Reading the Beach - Holes, Points, Lips & Rips 

Sorry for the late reply, still having problems with my notifications. Your story makes me happy as I'm really just trying to pass a little something forward to a sport that has given me many rewarding years. Fish on!

Gald you found them useful Niel. Thanks for the kind words, it's appreciated.

Have a good trip to FL.

@@richtroxler mate I'd love to shout you afew beers thanks for your time and help good O olson

You're very welcome!

Gl Par I glad you found the information helpful. I have a few more videos planned. Stay tuned.

This comment just popped up in my feed under "not responded". Apparently it's from 4 years ago. I'm not sure what happened but please accept my most sincere apologies for not responding to your post. I try to respond to everybody who posts on my channel, so a belated thank you for watching my video.

Nitro Benceno Your welcome Nitro.

You are very welcome. Thanks for watching

Sandya Wibawa You are very welcome.

Hi Will. Very sorry for the late reply. I had a health issue that dragged on for a while but I'm back now. Good to hear you're returning to surf fishing. It's a great way to spend time and recharge. Thanks for watching.

A new series coming over the winter, hopefully in time for spring ;-)

I apologize for the delay in responding. I just got done moving again. Actually I reply to every comment. Just haven't been able to keep up lately. Thank you for your kind words and for watching.

You're welcome Jorge, hope it helps you find the fish.

zig6973 Glad you enjoyed them zig.

You are welcome Cole and thanks for watching. I hope they help you out.

Unfortunately, was out of commission again for a while, so for now I'm just trying to get caught up on responding to everyone and trying to finish up on some new content and other stuff. Thanks for hanging in there with me and I'll get this thing going again.

Thank you for the kind words E FX. I'm glad you have found my videos useful and thank you so much for watching.

+Mark “Marky 4 Fingers” Laws Glad you enjoyed them and I hope you find them useful.

+Ty TXTitan You are welcome. We can never have enough information.

Thank you Herion. A new series in the works over the winter.

+Rain Mariano Thank you Rain. I will be adding some more videos as time allows.

Sorry for my late reply. Lots going on in these strange days. I never stop learning either lol. Fishing is a life long learning process, it never gets old, and neither do you in it's pursuit.

no worries Rich. Seems your a good man. I always appreciate a reply. great answer in we all learn all the time. Hope these strange days pass with healthy and happy times fishing ahead.

I apologize for the delay in responding. I just got done moving again. Thank you for watching my videos. I hope they help you out.

Hi Edward. Glad you enjoy my videos. As I'm fond of saying, fishing is a life long learning process, enjoy the ride! Have a good season and stay safe.

Thank you for your kind words sax.

Thanks Sax. Just uploaded the first of a new series of educational vids on surf fishing. The series will contain a lot of info in my usual rapid-fire delivery. No sense taking it to the grave ;-)

***** You are welcome Simeon.

Allen Berman You are welcome Allen.

Junaid Ahmed I'm glad you find the information useful.

Thanks Thomas, and you are most welcome.

Another one coming in a couple days. Gotta get it finished as it's starting to cut into my fishing time.

Thanks GB, glad you enjoyed my vid and thanks for watching.

South Jetty I hope they help you get on some fish.

Thanks SF and thanks for watching. Hope you have a productive season.

Thanks Mitchell, I hope it helps you shorten your learning curve.

I'll be moving to SoCal in a few months (Torrance most likely), is the surf fishing good out there?

Hi Angelos. Very sorry for the late reply. I had a health issue that dragged on for a while but I'm back now. Thank you for your kind words and good luck on the west coast. Be well.

I’m glad to hear you are on the mend! 👍🤙

+TriniTrav My pleasure Trini. I hope it helps you in your search for fish.

You're very welcome and thanks for watching. Be well.

You are welcome. We are all students of fishing. The learning process never stops. Thanks for watching.

I apologize for the delay in responding. I just got done moving again. You are very welcome and thanks for watching.

You are most welcome Matthew. I hope you and your son have good times on the beach. Those are priceless.

You're welcome letun.

And thank you for watching Mike. Be well and stay safe.

Hi FPM. Very sorry for the late reply. I had a health issue that dragged on for a while but I'm back now. Takes a while to get used to what you are looking at because you have to take into consideration tide and wind, but once you've done it enough, it becomes second nature and you never look at water the same way again. Thanks for watching.

You are welcome barn, and thanks for watching.

Thank you for watching.

Thanks for the kind words Paul, and thanks for watching.

It's never too late to try something new! Where about's in the UK?

Hi TJ. I hope you get on a good bite.

This comment just popped up in my feed under "not responded". Apparently it's from 7 years ago. I'm not sure what happened but please accept my most sincere apologies for not responding to your post. I try to respond to everybody who posts on my channel, so a belated thank you for watching my video.

+Jack Sullivan Good luck in FL Jack. I wish I was there :-)

Hi MrX. Glad they helped you zero in on productive fishing. Holes are a real key structure for me.

Good idea for a video. That's the small ball of fishing, the next level down in the knowledge chain. It's very different for every location, but the basics are the same. Good idea.

Thanks GW. Just passing something forward to the sport I love.

Glad you found it useful and thanks for watching.

csralumni Sorry for the late reply. Rips I find by feel at night. Many times I'll walk and cast until I feel a change in the way my plug behaves. You can easily feel the pull of a rip on most lipped plugs, you almost don't have to reel to get them to dig in and wobble. Holes you pretty much have to be able to see where the waves break, which is usually not too hard at night once your eyes adjust. I also take notice of sink time when I'm fishing bait. If I cast and hit bottom quick, then I move. I like to detect several seconds of sink time before I feel the bottom bump. Then I fish it for a while to see if anybody is home. No takers, move on to the next one.

Thanks for the informative reply Rich. Appreciate it.

+Rob Searle You're welcome Rob

Hoyt Yee You are welcome Hoyt.

We are always learning. I try to learn something new every time I go out, and seeing as I am new to my area of Virginia Beach, I get to put my money where my mouth is lol. Always learning, it nevers stops :-)

And the honey hole will only be that if bait and fish are present to begin with. Structure alone does not produce fish, it's just a place that bait and predators tend to congregate when they are in the area.

Tando Taro Maku Fishing never grows old, and you never grow old in it's pursuit.

Bill Dave Slow unfortunately lol.

Knowing how to read the beach doesn't guarantee fish. The fish have to be in the area and if they are, and a suitable bait source is around, then that is when knowing where to fish will pay off.

Coming from freshwater fishing that certainly appears to be true, but at the very least knowledge of these structures can't hurt my odds.

Cheers Refai and thanks for watching and the sub times 2 lol!

This comment just popped up in my feed under "not responded". Apparently it's from 6 years ago. I'm not sure what happened but please accept my most sincere apologies for not responding to your post. I try to respond to everybody who posts on my channel, so a belated thank you for watching my video.

You ar ewelcome Liam.

+Jeremiah Giles LOL, I know John fairly well. We both provide content for the same publication and when I lived on LI we fished the same areas. John is a real nice guy, a very intelligent man, and a great fisherman.

Just got back from a trip to Hattaras and Ocracoke. Beautiful area. My best advice is to find a good bait and tackle shop near where you want to fish. Spend a few dollars and ask some questions. They usually have the scoop on what's running at what time of year and what the best bait / rigs to catch them with and it's in their best interests to get you fish. I'm relatively new to this area also (Virginia Beach to OBX) so I learn about the local species, when they come and go, what conditions they like (wind, tide, and such), what they eat, etc and then try to find the water they'll be in. The more you know, the "luckier" you'll be.

Thanks. And thanks for watching.

+mrkogui You're welcome!

Hope they help you Jonathan.

I always tell people, "Want to find a point, go where the surfers are. There's probably a hole upcurrent of the where they are". Thanks for watching.

Thank you. I hope you find it useful.

I wouldn't call a rip the best thing, but it is certainly something to fish. Anything that provides either a hard edge (like bottom contour) or current edge (like a rip) should always be looked at, particularly if the water is much deeper in those areas. I routinely fish with 6-8 oz hatteras style sinkers. They wear your arms out by the end of the night lol. Thanks for watching.

The waves break further out but not on either side. Surfers love these. Unfortunately, was out of commission again for a while, so for now I'm just trying to get caught up on responding to everyone and trying to finish up on some new content and other stuff. Thanks for hanging in there with me and I'll get this thing going again.

Thanks Shell.

Good luck and thanks for watching. I look forward to hearing about your trip.

Most depends on what your local species like. A generalization is that fish gravitate toward structure and rocks are certainly that. They also need quick access to deeper water. While some species roam flats, most like to be near deeper water for protection. Try buying a few things at a local bait & tackle and then asking a few questions. Their business depends on repeat customers so they are usually quick to give you local knowledge and put you on fish.

You are welcome and thanks for watching.

+Alan Stinar You are welcome Sir. I always point out that structure doesn't magically produce fish, but if they are in the area, being able to identify the structure your target species prefers will help you dial in on where they are because they certainly won't be spread out uniformly along the beach. Unless it's a massive run of course ;-)

You are very welcome Justin. I hope my video helps you up your game. Be well and stay safe.

I'm glad you found it so. Thanks for watching.

Sorry for the late reply. been on a 7 day a week work binge. Just watch the water and learn what the waves are telling you. There are no short cuts, but after a while it becomes second nature. I don't even think about it when I look at water. I just see what's going on and fish accordingly.

This and your other videos on how to read the water is amazing, invaluable info. Thank you !

This information is for a very specific group of people! We love this videos! TYVM!

I could never live far from the ocean :-)

I'm glad you enjoy my efforts. You all are very welcome and I appreciate the kind words.

Still great stuff. I am 58. When I was 9, I used to read surf fishing books about the east coast. There were some chapters about riptides etc, I had a hard time visualizing this through words. Your 3 videos kind of capped it off very well. I have shared all 3 of your videos with the Facebook page "Surf Fishing Washington / Oregon" group. I wish that Washington's coast had Striper activity. Southern Oregon has some, but not a lot.

Thank you!

+W. Rodger Enfinger You are very welcome. And thank you for your generous offer.

im headed down there in june any places and rigs you recommend?

Thanks for watching Anthony and I hope they help you have a productive season.

To be honest, I've never fished a reef or been to Hawaii, but I do believe most fish relate, or stay close to edges, regardless of what they are made of. So when fishing from shore, I always attempt to find changes in water depth and fish those edges. From my kayak, or a boat, the same thing. I always seek the deeper water around changes in depth. From the beach these reveal themselves as changes in the way waves break (spilling or plunging), their direction, their amplitude (the height they break at) and how close to shore they break. For instance, surfers always surf over the most shallow areas and paddle out between breaks over the deeper areas, where the waves don't break as high, or as fierce.

@@richtroxler thanks for the timely response I appreciate all input and your videos have helped me scope out beaches down here appreciate the time taken to do this for us 🤙🏽

+Manu Malli You are welcome. Glad you found it useful.

Where I live now (Chesapeake VA) most younger bass stay in the bays and rivers for the first several years before they start their adult migrations. There is no hard and fast rules as to where / what / why bass do what they do. The total biomass is basically made up of 25% Hudson stock and 75% Chesapeake stock. The Hudson stock migrate and breed in the Hudson, basically coming down in the spring and returning in the winter. The Chesapeake stock typically move north up the coast in the spring and return in the fall. Some may hook up into the bay and travel up into the various rivers, or they may winter off the coast of NC. Many younger bass may just winter where ever they are, like Great South Bay in LI, or any of the bays that line the east coast within their range. The adults do most of the traveling, but as tagged fish have shown, with little rhyme on reason. That's the short version anyway lol. Good question you asked!

BandyBorehol I guess on a large groin, you would treat it in the same way as a 'point', and so would fish the trough that forms on the downtide side?

BandyBorehol Interesting idea. Might do something like that.

BandyBorehol A little different depending on the current. Predator fish will no doubt trap bait against the rocks when they are aggressively feeding. But when they've gone neutral, it's not a bad idea to see if an eddy forms off the tip, where the water pushes around it. Eddies are resting places for fish and always worth a few casts.

Reading the beach can be difficult at times. Try to do it on the incoming with an onshore breeze. Those are the best conditions if you can find them. Answered your question above before realizing that you are on the west coast. I honestly know little of west coast bass habits other than they are a transplant that has worked out well.

Sorry for my late reply. Lots going on in these strange days. Holes are my favorite structure hands down. Thanks for watching.

Good insight. I did a video recently that talks about optimum conditions for reading water and how wave height and water deep are related. As you said, on relatively shallow bottom a dip of two feet won'y even show if the waves are really big, but will show itself with the wave action from smaller waves.

You catch big fish anywhere big fish go.

+Mark “Marky 4 Fingers” Laws Hi Marky. Southern NC should be going good before June. Why wait lol.

Thats a great question? ? Im too busy working fights til june 10-11! If up to me Id be a full time resident! Thanks

Mark Laws Yeah, work sure can get in the way of fishing lol. Good luck when you go.

Thanks bud..Ill find em!! ;)

I just posted a video that explains it.

Thanks for watching.

Hi Melany. Interesting point of view on my video but I can see the value in it. To quote a character in one of my short stories, "The sea has many faces, but no heart." Thank you for watching. Be well.

Wish I was lol.

Steve Taaffe wow!! I have never found a stranger online with my same last name besides my family !