How do you approach and fish a spot you have never been to? Do you take a minute to look it over, or bomb right in and cast a line?
The reason I'm asking is because over the weekend me Eben and my brother in law showed a kid from boston a south county spot where we were fishing. The surf was up and wind was howlin and this spot has a strong undertow not to mention that it wasn't a gradual dropoff but very steep. So we are all standing a little back from where the waves are crashing, and this kid comes down with his fly rod and wades right in. I start yelling at him and so does Eben, then I go tell and him what the deal was.
What would have happened if nobody was there to yell at him?

That was a riot! poor fellow:( he left pretty promptly after that little whoopsie didn't he :rolleyes:

I can tell you what I do if I plan to fish a new place more than once... I look at a chart before I fish there and then I'll make shure I go down there at dead low and look at the structure..
If I was in his shoes I would have taken a few minutes to survey what was going on before I marched out into the surf:laughs:

I like to scout in daylite and low water....then come back when the lights go out:D

What Your going to have to do is commit to the spot for a full tide both during day and Night
To save wasted time Your Game plan should go like this
spring fish it 2 days or nights say on the incoming
then reverse it the next week.
If You put 2 to 3 days nights in on the spot You will get a better handle on whats happening and still allow You to fish Your other spots.
The best way to learn is Hunt for Your spot and earn it with time in.
The reward is self gratification and it feels good when it all comes together.
do Your own home work and You will find Your self guarding Your spots as You will see that its alot of work.
I still have spots Im learning and new water to fish
Ya never stop learning.
I like seeing these posts
As far as structure and rips ect, use Your eyes and the feel of Your lure pulling will tell whats going on .

It took Me 7 Years to learn one area and it was well worth it........

Reminds me of when I took Notaro down to Hull. He starts wading right into the gut with the current ripping and steep drop off :eek: I yell at him to get the hell out but of course he can't hear me so I gotta go in to get him to back the hell up. He scared the crap outta me :laughs:

I pulled a Hasselhoff on my brother last year. No crazy drop off. Just a drunk kid in big surf.:D

I've been pounding the same 4 mile stretch of shoreline for two years now several times a week and I still will take a minute and watch the sets of waves come in and see when the big wave comes (and it always does) and find a spot where I can back out of the way of it. Even with a fair amount of caution displayed I've still had a couple of scary moments-especially on the rocks of the cliffwalk. I got stuck on a sandbar on MV one night because I was too busy catching and not watching the tide. I've had a couple of moments at the Pt Jude lite-slippery rocks and heavy surf are a dangerous combo. Never underestimate the power of the ocean.
What's the old saying, an ounce of prevention...

My old man just gave me his old pfd, so i can get a little ballsy this year.

a pfd is like an ejection seat in a fighter; it's nice to know you have it but you really don't wanna use it

I think figuring out new spots is little easier in Rhody than at a lot of sand beach spots. Rocky strutures tend to be far more stable than shifting sand structures.
You can break the spots down by structure and look for features that are common to spots you know....
A lot of Rhode Island's rocky points, reefs, and minor points, share commonalities and fish well under the same condition sets....of course, a lot don't.
A lot of boat guys don't know the names of the spots they fish - they fish by structure. Surfcasters tend to be more focused on names.
Knowing the feeding behavior of the fish you are pursuing and the primary bait that is currently avaiable can help greatly.
You can also get a map and look for drop offs and places that have deep water adjacent.
I once suggested an article called "I Never Fished There" in which I would go to a spot and fish it by theory only.....but it got rejected.

Dave, I just read your post on fishing new locations. Good Advice. I have a question. When you fish a new area of a beach, how far left or right, or north and south, do you move...like 100 ft., 100 yds.... I am thinking of a beach with a lot of bars and holes. If a guy moves around too much, I think he might miss the best bar at a certain tide stage. Am I on the right track?

Maloney. You got to work both sides of the bar and the hole and even the other end of the hole and the bar there if there is one.
fan casting can save a few steps and cycle through the plugs
You May find larger fish on the back side of the Bar and none in the hole one night or all the fish piled on the other side of the bar.
case and point is You have to work the whole thing to find the fish.

Winter, new moon, low tide, mid-day, high sun.

If its a wading spot its safer to fish the out goin on qter/moon.