Fishing by the beach can be rewarding, if you find the right spot

What say you on the issue below?

THERE is a good reason for keen anglers to hit the beach in their spare time.

With the long coastal line on the both of the peninsular, this is an enjoyable way to catch a fish.

From an angling perspective, the local beach has plenty to offer but one has to find the right spot to wet their lines.

Good catch: A shark caught along the seafront off Penang’s Esplanade.

Aside from being able to bag various species like stringray, whiting, croacker, bream and even grouper, the gear needed for this activities will not burn a hole in your pocket.

All one needs is a reasonable basic rod, preferably a medium to hard action rod, a reel (enough to spool a 20 or 25 pound line to cast it out to the open sea), hooks and some sinkers to do this.

As for bait, it can be sourced at the location or bought from the market.

Beach fishing is really simple and basic. However, one can also choose to be more sophisticated as one progresses with this hobby. One can use lures like plugs, poppers and even spinner baits near the rocky outcrops along the coastline or nearer the island, to hunt for their catches.

I remember a long time ago, I used to fish using Abu kong-kong.

Abu kong-kong is slang used by some to describe a hand line, a method where the monofilament line is spooled onto a condensed milk can. And to cast the line out, the popular “helicopter” technique to loop the line is used. Of course, the sinker was an unwanted spark plug which could be obtained from motor workshops for free.

It was a cheap way to fish on the beach then. But many of us progressed over the years, upgrading ourselves with affordable rod and line.

Fishing on the beach can be fun, but one has to be able to read the location and know where to cast their line to improve their chances in hooking up the catches.

Knowing the contour of the beach and picking up a spot to fish is not as difficult as one may think.

The most important observation an angler should have is to be able to spot or find a hole or “gutter”, which is most likely to hold fish, which has deeper water than other places in a particular location.

This observation can be done during low tide or as the tide is about to rise.

Alternatively, these holes or gutters can also be easily spotted if you have access to a higher vantage point. Deeper water tends to be darker and calmer than its surrounding area.

Watching how waves break, leaving foam as they break before reforming back to swell, can also give away the location of holes or gutters.

Fishing in these holes or gutters rather than casting the line into the middle of nowhere can be productive, as I found out over the years.

Fishing around rocky outcrops also gives some advantages, especially when one is looking for species like grouper.

Setting up the rig to carry out this type of fishing is also simple enough for anyone to do.

The most common rig used is the double or triple hook flapper rig. The boom paternoster and wishbone rigs are also found to be effective for this type of fishing but it has to depend on the sea conditions, the spot where one would want to fish and the species targeted.

As for the bait, one could source it from the beach or simply buy it from the market.

If you can source (or even buy) the umpun (seaworm) in the vicinity where you fish, this would be the most ideal bait.

Alternatively, one can buy prawns, squids or even bait fish like scad (kembong) or selar or sardin for this.

Some anglers also use cockles and chicken or cow liver as bait to catch sea catfish.

An angler also needs to know the tide movement to fish at beaches, preferably some 45 minutes before the start of a rising tide and after it peaks.

With experience, anglers will find there can be plenty of activity in the early morning and night fishing.

Beach fishing is simple, fun and easy. Anglers will be amazed with the many species that they can land.

Happy fishing!