Daytime surfcasting offers a rare opportunity to learn about your favorite spots (and your favorite fish).
I was talking to a friend the other day, someone who has fished the surf every bit as long as I have and I think we’re roughly the same age. He said something that really surprised me, “Most of the time, I just can’t get excited to surf fish after dark anymore.” He might as well have told me that he preferred riding the subway in a gorilla suit, it just sounded so foreign to me! But as his words continued to ricochet around in my skull, I started to think about all the great daytime bites I’ve been a part of and I started to want to put in a few more day patrol hours myself.
Daytime surfcasting is a special kind of double-edged sword; on the one edge, we assume that we’re not going to do as well as we would if it were dark out. And on the other, sharper edge, there’s a visual aspect that’s not really part of night fishing and, when we do end up landing an impressive fish, it somehow succeeds in doubling the achievement.
As a lifelong student of the surf, I find that that greatest gift daytime surfcasting has given me is the opportunity to observe. In daylight, we can observe the water and how it moves through an area, which can lead to a greater understanding of why a certain spot is so productive. We can observe bait, which offers a multitude of advantages including matching size, profile and color, mimicking attitude or action and also see where baitfish tend to hold or hang in a particular spot. We can also observe the fish we’re trying to catch. We can see how they are reacting to what we’re throwing, we can observe how they react to changes in presentation, at times you may be able to confirm that there are many fish in an area, setting up a competitive bite.
Something I love about daytime fishing is that I’m more willing to fish a spot under nasty conditions because I can see a big wave rolling on from further away, and if I do get rolled it’s not as scary to stand up and fight your way back to safety when it’s light out. I’m not afraid to admit that. But what’s even better is that you can learn how dangerous the spot really is under storm conditions, and you might be able to find a safer spot to stand which might allow, or even inspire, you to fish the spot under the cover of darkness.
I will readily admit that I suffer from the same stigma that you do, it’s like a hereditary instinct that I can’t shake – I always think I will catch more and bigger fish at night. But this is not really the case…you just have to pick your days. We grade the nights too, most of us don’t love a bright moon, but if the clouds roll in, it’s ‘go time’. The same can be said for daytime surf fishing; I typically, won’t be running out the door to go looking for bass on a hot and sunny day, but one of the most intense bass blitzes I’ve ever found was on a day that matches that description.
Yet if I see a wind change and some, cloudy and windy days, you can bet I’ll be setting aside some time to fish daylight. The more that’s going on atmospherically to ‘hide’ the fish, the better. Clouds, rain, hard winds, bigger waves, whitewater…these things compound to make the fishing better and better. Personally, I don’t like huge waves and I don’t like exceedingly dirty water. I know some famous spots light up under those conditions, but nothing I fish follows that trend.
In daylight, I fish artificials 99% of the time, the exception would be the rare opportunity to liveline something. My day bag is very simple, pencil poppers in three sizes – 5, 6 and 8 inches, both 7- and 9-inch Docs, a few Super Strike 2-3/8-ounce poppers, and paddletail jigs in 5 and 8 inches (I’m an NLBN guy all the way, and I like their mullet color and solid white). Lastly a handful of white bucktails rounds out the selection, which, in spite of their fame and effectiveness, are the option I use the least…it’s just a ‘me’ thing, I know they slay.
If you can’t read between the lines here, I’m urging you to put more daylight hours into your surf fishing this fall (and any other time). But don’t just go through the motions, use your gift of sight to learn more about what goes on in your local hotspots – you will be surprised by what you might learn.
