How to Read the Sea - Read the Water - Part 1

[ahmed]

This is my first post on ultimate and I have to say that the coverage of this topic by REEFMAN is without a doubt the most informative I've seen...on any site...EVER!!!     


  & 

[kobkiller]

God bless your heart.This post is brilliant....informative and factually and visually tops

Thank you

Will it help somebody. ...let's take a consensus. ...and that includes old salty seadogs like me

[CamaroMan]

gee this is an incredible post. Just a question - u say troughs are bad for fishing, but also mention casting between 2 banks is good. Im just trying to get clarity - been struggling to land good fish my whole life!

clear water nono..


Deep water with rip out to sea good? Otherwise deep water without motion is also not good?


Cast on top of or on the side of banks where water is moving and on sides of rips out to sea?


Dont some guys target troughs with roller sinkers?


I guess it would be a bit too much to ask to add green ticks on some picsc to show where the good spots are for us not so good fishers? :)


thanks for this info - i will def take it with me on next trip!

[Lenny]

Welcome camaroMAn .


I should Reefman give you more pointers , He will [ hes got an all seeing eye LOL ]


You make mention of cone sinkers or pyramids , I love fishing with them because you know they move around and will 'sit' when the sinker has rolled into a hole or gutter .


The tricky thing when trying to direct people to areas they should cast is the fact that the fish are not in one specific area  , keep in mind , they move with the tide , and thats where the trick comes in .


you might fish the whole  low tide in one area , just to move to another , and see someone else casting where you were fishing the whole time , ad vas he goes .


pointers I can ADD .
1. fish are after food , so the food dictates the movement of the fish most of the time , second comes Wind/weather .
2.in my experience I have found if theres one fish theres more .
3.sometimes we try to help , but in the process confuse guys a lot , its not that hard to read the water , only in Flat seas its very hard if you don't know the area .
4 . referring back to point 1 above , Fish will size up the energy it will take to eat a meal , and the energy value of the meal [ baitfish or bait ] Fish like Kob are lazy buggers , they will sit in the current on the edges of banks and wait for food to pass by or get washed from the shallow bank . Other fish like Leervis and Elf  just goes into a frenzy sometimes , and thats when the most of them get caught , don't know if its just the food that excited them or/and does water temp speed up their metabolism i think a bit of both ...
5 when in doubt , try some thing else you have notting to lose except a sinker or so , sometimes just a couple of meters to were your bait have been will be completely different .
6 fish the right conditions , I assume you are fishing Falsbay ? Now let me tell you if the weather /condisions are not conducive to fishing for Summer fish [ Elf Kob ] then don't waist your time . if those SW NW wind come in summer maybe the first day is still good .
7 . a long cast will not ensure you get a fish [ another mistake most guys make , I for one had this problem for many years , blamed my blanks on not casting far enough . ] I eventually stated getting fish on short casts , and in some seriously shallow water , lost of old salts will say ' your casting over the fish ' I never believed it but its true . 60 to 80 m will often out fish the guys casting 130 150 meters .
8 having bait in the water , and a never give up attitude will get you through those tough days and blanks NEVER GIVE UP !
 
Theres a bit of info to confuse you even more .... LOL

[Spud]

  no 1 arrived in the Bluff , wind howling  strong south easily what to do !!!!!

[REEFMAN]

no 1 arrived in the Bluff , wind howling  strong south easily what to do !!!!!

Catch a movie?

[Jakes]

no 1 arrived in the Bluff , wind howling  strong south easily what to do !!!!!

Catch a movie?

Or go to the closest pub and wait/ it out ... 

[Lenny]

 I would suggest , a meal before heading to the pub , a flaming hot bunny!

[oryx]

Hi Reefman,I am new to the forum.  Thank you very much for this article!!  I have been searching for exactly this info and I think it's going to be a great help in my fairly new rock and surf endeavours.

[REEFMAN]

  Oryx! Glad it helped you!

[RiyadhEd]

Hi Reefman,I am new to the forum.  Thank you very much for this article!!  I have been searching for exactly this info and I think it's going to be a great help in my fairly new rock and surf endeavours.

Indeed, It has helped me in january when I last fished. I actually found a gully and caught some.

[JarwisWalker]

Just finished part 1 and so far so GREAT!
Very informative and precise, thanks for taking the time to post all this info, even years later someone else will be learning from it


JW

[JarwisWalker]

Welcome camaroMAn .


I should Reefman give you more pointers , He will [ hes got an all seeing eye LOL ]


You make mention of cone sinkers or pyramids , I love fishing with them because you know they move around and will 'sit' when the sinker has rolled into a hole or gutter .


The tricky thing when trying to direct people to areas they should cast is the fact that the fish are not in one specific area  , keep in mind , they move with the tide , and thats where the trick comes in .


you might fish the whole  low tide in one area , just to move to another , and see someone else casting where you were fishing the whole time , ad vas he goes .


pointers I can ADD .
1. fish are after food , so the food dictates the movement of the fish most of the time , second comes Wind/weather .
2.in my experience I have found if theres one fish theres more .
3.sometimes we try to help , but in the process confuse guys a lot , its not that hard to read the water , only in Flat seas its very hard if you don't know the area .
4 . referring back to point 1 above , Fish will size up the energy it will take to eat a meal , and the energy value of the meal [ baitfish or bait ] Fish like Kob are lazy buggers , they will sit in the current on the edges of banks and wait for food to pass by or get washed from the shallow bank . Other fish like Leervis and Elf  just goes into a frenzy sometimes , and thats when the most of them get caught , don't know if its just the food that excited them or/and does water temp speed up their metabolism i think a bit of both ...
5 when in doubt , try some thing else you have notting to lose except a sinker or so , sometimes just a couple of meters to were your bait have been will be completely different .
6 fish the right conditions , I assume you are fishing Falsbay ? Now let me tell you if the weather /condisions are not conducive to fishing for Summer fish [ Elf Kob ] then don't waist your time . if those SW NW wind come in summer maybe the first day is still good .
7 . a long cast will not ensure you get a fish [ another mistake most guys make , I for one had this problem for many years , blamed my blanks on not casting far enough . ] I eventually stated getting fish on short casts , and in some seriously shallow water , lost of old salts will say ' your casting over the fish ' I never believed it but its true . 60 to 80 m will often out fish the guys casting 130 150 meters .
8 having bait in the water , and a never give up attitude will get you through those tough days and blanks NEVER GIVE UP !
 
Theres a bit of info to confuse you even more .... LOL

"a long cast will not ensure you get a fish"
So true! This cannot be preached enough    In my experience (but mostly due to my petit physique) I cannot cast great distances, but I have caught fish casting less than 50m distances. However in saying so you need to be casting in the right spots.

[SilverWolf]

Reefz... I'm new here, in fact this is one of the first posts I've read on the forum since joining.  I have to say it was excellent!  I have learnt more reading this article than 6 months of Googling and Youtubing have taught me about reading the sea.  Thank you!