the outer beach today

[Flaptail]

As usual,old man winter and his fierce No'easter of the last two days have changed the beach but good. Rode along the Truro and Wellfleet backside beaches and you won't be able to rest on your laurels this coming year as to what holes when and where.
For example at ten this morning the whole of Coast Guard beach in Eastham down to Nauset inlet was under water with ten footers rolling across in the marsh. Newcombs was no better with the end of the stairway hanging in free air and white suds. The combers were white for a half mile out and the water was tan from the suspended sand. Gonna be fun figurin'out all the new holes. Hopefully Nauset Beach will have more structure but I am concerned of the two spots that broke through in October down by the camps. Maybe we will have a couple new islands tommorow.

[fishweewee]

any snow on the beach?

[rocketman]

Originally posted by fishweewee
any snow on the beach?

Why you wanna write your name in it?

[UserRemoved1]

think he wants to make a ANGEL

[fishweewee]

Originally posted by Flaptail
...you won't be able to rest on your laurels this coming year as to what holes when and where...

I guess this brings us to the inevitable comparison of sandy beach vs. rockpile fishing.

I've always found sandy beach fishing to be much more challenging than rockpile fishing (in terms of just hooking up, never mind hunting a trophy).

To a certain extent - rocks don't move, so there is an appealing consistency in rockpile fishing at least as far as habitat goes. Rhody has been really good to me this year for this reason (again, just in terms of hooking up, not trophy hunting).

The shifting sands on open beaches present a continuous challenge (even intra-season if there is storm activty) - particularly if your eyesight is as bad as mine when it comes to reading the water for structure. I frankly found it tough going on the Outer Beaches of the Cape this year even when I did identify holes, cuts, troughs, etc at low tide!

By the time I got to the Ditch this fall I was thoroughly confused.

Funny thing about sandy beach fishing.

It can be just as dangerous as rockpile fishing - I've been out a few nights on an outer bar with a weird fog rolling in, the water slowly creeping up with the tide. It's a screwed up feeling, getting disoriented on a sandy beach at night.

[Flaptail]

Ben, I agree. The challenge of reading a beach and trying to pry it's secrets open is more appealling than rocky shores or jetty fishing. The dangers of jetty and rock fishing are the slippery surfaces and sea conditions but you always know, once you learn them, year after year where the honey holes are. The beach sands are constantly shifting from the affects of both winter and summer storms. Also the beach rebuilds itself which is an interesting phenomena. Go to Pochet Hole on Nauset in February and take a picture, then go back in June and you will see what I mean. I think it takes more thought and more analysis to fish the beach than rocks because of the constant condition changes. I will admit it hurts a lot more to wipe out on a jetty though. One thing you should always take with you at night when wading onto an offshore bar is a small hand held or pin on compass. Two years ago at Coast Guard Beach in Eastham on an evening walk out to Nauset inlet I waded out to a bar as darkness fell and a fog rolled in. I did not plan to stay out to long but good fortune took hold and I started catching fish, nice fish at that. Well you know what happens then no matter how much experience you have you forget about the wade back and the fog for just one more cast. If it wasn't for that little compass that Doc Crago gave me years ago as a Christmas present I would not be here today and that is a fact. I had to swim but I knew where I had to swim to and that is the difference between life and death.

[fishweewee]

Good call on the compass, I usually carry one hunting but will make a mental note to get a water proof one just for fishing the beaches. Maybe with a luminous needle and dial in case the flashlight goes kaput.

I like both rocks and sand in my diet, challenge is getting the right mixture.

The best of all worlds is when you have both. Sandy beach with rocks sticking out. Like Philbin on MV or FPR in South County, RI or certain parts of the south side of Montauk, NY.

-B

[Jenn]

ooh I like the sense of adventure..LOL

what I like best is taking a four hour drive down there at nite arriving in complete fog and dark and try to fish what I think looks good at the time and just as the sun comes up I see that spot I just a little farther down that I should have been at!

c'mon guys if they stayed the same all the time it would get boring, NO???