# Low impact vs high impact beaches



## finsup2 (Nov 16, 2010)

Honestly, I didn't know there was a difference between high and low impact beaches. I now know that the low impact beaches lie in ponte vedra, which is where I have been fishing. My question is which tides should I consider fishing if I'm at a LOW impact beach versus a HIGH impact beach. Also, could you list some areas where the high impact beaches are. Thanks again.


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

Generally speaking a low impact beach is flat with no contour. A High impact beach is generally steep with lots of contour.

More specifically a high impact beach will have troughs or cuts or runs or holes or any combination of them or all of them. Low impact doesn't have that, because the waves keep the beach flat. Which is not to say you won't find fish on a low impact beach. There is just nothing there to hold them or entice them in significant numbers.

What's the benefit of a high impact beach? Have you heard boating fishermen talk about following depth on their depth finder? They're cruising along the depth is consistent then all of a sudden there is a drop in depth. They anchor and start fishing. That change in contour will usually hold fish because it's a place for them to feed. Something is being stirred up by the current running over that hole or the wash in that hole. Same is true on a beach. The action of the waves and current on the contour keep the sand moving which keeps food moving and visible to the fish.


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

Reading the Beach. I call it "Advanced Surf Fishing". Click on the links at the bottom of the post I'm linking to. It describes reading the beach which will give a visual idea of what I'm talking about.

http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?t=80041&highlight=Reading+the+beach


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## finsup2 (Nov 16, 2010)

crew,

Thanks. that was very helpful. So I'm assuming that it's better to fish low impact beach at high tide, but since the beach is generally flat it's probably best to discern unique characteristics during low tide, right? Will the same apply to high impact beaches as far as determining holes, sandbars, and run outs? Thanks


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## fishhook54 (Oct 2, 2009)

crew tks that was good , i didnt know that , im learning something all the time on this site tks again


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## Fishwander (Jul 2, 2010)

finsup2

*Always * scout both low impact, and high impact beaches during low tide . Your polarized sunglasses are looking thru less water to see bottom structure . 

Look for any contour change , grasslines, weedlines, location of sandbars and distance from shore, clambars , pot holes , observe whether there is a current , etc.. ( Keep a fishing log )

Different fish species will populate the same waters at different times of the tide . (For example: I have never caught pompano in waters where I have also caught bluefish at the same time )( Keep a fishing log )

As The Crew said:


> Which is not to say you won't find fish on a low impact beach. There is just nothing there to hold them or entice them in significant numbers.


So yes , you will find more transient fish in low impact beaches; they are looking for food, but are traveling . With nothing to hold them there they will not remain there for a long time.

and The Crew also said about high impact beaches:


> Same is true on a beach. The action of the waves and current on the contour keep the sand moving which keeps food moving and visible to the fish.


Also , look for the "slough" which occurs in areas where there is current close to the beach . This is like a trench carved out of the beachsand close to the shoreline . It can be from several inches deep to as much as 4 feet deep . Many fishermen fish way out rather than in the 'slough' and miss many fish which are closer. Follow the bubbles,.. and they will show you the current and its' speed . Many surf casters fish one pole distance, and another one close , or in the 'slough'.

Fishwander ~ Did I mention ... Keep a Fishing log ??


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## Sea Level (Nov 20, 2005)

*Reading the beach*



finsup2 said:


> Honestly, I didn't know there was a difference between high and low impact beaches. I now know that the low impact beaches lie in ponte vedra, which is where I have been fishing. My question is which tides should I consider fishing if I'm at a LOW impact beach versus a HIGH impact beach. Also, could you list some areas where the high impact beaches are. Thanks again.


That topic and many other subjects, such as the effects of different winds (that you asked about in another post) that will aid your surf fishing success are covered in detail in the classes advertised a few posts down from this one. In class we go over each of the beaches from Little Talbot south to Sebastian Inlet. We visit both a low and high impact beach in session D.


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

Fin, if I fished Ponte Vedre I would always prefer to start 1-2 hours from low tide on the outgoing. I was at Matanzas recently which is a low impact beach. My longest casts are anywhere from 75-100 yards. I was about an hour into the incoming and was only getting my bait into 6"-2 feet of water. I did very well catching the blues and a few whiting. If I start when I want 1-2 hours from dead low I can walk out those 60-75 yards of a few inches of water and now my casts can get into deeper water. Not always necessary to do but you can usually find fish on those deeper water casts. Now I can fish the remaining out going and all the incoming and should be able to do well.

On a high impact beach the same is "generally" true but it will depend on where the troughs are. On the early incoming you'll get chased off bar and have to wait an hour or two for the water to spill over the bar and fill the closer troughs. The optimal time to start fishing a high impact beach is the last half of the incoming. You should be able to fish it at least from half the incoming to half the outgoing.

But...most of us can only fish when we can fish.

The high impact beaches are: American beach on Amelia Island, and From Guana (all three lots) down to Vilano. Guana is just below Ponte Vedre along A1A. There are three parking lots, North, Middle and South. North and Middle have high stairs. South has a set of stairs and a ramp. Guana is a heavy coquina beach and I've had my best success there. In one day I've caught several different species of fish. It is $3 to get in. South of that is the Gate Station, Table tops and Surfside then Vilano. They are free expect for Vilnao. In the summer/spring Vilano is $7 to get in. In the Fall/Winter it is free.

Vilano is a little different then the others because it sits at an inlet. The inlet can produce heavy currents on the outgoing and incoming tides. If you fish the surf there (not the inlet) then fish that only on the outgoing. Incoming will usually drag your sinkers.

Hope this helps.


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## hklbery (Mar 17, 2007)

You can wait for the water to spill over the bar or you can hit the guts that run between the bars ... its a fish highway during incoming tide


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## Bocajettyrat (Dec 8, 2010)

Great links here guys for reading the beach. Took this info to Highland beach in south florida and the birds were working the exact spots highlighted in this posts links.


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## JonInJax (Jan 11, 2010)

The Crew said:


> Fin, if I fished Ponte Vedre I would always prefer to start 1-2 hours from low tide on the outgoing. I was at Matanzas recently which is a low impact beach. My longest casts are anywhere from 75-100 yards. I was about an hour into the incoming and was only getting my bait into 6"-2 feet of water. I did very well catching the blues and a few whiting. If I start when I want 1-2 hours from dead low I can walk out those 60-75 yards of a few inches of water and now my casts can get into deeper water. Not always necessary to do but you can usually find fish on those deeper water casts. Now I can fish the remaining out going and all the incoming and should be able to do well.
> 
> On a high impact beach the same is "generally" true but it will depend on where the troughs are. On the early incoming you'll get chased off bar and have to wait an hour or two for the water to spill over the bar and fill the closer troughs. The optimal time to start fishing a high impact beach is the last half of the incoming. You should be able to fish it at least from half the incoming to half the outgoing.
> 
> ...


Great info!

One point on Vilano, though: it only costs money if you drive onto the beach. Most people do, and I can certainly understand why. But I'm a cheapskate, so I park outside of the entrance, then walk (with my surf cart) over the southernmost boardwalk onto the beach. It's free that way.


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

JonInJax said:


> . But I'm a cheapskate, so I park outside of the entrance, then walk (with my surf cart) over the southernmost boardwalk onto the beach. It's free that way.


Now that's great info too! Guess I'll be fishing VIlano a little more!


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## seajay (Dec 18, 2005)

I've yet to see a beach in N.E. Fla. that did not have some sort of contour.That includes Amelia to Daytona. Our better fishing is done on a moving tide. And most think you have to cast to the fartest break. When the catch is within the first break. Just look for the cuts/out flows.


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