Fly Fish Northern California

After preaching for nearly 3 decades about the surf zone experience, it’s great to see the growing cadre of fly fishers exploring our coastline fisheries. There’s no doubt about it – folks are enjoying some great success stories with all their efforts afoot in the suds. However, I’ve noticed a major mistake being made by many of those same anglers. They approach each of their surf zone adventures with the same mindset. They don’t consider the fact that beaches are as individual and varied as streams and rivers. Coastal locations do have individual cycles. With a little homework, and taking some field notes, you could increase your chances for consistent success dramatically.

Increase your chances for success by interpreting your surroundings

What's the key to creating consistent success? I’m talking about elevating your chances of a fair shot at catching (or at least getting bumped) by perch, halibut, croaker and other cruisers more often than not. A huge part of any fly fishing adventure is having the ability to interpret your surroundings, and apply your observations to equipment selection and field technique. I certainly don’t have all the answers… but I do have a few. Let me point out two of the most significant interpretive decisions you need to make for any beach: profile (angle of slope) and aspect (north or south facing). Both of these concerns contribute to creating “prime time” conditions for individual locations. They combine to have an impact on tidal affects, swell presence, food distribution and so forth. These observations apply to “all” California coastal fisheries. It doesn’t matter if you work the surf around Los Angeles, or among the breakers along Mendocino, knowing a specific beaches’ aspect and profile will allow you to choose “high percentage locations” all year long.

“Profile” basically refers to how flat (or steep) the beach actually is. Keep in mind that this characteristic changes from season-to-season. The winter cycle creates more of a dramatic angle by tearing down each location. The summer cycle rejuvenates our shoreline and continually reduces (and flattens) the angle of slope. This is accomplished by depositing sand particles back onto the beach. Having stated this process, all beaches will exhibit individual ranges for their respective profile. There are plenty of sites that would virtually be considered flat or steep throughout the entire year. These very locations show little variance from extreme winter impact to perfect summer conditions. Don’t be fooled by this last observation. You should consider the majority of our beaches to exhibit a fair range of fluctuation in their distinctive angle of slope.

Winter Sand Distribution

Summer Sand Distribution

When I consider a surf zone safari, one of my goals is to find a fishery that offers me maximum control of my tackle. I try to target locations that provide me with 1 – 4 feet of standing water to present my fly. A depth of three feet would be ideal for my approach. I don’t wish to be forced to negotiate much deeper conditions. Six feet would surely be my maximum range. I use my knowledge of local beach profiles to refine the site selection for any given day. Traveling beyond my local fishery, I call friends or shops to amass the information to help me target a site. The only thing more valuable than first-hand experience is having a resource for local contacts. Painting the State with a broad-brush stroke, I’ve found the following observation to hold true from year-to-year: Southern Cal beaches have a tendency to be far flatter than those found along Northern California. Though I’ll use this information for the bigger picture, I still acquire local details to understand the current physical profile of specific locations.

The angle of slope helps me decide whether I want to be working the beach “early or late in the tide.” Picture this… if the beach is steep, I’ll encounter the 1-4 foot depth range earlier in the incoming tide phase. Perhaps the first two hours of the flooding tide would be optimal. After that, I might find conditions tougher to negotiate and less beach property accessible for the day. Conversely, a flat beach profile would require more of the flooding tide to actually create the desired standing water. In this case I’d work the second half of the incoming phase, plus the beginning of the outgoing as well, to maximize my presentation potential throughout the entire beachfront. At any rate you can only anticipate approximately 3 hours of prime conditions during a single tide phase (from low-to-high, or high-to-low conditions). That represents only 50% of the tide’s movement presenting an optimal environment for our tackle. In a complete twelve-hour cycle, this means at least six hours minimum will present us with difficult circumstances to negotiate. I’m extremely realistic about the potential limitations of fly gear in this demanding habitat. At some point in every day it’s going to be better to pick up your spinning gear or call it quits for a while. It’s a simple fact that comes with the territory.

Steep Beach Profile - Best during early incoming

Flat Beach Profile - favors a late incoming and early outgoing

Personally I prefer to work most steep-profiled beaches during the neap tides of the month. This is the time you’ll find a smaller shift between extreme low tide and extreme high tide. Essentially I look for an environment that presents itself with calmer water conditions. This stable habitat helps to promote gamefish to reduce the field of their roaming behavior. It also reduces my risk to becoming exposed to violent hydraulics while wading in the surf.

Beach profiles can also define if the property will provide reasonable fly fishing access early or late in a season. Here’s the rule of thumb I follow: the more dramatic the angle of slope means the longer it will take to rejuvenate. Mild sloping beaches provide anglers with the most favored structure to work over. Typically many of the Northern State locales just aren’t safe enough to wade during the winter months. Sometimes this limited access extends well into early summer. I know of a few locations that won’t hit their “prime” until late June. Southern Cal on the other hand, could offer anglers a wide variety of sites to choose from almost all year long! You gotta love California’s extensive range of coastline. Again, my goal is to exploit a habitat that offers me 1-4 feet of standing water plus variable structure to hold, or concentrate, both predator and prey populations.

Whether or not a beach is facing northward or southward is another important consideration as I mentioned earlier. This orientation to the compass is commonly referred to as ‘beach aspect.” The most significant observations are centered on the exposures to storm fronts, prevailing winds, and swell conditions. For example a north-facing property could be completely in harm’s way, suffering the full brunt of heavy winds and violent surf, while a south-facing property might find protection provided by a well-defined headland (significant point of land). This of course could be just the opposite with a storm front developing from the “banana belt.” It wouldn’t do you any good to frequent a beach that’s constantly barraged with floating debris (kelp, surf grass, etc.) and muddy waters. This simply creates a situation where you loose considerable control of your tackle. This is especially true during your presentation retrieve paths. In California, a site that offers littered and dirty surf generally offers little else but frustration.

North facing beaches typically bear the brunt of ocean hydraulics and weather conditions

Watching satellite images of weather patterns is a good thing to be doing. Looking for trends is a smart interpretive technique. Anticipating the impact from wind, rain, and swell empowers you to make positive decisions about specific beachheads.

When you pass along your passion for the surf be sure to mention that it’s a wild place! No two locations are the same. Not in aspect. Not in profile. If you don’t know the exact particulars of a specific site, there’s only one smart recommendation you can make. At least have your friends explore the property during the lowest point of a minus tide phase. This allows them to observe the most exposed structure and cover before it gets flooded. That information becomes invaluable to their future success. In time you’ll all learn the local idiosyncrasies of profile and aspect for individual sites. Once you’ve identified a detailed pattern of habitat changes, you can then make the necessary adjustments to timing the tide, and be sure to be present during the premier depth range.

Experiencing a beach during its prime cycle involves quite a few elements to be in place. One thing is true when it comes to learning the dynamics of the surf zone… you have to stand in it to believe it. There is no substitute for experiencing “the real deal.” I encourage you to discover your local beach aspects. I encourage you to explore their dynamic profiles. I encourage you to take notes and interpret your surroundings. I encourage you to use this information so you’ll find yourself on “prime time” beaches. Stay safe out there my friends.

About the author:

Ken Hanley has been conducting fishing and adventure specialty programs for over 35 years. During this time, over 14,000 students have taken advantage of Ken’s varied programs both in the field and on the water. His award-winning instructional programs are well respected throughout the adventure industry.

In 2003, Ken wrote the highly informative
Fly Fishing the Pacific Inshore, resulting from almost 25 years of experience covering our inshore waters. According to Ken, it was truly a career's worth of effort and information.

Ken is a founding member of the “Pacific Pro Surf Association”. In 2005 Ken's career efforts were recognized as he was inducted into the NCCFFF's Fly Fishing Hall of Fame.

Ken can be contacted through his "Pacific Exteremes" website.

Published on: 2006-10-29 (11769 reads)

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