Your rod can be used to determine the depth of water at high tide. At low tide stand where you would at high tide and cast out as normal (a baited rig gives a more better guide to your fishing distance) onto bare sand. Mark your standing spot with a flat object (tackle box, stone, plank) and walk to where your sinker landed. Look up and down your rod till your eye is level with the flat object. It is surprising how accurate this method is. The vertically challenged may need help on steep beaches. Trying this at high tide may cause irreversible drowning.
| When fishing an unknown beach the angle of your line can be a good guide to fishing depth. For the same distance cast shallow water will result in a small angle (red line) compared to a sharp angle (blue line) This is also handy at night if your unsure if your cast went very far. This will also help you decide how to set your rig up. |  |
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Large species of seaweed such as kelp,can also be used as a rough guide to depth. When the tide drops it will lie flat on the surface in shallow spots. During ELWS and LWS in the summer seaweed breaking the surface can be used to map out the area. |
| Stung by a weaverfish or worse? Hot
water helps dull the pain. The course anglers swimfeeder can also be used when fishing short cast marks. Fill the swimfeeder with minced bait (mackerel, mussel, worm, squid etc). Alternatively soak a sponge in pilchard oil and place inside the swimfeeder. This is a good technique when flattie bashing in estuaries. Place an old blanket in the boot of your car before loading up to keep it clean. When fishing piers add use extra shock leader to make handballing heavy fish up the side easier. When fishing on seaweed covered rocks it is sometimes possible to lift the weed to one side producing a safer place to stand. A strip of reflective tape (the kind you wrap around your rod tip to make it easier to see at night) on your fishing knife makes it easier to find if you drop it at night. |
Avoid estuaries and river mouths after
heavy rain as the fishings usually bad at this time. Even if not interested in competitive angling check if there is a competition on the day your going fishing. Competitors grab the "top marks" well before the start followed by the "good marks" then the "perhaps marks" leaving the "not a cat in hells chance marks" for the slow coaches. Finding a decent free spot during large contests is near impossible for late comers. Got a petrol lantern, place a lead weight on top for 10 minutes to make a hand warmer. Grip leads breaking free in rough weather? Tie the wires down using an elastic band. When replacing damaged ring tips use epoxy resin rather than superglue as it does not need a tight fit to bond and doesn't crack as easily. Small chemical lights for the tip of your rod can also be attached to rigs to attract fish.
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