Eddies

[arden]

I will likely write a more in depth atricle about this in the future but i have 15 minutes to kill till lunch and since i cant fish i might as well help the loyal proponents of SWE


that said there are certain things we all know about stripers but most never really know why. Surflines, rips, breachways, etc are all supposedly great striper spots due to the presence of current.

However, what most people dont realize, and this is something i have learned growing up fishing some of the most current riddled waters in the country, is that it is not so much the current....but the nearby abscence of current in an otherwise current riddled area that truely draws stripers and in particular large ones.

Its been said before but again, think of trout. The same holes, bends, eddies, and seams in our rivers are what a good surf angler looks for on the coast line. hell even a good boat angler is looking for the same thrings.

Learn to recognize these spots....even better learn to recognize where two or three of these characteristics coexist and you will have some prime spots to carry you through out the season.

learn to recognize how the situation changes during different times of tide, and different moon periods.

learn to understand how the wind will effect both the current and your cast with its proceeding presentation of tasty morsels.

perhaps most importantly this will allude to why, for aparently no reason, a guy only a few feet away will often clobber fish whilst you go without a touch. eventually this will allow you to find those magic rocks and magic casting angles that, when fishing areas with lots of current, will make the difference between great fishing and a skunking....

trust me it makes a massive difference....when i get a chance i will post a pic of my budy greg and a 42 lber he caught the other day because he stood where i told him and casted where i told....repreatedly...despite a near skunking for 10 guys on each side of him.

[merch]

I look forward to a full article. This is a really fundamental and important topic that is eluded to, but really neglected by most striper fishing literature. I had to go to trout and salmon fishing books, like you mentioned, before I read things that really got into the meat of it.

[arden]

one thing to add right now. if you think of any depression on the shorline be it a rocky hole, trough in a sandbar or etc, think of this as the hole below a waterfall in a trout stream. now i may just be confuseing some people who have never seen a trout stream (i suggest you find the time any stream will do) but you may have noticed that the majority and often the largest fish rarely stage tight to the waterfall unless there is some form of major eddy. more often then not fish stage at the back of the pool where the water is slowest. apply this to your time on the beach. not that casting to the deepest spot of a hole is a waste but if i had the choice i would focus my efforts on the side of a hole opposite the direction of the incoming current.

i really need to just spend an hour with paintshop lol

[Elpaca19]

Arden - That's great. I never ever thought about it like that. I have trout fished so it makes sense to me. This just adds another thing to think about when saltwater fishing. Thanks.

[Dave]

I know Eddie, he's a great guy!

As to the eddie created by structure blocking current this is so true. To add to this, many times a wash out, hole or depression is created on the backside of said hard structure (sometimes soft) in the eddy which adds to or makes the spot more attractive to said ambush fish. They don't have to exert much energy to hold there and have the perfect ambush spot for bait to be swept to them.

[Hookemdude]

Excellent advice given here!! I've never really put it together in those terms but it explains much of my limitted experience. For trout they talk about fishing the "seams" near/between flow. They provide all they need-cover, oxygenated water, and a food supply.

I assume the stipers are like trout in that they will always face upstream, but you know what they say about assumption.

Thanks for the info guys

Hookem

[merch]

Originally Posted by Hookemdude

I assume the stipers are like trout in that they will always face upstream, but you know what they say about assumption.

That's one assumption that is correct. Except when they are moving and not settled in feeding of course. It would be hard for them to hold position with their tail into the wind.

In steady heavy water they hardly have to even move thier tail. They look like birds hovering in the air on a windy day. Thir body shape and pectorals create enough lift for them to hold position without kicking the tail very often. The bigger the fish the happier they are hanging in fast water. Did someone call big fish lazy? I prefer to call them smart and well adjusted.

[arden]

Originally Posted by merch

Did someone call big fish lazy? I prefer to call them smart and well adjusted.

right on....

again, this conversation about seams needs to be considered in relation to the strength of the current.

in high flow areas you really can think of it as if they were trout, hideing behind rocks and tight to seam edges.

however, in low flow areas more typical of most of the striper coast, you need to apply these concepts to larger areas....that is the eddie might be from half way down the eastern side of a point to its tip, the entire stretch being good.

this brings me to another clarification. most of you are or will soon be aware of back eddies in streams.....areas where a narrow strong current entering a larger body of water causes the water to actually flow in the opposite direction on the outsides of the main flow. while this may create the specific seam we talked about earlier on a larger scale it will cause coves (and sometimes points) to have a flow opposite the general tidal direction.

in places like mtk's south side and the points south of the cc canal this can really alter where fish will set up and how you should focus on presenting your plug or bait