I say a good day because most days this time of year have the wind howling and the seas roaring, preventing anglers from even getting close to the jetties. A good day is relatively easy to pick out ahead of time if you follow the weather patterns and if the weather guessers’ predictions are even close to reality.
A good day will usually be found just ahead of a cold front that is approaching the area. In our part of the country, cold fronts come in from the northwest. The prevailing winds will shift to the south, and then southwest as the front approaches. Generally, the air temperature will have moderated since the last front, and the winds will have subsided for a day or two. The good day is usually found just as the wind begins to shift around to the south. Not enough pressure gradients are there to force a strong wind yet, and the seas have had a day or two to calm.
So I watch the weather, judge the arrival of the next cold front, and plan a jetty trip accordingly.
We made just such a trip recently and found that even on a weekday, when the weather is right for jetty fishing, the jetties are loaded with boats. Some boats were anchored a little away from the rocks; some were anchored on the bow and tied to the rocks from the stern (these guys were really into the sheepshead).
Some people were fishing with float rigs. In particular, Captain Dave Sipler was catching trout on his perfected float method. Others were fishing with fiddler crabs for sheepshead. Still others were fishing with live or dead shrimp, looking for just anything that would bite.
A bit cold in the early morning, the day turned to a beautiful blur bird sky – something that really indicates a high pressure after a front. That sky – actually the high pressure – tended to turn the fish off in the afternoon, so we headed for the back waters and the salt marsh.
Watch the weather the next trip you plan. In the winter, you need to be fishing ahead of the cold fronts, not behind them. That catches the barometric pressure dropping as the low passes and that drop turns the bite on!
