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technical · intermediate · 4 min

how to read the beach and rocky shore

Find troughs, sandbars and rip currents, choose tide and time, and fish the rocky shore without risking your life.

troughs, sandbars and channels

The beach bottom isn't flat. Between the sand and open sea there are sandbars (shallow) and troughs (deep) running parallel to the shore, cut by channels. Fish move along the troughs and go in and out through the channels.

tips

  • Breaking waves and white foam indicate a shallow bar.
  • Darker, green or bluish water, with waves that don't break or break less, indicates a trough or channel.
  • Read the beach from above: climb a dune or the boardwalk to see the pattern.
  • At low tide, walk the beach and memorize troughs and bars. Come back to fish on the rising tide.
  • Pompano, betara and croaker move through the troughs; snook and bluefish hunt along channel edges and in the foam.

rip currents

Water that waves push onto the beach returns to sea through narrow channels: these are rip currents. Their edges concentrate food. For anyone entering the water, they're the biggest danger on the beach.

tips

  • How to spot them: a strip where waves don't break, darker or muddy water, foam and debris moving outward, a choppy surface.
  • Fish the edge of the return current, with bait on the bottom, without going into the water.
  • If you're pulled out: don't swim against the current. Float, wave for help, and swim parallel to the beach until you're out of it.
  • To help someone, call 193 and throw something that floats. Don't go in without a float.

common mistakes

  • Wading in up to your waist to cast farther.

tide, time and conditions

Moving water usually fishes better. Combine tide, light and sea state to choose the time.

tips

  • The rising tide, especially in the hours before high tide, covers the sandbars and brings fish closer.
  • Dawn and dusk are the best times on most beaches. At night, bottom fish move closer in.
  • Moderately churned sea with slightly murky water stirs food from the sand and gets bottom fish active. Very rough sea and very dirty water shut fishing down.
  • Offshore wind (terral) calms the surf; onshore wind piles up waves and seaweed.
  • After heavy surf, wait a day or two for the sea to settle.

rocky shore: where to fish

A rock point jutting into the sea, with foam and deep water nearby, gathers hard-fighting fish. It's also the most dangerous place for shore fishing.

tips

  • Fish the foam and the crevices where water surges in and out. Grouper, sargo, bluefish and crevalle jack hunt there.
  • Use stronger line and leader: the rock cuts.
  • Bring a long-handled landing net to lift the fish without climbing down to the water.

safety on the rocky shore

The rocky shore kills anglers every year in Brazil. The rule is simple: the sea always wins.

  1. Before you go, check the wave forecast and surf alerts. In heavy surf, don't go.
  2. On arrival, watch the sea for 15 to 20 minutes. Waves come in sets, and the biggest one can break well above the rest.
  3. Choose a high, dry rock with no sign of recent waves. A wet rock shows how far the waves reach.
  4. Decide where you'll exit if the sea rises.
  5. Wear non-slip footwear made for rock and a life vest.
  6. Always fish facing the sea. Never turn your back on a wave, not even to change your bait.
  7. Never fish alone. Tell someone where you'll be and when you'll be back.

common mistakes

  • Stepping on green slime or dark wet rock: slips like soap.
  • Climbing down to free a snag or grab a fish at the edge.
  • Jumping into the water to rescue someone without a float. Throw something that floats and call 193.
  • Staying on a low rock with the tide rising without checking whether the way back will flood.

checklist

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sources and references

  1. official NOAA/National Weather Service — How to Avoid Getting Caught in a Rip Current
  2. scientific Short, A. D.; Klein, A. H. da F. (orgs.) (2016). Brazilian Beach Systems. Springer (Coastal Research Library).Morphology of Brazilian beaches: sandbars, troughs and beach types.
  3. technical SOBRASA (Sociedade Brasileira de Salvamento Aquático) — Recomendações em Prevenção, Resgate e Mitigação em AfogamentoSobrasa technical recommendations on prevention, rescue and drowning.

keep reading

weather and moon

tides and moon in fishing

Spring and neap tides, high and low tide, slack water, rising and falling tide, tide tables and solunar theory: what really matters and how to use it without fanaticism.

technical

surf and rocky shore rigs

Paternoster, 2-to-3-hook rig, pyramid sinker, feeder float for mullet and a rig for pompano, with practical measurements and the shock leader that prevents accidents.

safety

water safety

Life vest, navigation plan, lightning, wind and waves, hypothermia, dehydration, first-aid kit and the paperwork the Navy requires.