Fishing the Rocky Shorelines

Coastlines all over the northeast are riddled with rocks, gravel, boulders and other connected man-made rock piles.  However, these areas located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey are ideal grounds for predator fish and the food that they so love to eat. This makes it great grounds for superior fishing as long as you don’t disregard the man-made rock structure that you need to contend with.

Jetties

A jetty is a man made structure that was created along the shorelines to prevent storm surges from damaging property, to help stop beach erosion and to create small causeways into the rivers and salt ponds in the northeast. For the fisherman, these grounds are rich with fish at some point or another and if you understand when, it can enhance your catch any time.

Bluefish, false albacore, weakfish and striped bass love these areas for the turbulent, fast-moving waters. The reason is that most baitfish get disoriented in these waters and therefore become easy prey for these predators.  You can often find large numbers of these predators not up against the walls of a jetty enjoying an afternoon snack of baitfish.  This is where the water is the most turbulent.

These jetties are also home to whelks, mussels, periwinkles, scup and tautog to set up housekeeping. These fish nestle into the jetty for the sole purpose of finding food and shelter and having the ability to feed on each other.  The jetty allows shelter from larger predators as well which is an added benefit.

Like the neighboring beaches, it is often best to make plans to fish jetties as close to high tide as possible. In general, you will find that you have deeper water to work with at this time and fish will also have a tendency to be more focused. If your chosen jetty is part of a causeway leading into a river or pond, you will regularly find baitfish running from predators into the channel during the incoming tide and out of it on the outgoing tide.

Blackfish and porgy are normally easy to catch, as they rarely roam very far from the rock walls. They have everything they need to survive there in the rocks. You can take advantage of this by making shorter casts and not using unnecessary amounts of weight to present your baits.

Safety is essential if you are planning to fish in an area that is rich with jetties.  First and foremost you must take into consideration that you want to remain safe during your fishing trip.  Your number one priority should be a personal flotation device (also called PFD).  Excuses are not acceptable – a fall into a jetty can easily result in a deadly accident – the risk is too great, and the cost is too great. Another required piece of gear for jetty fishing is a good pair of cleats.  Consider the ground you are fishing from – these rocks stay wet all the time because of the ebb and flow of the tide and during much of fishing season these rocks are laced with algae and moss.  Because they are so slippery, you can easily lose you footing and take a fall – why risk a broken ankle or leg (or worse) because you failed to take the proper safety precautions.

If you have not had the opportunity to take advantage of these great grounds for beach and jetty fishing, you are missing out on a great trip.  The shores of the northeast are rich in opportunities to have a memorable fishing trip whether it is with friends, family or all alone.  The entire area allows for the best of beach and jetty fishing and a trip that will almost surely guarantee you a large catch.

There are many great types of reels to use when fishing from rocky shorelines, some of them include BG90 and Shimano Calcutta Reels

 

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