How to Find a Good Spot (Reading the Surf)

That's it! You have the secret now and you are ten steps ahead of everyone else. You now have enough knowledge to graduate from "someone that goes fishing" to a fisherman. The Texas coastline has a standard of three sandbars that run horizontally to the beach. The sandbars are generally numbered and termed "1st bar" (Closest to the sand), "2nd bar" (the one after the first bar) and "3rd bar" (the furthest and last). The water before and after the bars also have been termed. The water before the 1st bar is called "The Wade Gut". The water after the 1st bar is called "The 1st gut". The water after the 2nd bar is called "The 2nd gut". The water after the 3rd bar is called "The Ocean". Some people call it "The 3rd gut" most people just say "Past the 3rd bar"

The three sand bars are fairly consistent but every now and then there is a break, a non-conforming section (SOMETHING DIFFERENT). These are the sections you want to find. They can be spotted pretty easily by looking at the waves. Watch the waves and see if you can find an area where the waves are breaking differently. They are breaking in the same spot all along the coast. The waves are at every sandbar. If you find a section of water where the waves are breaking closer than normal, further than normal or no waves at all, you've found a good spot! That means you found a section of beach that is not like the rest. Set up your camp in this location and fish on the left, right and center of the spot you found.

What do you do if the waves are non-existent or really choppy? This trips up even some of the good fishermen. In Texas, wind, current and general beach conditions vary from hour-to-hour. Sometimes you can't tell where the sandbars are because the water is flat or because the ocean is angry. So, how can you find a good spot? Look at the water line on the beach. Go stand with your toes in the water and look up and down the shore line. Chances are you will find sections of beach that have little peninsulas and coves. Those sections are there for a reason. Something out in the surf is making that happen. Try finding one that seems interesting to you and fish it. Remember, you can always get up and move if it’s not producing fish.