snook or other gamefish that hit the beach early. Mid-day temperatures are hard on gamefish. Warm water holds less oxygen than cold water which makes it important to release fish quickly. Cooler water that has plenty of O2 can be found on the beach in the early morning. This cooler water captures the aeration generated by the waves. That’s one of the reasons snook show up here for breakfast. Another reason is because the plentiful baitfish, sand fleas and crustaceans in that first trough are easy prey. 

If you’ve never tried a fly rod, the early morning beach is a good place to figure out how it’s done. There are no trees behind you to hang up your fly, but morning shell seekers can get in the way, so be aware. Some folks don’t realize the peril of standing behind a fly angler. Mostly, the beach is deserted so no one will see your mistakes while you perfect your technique. An 8-wt. rod with a weight-forward floating line tied to a rod length of 10 lb. leader with 20+” of 20 lb. bite tippet to the fly works great. Consider mashing the barbs on your fly, especially while learning to cast. Long casts aren’t needed when you fish into the shore current and approach fish from their tail end. A higher tide is best.

We’ve written before about the basics of fly casting, but in three sentences, here’s the plan: 

1) Understand that you are casting the line, not the fly-it’s just along for the ride. 

2) Let the line straighten out in the air on the back cast before you begin your forward cast. 

3) Keep the casting arc of the rod between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock. 

There are many more finesse points, but those three pointers should get you started. Be aware that your shadow will spook fish. 

Once you get your fly where the fish are, begin a strip, strip, pause, retrieve. This brings your fly to the snook from up current at the angle they are scanning for something to ambush. When the strike comes, don’t just raise the rod tip like a spinning rod hook set. Fly rods are too flexible at the tip to get a solid hookset that way. We recommend a hard strip while raising the rod tip. The idea is to get the fly securely into a tough snook’s jaw. 

Some fly anglers cast into the trough while wading with stingrays on the first bar. We prefer to stand on wet sand and angle our casts into that same trough. This lets most of our line lay near the shore with the leader and fly out in the trough. Snook get spooky if they see your line. Be sure to keep the working line around your feet clear so when a fish takes line it won’t tangle and break. Large snook can get into your backing on the reel but luckily, on the beach, there isn’t much for them to tangle with. A light drag from the reel and rod guides should tire them soon enough.  

There are a lot of snook flies on the rack, and we find most will work if they’re small and white. A little flash seems to help, but white is important. A lightly weighted fly like a Clouser pattern can help if the waves are higher. In the early morning big surf is usually not an issue. We primarily target snook but lots of other species enjoy cool oxygenated water and plentiful bait. We often catch flounder, jack crevalle, bluefish, and once even a cute 12” cobia. 

So, before heading indoors to the AC when the sun gets hotter, enjoy a walk on the beach with a fly rod just for fun. If you absolutely can’t or won’t try a fly, you can enjoy the fun with a white shad tail on a ¼ ounce jig head. Whatever tackle you use, an early morning walk on the beach is a fine way to start any day. Keep an eye out for sharks teeth, there’s a few around most mornings.