The waves crash against the shores of Oak Island in a way that feels personal to each visitor. Standing on the shore with a fishing rod in your hand while the rest of the world sleeps may reveal to you that this location is the correct place for fishing. Surf fishing on Oak Island dont use expensive boats to fish.
Surf fishing does not utilize the crowded piers that exist along the coast. Surf fishing on Oak Island is about you, the Atlantic Ocean and the fish that swims in the troughs in the ocean beyond the breaking waves. If you perform the process correctly, you will catch many different type of fish, such as pompano or red drum.
If, however, you execute the process incorrect, you will spend the day fighting your fishing line and the sun will burn your neck. A few choices cause the difference between having a good morning and walking back to your truck with nothing in your surf fishing buckets. These same choices is used by the experienced local people who fish the shores of Oak Island every day.
These choices will impact your outcome and allow for a consistent catch of fish. These details and choices are not a mystery, but those who are not made aware of these details easily overlook them. One of the first decisions you will make is about the water.
Expert Tips for Successful Oak Island Surf Fishing
The surf on Oak Island is never the same from one spot to the next, as the water change in several areas of the beach. Sandbars roll in during every storm that passes over the island. These sandbars allow for the ocean dwellers to find deeper troughs where the fish will stay to feed.
You must take a few minutes to observe the ocean and determine where the troughs are. You will find that the troughs are located in the area between the sandbars and the beach. Most of the targeted fish live in these troughs.
1. Observe Ocean Troughs and Sandbars
Therefore, you should spend ten minutes observing the waves and their troughs. This will give you a good idea of where you should stand on the beach to cast your line. Next, schedule your fishing trip to occur at specific time of tide.
2. Time Your Trip with the Tide
Anglers who fish the areas around Oak Island consistently fish during the two hours before low tide, during the two hours after low tide and during the first two hours of the incoming tide. During low tide, the fish come to the beach to search for baitfish that the low water level traps in the shallows. At high tide, the fish will follow the baitfish up the beach towards areas where the baitfish can be located.
While fish can be caught when the tide is high, you will need to fish further from the beach. By planning your trip based off the tide, you will spend less time fighting the current and more time fighting the fish. Another decision is in the selection of your fishing rod and fishing reel.
3. Select the Right Fishing Rod and Reel
A medium-heavy fishing rod between 9 and 11 feet will allow you to land the fish. The medium-heavy fishing rod will provide the leverage necessary to cast your line over the breaking waves. Additionally, the rod should flex enough to permit the detection of a bite from a fish while the ocean is washing the line.
For the reel, use a spinning reel between 6000 and 8000 in size. Use 20-pound braided line because it will cut through the wind and the ocean current better than monofilament fishing line. Additionally, braided fishing line is more sensitive to detecting bites from pompano or whiting fish.
4. Use Braided Line and Fluorocarbon Leaders
Add a three-foot section of 30-pound fluorocarbon line to your fishing rod to allow for additional reach, strength and stealth for your line. You have a few options for bait and many inexperienced surf fishermen will use shrimp as the fishing bait. While you can use shrimp as bait, other options will result in a better catch of fish.
5. Choose Effective Bait Options
For example, if the red drum is in the area, you can use cut mullet, cut menhaden or even fresh clams as your fishing bait. If the area is home to pompano fish, however, your best option for bait is sand fleas. Sand fleas are small creatures that live in the wet sand on Oak Islands beaches during low tide.
Use a small bucket to fish for sand fleas and add two or three to a hook to catch the fish. Using sand fleas as bait will result in a very high rate of catching pompano fish. Another choice is in how you rig your bait.
6. Rig Your Line with Fish Finder Rigs
A fish-finder rig will work for most areas of the beach. A fish-finder rig uses a two ounce pyramid sinker that allows a fish to pick up your bait without feeling the resistance of your fishing line. When the ocean current is very strong, however, use a breakaway sinker that buries itself in the sand.
This allows the sinker to remain in place even in the strongest ocean currents. Another tip from the fishermen of Oak Island is to watch the birds that live on the island or that come to fish in these areas. The terns and pelicans that you see diving into the ocean past the breakers indicate that there is bait on the surface of the ocean.
7. Watch Coastal Birds for Fish Locations
If you see birds diving into the ocean, follow them to the location of the bait. The gulls that fish near the wrack line indicate where the sand fleas live. If you know where the sand fleas live, you will know where the pompano fish are.
While watching the birds is not a precise method of finding where to fish, it is better than just casting your line into the ocean without a plan. You must dress for the environment on Oak Island. Even in the summer months, the salt spray from the ocean, the wind and the cold morning temperatures can leave you feeling cold.
8. Dress for the Ocean Environment
Wear lightweight long sleeve shirts and a wide brim hat with a neck flap to protect yourself from the sun and wind. Wear polarized sunglasses to help you see the color changes in the ocean water. These color changes will indicate sandbars and the troughs where the fish will live.
During the cooler months of the year, wear a thin wading jacket and neoprene booties to stay warm on the beach. While your comfort may or may not help you catch more fish, you dont want to fish in conditions that make you uncomfortable. Pay attention to the direction of the wind before you leave the house.
9. Monitor Wind Direction
The best conditions for surf fishing occur with a light wind from the offshore direction. Offshore winds will flatten the waves and increase visibility of the beach. Strong onshore winds can make the beach difficult to fish because the strong winds will make it difficult to properly cast your fishing line.
Additionally, strong onshore winds will prevent your bait from remaining in one place. If the wind is strong and coming from the northeast, you may have to travel to one of the protected inlets along the beach or you can wait for the wind to change direction. Waiting for the wind to change will yield the best results for your fishing trip.
When you begin to land your fish, your technique will be different than when you were catching the fish in a lake or on a pier. Once you have hooked a fish, apply even pressure to the fish and let the ocean waves work for you. When a wave breaks over the beach, reel in the fish to take advantage of the momentum to move the fish up the beach.
10. Land Fish Using Wave Momentum
Do not attempt to pull the fish through the whitewater of the breaking wave. If you do, your fishing leaders may snap and your hooks may come free from the fish. Allow the ocean to work for you to land your catch and use a long handled net or your hand to land the fish.
Using either a net or your hand will prevent you from losing the fish at the last second. Another good habit to develop when you begin to surf fish on Oak Island is to keep a log of your fishing trips. Record each trip in your journal with information about the tide, the wind, the water clarity and the type of fish that you caught.
11. Maintain a Fishing Log
After six outings to the beach, you will have a log that indicates patterns in the type of fish that are seen at different times of tides and with different types of wind. This information will allow you to better understand the habits of the fish and to know when to go fishing. Finally, respect the beach and the other fishermen who use the beaches of Oak Island.
Pack out everything that you brought to the beach. Leave the beach in the same condition in which you found it so that others can continue to enjoy the beach. Showing courtesy to others who use the beach will ensure that it remains accessible and pleasant for all of those who come to fish on the coast.
Oak Island is a beautiful location for surf fishing. For those who are prepared and who pay attention to the tips provided, the surf fishing experience will be good. Grab a fishing rod and take a few minutes to watch the waves at the coast.
Let the Atlantic Ocean take care of the rest of the fishing. The next time you encounter a fish to land, the fish are close to your well-placed fishing line.